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At five miles from Gundagai is this "Dog on the Tuckerbox" memorial. Supposedly based on an incident that occurred to a teamster named Bill the Bullocky on the road to Gundagai in the 1850s. While leading his bullock team and wagon across a creek five miles (or nine miles depending on the story) from Gundagai, Bill's wagon became hopelessly bogged in the creek. Trying to drag the wagon out of the bog, one of his bullocks then broke the wagon's yoke. Thereupon, Bill gave up the job and went to have his lunch. But here, to top off his run of bad luck, he found his dog sitting (or worse) on his tuckerbox (food box). The other bullockies thought the incident a great joke and one of them supposedly wrote a poem about it. In several versions, the poem spread the story of Bill's bad luck far and wide. (One old version of the poem is given below the picture.)
As I was coming down Conroy's Gap
I heard a maiden cry,
"There goes Bill the Bullocky,
He's bound for Gundagai.
A better poor old (Beggar)
Never earnt an honest crust,
A better poor old (Beggar)
Never drug a whip through dust."
His team got bogged at the Five Mile Creek,
Bill lashed and swore and cried,
"If Nobby don't get me out of this,
I'll tatoo his (bloody) hide."
But Nobby strained and broke the yoke,
and poked out the leader's eye,
Then the dog s(h)at on the Tucker Box
Five miles from Gundagai.