Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards

13/10/2026

Make sure you don’t miss out on the 2026 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards Anthology, your exclusive gateway to every winning, runner-up, shortlisted, highly commended, and commended poem from this year’s competition.

Secure your copy today: just $30 for a beautifully bound hard copy or $10 for the convenient digital edition. Click the link to place your order and immerse yourself in this year’s poetry: https://pci.jotform.com/form/262302807554354

08/10/2026

Some 8000 participation certificates hit the postal system today after committee members and friends joined to collate. They’ll be mailed to young poets across the country who entered this year’s competition. Thank you John and Susie Lyle!

15/09/2026

Friday 4 September was a day of celebration as we honoured this year's Dorothea winners. Have you taken a moment to enjoy the inspiring videos from our talented runners-up?

Congratulations to: Meredith Butler (Lower Primary section), Abbey Fu (Upper Primary section), Ashton Thorne-Small (Assisted Learning Primary section), Nicola Sun (Junior Secondary section), Caroline Brown (Senior Secondary section) and Amrut Mogarkar (Assisted Learning Secondary section).

Let us shine a spotlight on these remarkable poets and celebrate their creativity.

07/09/2026

Last Friday, we gathered in Gunnedah to honour the outstanding winners from New England North West NSW at a vibrant presentation ceremony.

A heartfelt congratulations to Tamworth Public School for winning the Primary Schools Award and Adele Rankmore for winning the Kurrumbede Award in the Primary Section. Tamworth High School also had two winners - Lily Prendergast came first in the Senior Secondary Section and Lillian Smith won the Kurrumbede Award in the Primary Section. Your remarkable achievements this year show your dedication to keep poetry alive.

We are grateful to Mr Jamie Chaffey MP and Gunnedah Shire Council Councillors Kate McGrath, Rob Hooke and Ann Luke for joining us and presenting trophies to our local champions.

A huge thank you to Can Assist Gunnedahfor the delicious feast, LAGOM by tove for the beautiful floral arrangements, Balloons Gunndah for the lovely balloon disylay, and Taylah Maree for capturing every special moment with amazing photographs.

Special thanks to Two Cats Creative for crafting “The Traveller” design theme, presentation booklets and certificates and Two Dog Films for delivering yet another spectacular digital presentation.

Thank you to Quirindi Rural Heritage Village & Miniature Railway for hosting us during the filming of the digital presentation.

Lastly to our sponsors - Department of Education, Gunnedah Shire Council, Whitehaven Coal and Idemitsu Boggabri Coal.

04/09/2026

Thanks Jamie Chaffey MP for joining in the celebration today! 🎉

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AaU9KexGR/

Congratulations to all the students who entered the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards, Australia's longest-running and largest poetry competition. The competition is based in Gunnedah, and it was great to be there today for the awards ceremony, and to hear some absolutely amazing poetry. Among the wi...

04/09/2026

Congratulations Arjay on your amazing win ❤️

04/09/2026

A massive round of applause to every student who took part in the

2026 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition.

This year, we were thrilled to receive almost 8,000 poems from more than 5,500 talented students.

Curious to see who took home the top honours this year? Watch the video below to discover the winners.

🎉🙌❤️

31/08/2026

Be part of the excitement this Friday, 4 September at 10am EST, as we unveil the winners and runners up. Tune in to our digital presentation and celebrate with us at www.dorothea.com.au.

11/07/2026

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

01/07/2026

Happy birthday to Dorothea Mackellar 🎂

She would be so impressed by all the entries received for this year's competition.

Good luck everyone 🤞👏 🎉