This is the third year Claire has taken out the women’s section of the championships, which were held at Morisset recently.

It tops of an award winning year for Claire who also currently holds the title of Hunter bush poet of the year, an award that in 2008 was held Gloucester’s Gabby Colquhoun.

To win the state title Claire had to peform a contemporary poem penned by another poet, a classic piece of bush poetry and two original items, one serious, one humorous. Claire received two firsts, a second and a third across the four sections, enough to give her victory and the winner’s trophy.

Claire said the event is usually contested by 10 or so poets in each section.

In the men’s section Australian champion Greg North was just edged out for the state title.

Greg performed at Gloucester’s first Bush Poetry in the Saleyards hosted by Rotary earlier this year and will return in 2010 to perform alongside Claire and Gabby.

Claire’s next bush poetry outing will see her head to Crookwell at the end of the month for the town’s bush poetry competition.

Claire said the competition has grown out of a visit by a poetry group she is part of attending the local show several years ago in a bid to bring some humour and good spirit to the drought-hit community.

“We performed on the back of a truck competing against the ring announcements and we didn’t think anyone was taking any notice of us,” she said.

But they were, and the organisers could see the value in sharing the bush poetry spirit and then launched their own bush poetry competition to bring bush poets to the town annually.

In January, Claire will make her annual trip to Tamworth to the country music festival and compete in number of bush poetry events there.