FRANK Daniel shot to national prominence in late December, 1985, when he drove one of his trucks to the front of old Parliament House in Canberra and dumped 25 tonnes of wheat on the roadway.
Traffic was blocked from 4am to 8.30am until the wheat was cleared away.
He volunteered to dump the wheat to help a group of angry Canowindra farming mates gain national publicity for their protests about the impact rising costs, debts and interest rates were having on their industry.
Frank had a trucking business in Canowindra at the time, which was also feeling the impact of hard times in the rural sector.
Just a few days short of 29 years later, Frank Daniel died and was buried in Canowindra, aged 72.
And while the wheat dumping incident gained him headlines across the country, Frank will be best remembered as one of Australia's foremost performance bush poets.
He also wrote poetry and books about life in the bush.
His daughter, Catherine, has donated a perpetual trophy in her father's memory, which will be presented to an up-and-coming junior poet at a selected Australian Bush Poets Association (ABPA) national or state championship each year.
The inaugural Frank Daniel Encouragement Award will be presented at the ABPA national championships in Corryong next month.
Frank was an inaugural member of the ABPA and held many senior positions in the association over many years, including president.
While he won a swag of awards in performance bush poetry and yarn spinning competitions across Australia, he was also a hard worker for many charities and fundraising organisations and performed for free at community events around Canowindra.
In 1997 he was inducted to the Bush Poets Wall of Renown at Tamworth's Longyard Hotel.
In 2002 he beat all comers in the Australian Yarn Spinning Champion-ships at Mulwala during the annual Australian Bush Poetry Champion-ships.
He was awarded the Judith Hosier Heritage Award in 2008.
The late Judith Hosier was one of the founders of the Bush Laureate Awards.
Frank won a Bush Laureate Award for Single Recorded Performance of the Year in 1998 and was also a finalist twice.
He was born in Sydney on June 5, 1942, the son of Daphne and William Daniel.
He grew up in Bungendore, near Canberra, with his brother, Tom, and sister, Maria.
Always ready to entertain people with a yarn or a joke, Frank was fond of saying, "Only half the lies I tell are the truth!"
He is survived by his partner, Kerry Wyburn, and his children Michael, Catherine and Lucy.
Vernon Graham
Group editor of Fairfax Agricultural Media.
Group editor of Fairfax Agricultural Media.
