Many a tall tale has been told about the Spee’Wah in Australia. One such is the legend of ‘Crooked’ Mick. He supposedly grew so big so quickly when he was a teenager that his dad ‘ringbarked’ his legs to try and stop him growing. This legacy left him with a limp and the ‘Crooked Mick’ moniker.

Tough, hard-working, and practically superhuman in his abilities, Crooked Mick is the ultimate bushman. He could shear 500 sheep a day, lift incredible weights and even kick crocodiles to the moon! He had an enormous appetite, eating two sheep for each meal, and yet he could bake the lightest pies that could be carried on a gust of wind.

It’s said that Crooked Mick once crushed an entire vintage in his bare hands, felled giant gum trees with a nail file, and had a thirst that could drain a lake. His cheeky disposition meant women would faint at the mere mention of his name and need days to recover.

Of course, the Spee’Wah the home of Crooked Mick is a fictitious place of unbelievable proportions. Located anywhere the storyteller wants it to be, it can be ‘just over there’, ‘out west’ or ‘west of the sunset’ and has no known boundaries. From legendary people like Crooked Mick to the weather to bush survival or sheep shearing skills, everything is bigger and better here. According to legend, the trees are so tall they are hinged to let the sun pass; the dust storms so thick that rabbits dig burrows in them, and the crows fly backwards to keep the dust out of their eyes. And, if you go out to close the gate, it’s been said you’d need to take a week’s supply of rations with you!

The main point is to never let the truth get in the way of a good Spee’Wah story. The more outrageous, the better — whether bragging about an adventure, exaggerating a tale of woe, making light of a situation, or expounding the virtues of one of our wines.