FOR more than 20 years, the Bundaberg Poets Society has held an annual muster, bringing people from around Australia to the Rum City.

This year, the event won't go ahead.

Organiser Sandy Lees has stepped down from running the festival due to personal reasons.

Sandy said as the club was small, and its members were getting older, there was no replacement available to take her role.

"It was a hard decision," Sandy said.

After more than two decades, Sandy wanted to share some of the club's history and fond memories of the event, which drew in people from all walks of life.

The Bundaberg Poets Society was originally called The Bundy Mob and was formed by a like-minded group interested in writing and performing their own work as well as reciting established authors' poems.

In 1995, the first Bundy Mob's Muster was held before it later changed its name to the Bundaberg Bush Poets' Society and then in 1999 the society became incorporated and has been known as The Bundaberg Poets' Society Inc.

Even though most of the club members recited bush poetry it was decided to drop the "bush" in the name to encourage people interested in all types of poetry to join.

Sandy said when the Bundy Mob held its first muster in 1995 the organisers would never have dreamt it would still be running strong so many years down the track.

The Bundy Bush Poetry Muster was been held each July at Across the Waves Sports Club with the exception of 2009 and 2010.

It was rated as the premier poetry festival to attend in Australia.

"In all the years the muster has been running, poets have come from all states in Australia, except for the Northern Territory," she said.

"Testament to this was the 52 poets who registered in 2016."

One of the aims of the club is to nurture the interest in rhyming verse, bush poetry, to the wider community and anyone interested in joining the Society could phone Sandy on 41514631, Edna 0428 574 651 or Jayson 41550778.