Today is Australia Day ... a national holiday and a day when we Aussies remember and celebrate our history and all that we have achieved. It's also a day to down a tinny or three; go for a swim (well, that is when it's not practically flooding from all the rain like it has been the last few days!) and to enjoy the smells and tasty delights of a good ol' barbie.
On 26 January 1788 a fleet of British ships sailed into Sydney Cove and proclaimed the eastern seaboard of the island continent known then as New Holland to be under British rule. On board the ships were approximately 700 convicts.
Many of the convicts had been arrested and sentenced for petty crimes like stealing an apple or a loaf of bread; for being outspoken against their government; or for simply being poor and owing money.
And so it came to be that those convicts; their guards and families became the first Europeans to settle in Australia.
How far we have come from those very humble beginnings.
***
Following is a poem that is loved by many Australians. It perhaps comes in a close third behind Waltzing Matilda and The Man From Snowy River. It's a poem that I think says a lot about the pride of Australians for their country. The first stanza refers to England and the fact that, at the time it was written, many Australians were of British ancestry.
It is a poem that I would like to share with you on this Australia Day.
MY COUNTRY
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes.
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins,
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forest
All tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes,
Where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart, around us,
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather,
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold -
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.
An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country
My homing thoughts will fly.
~ Dorothea Mackellar
(1885 - 1968)
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Rachel Coyne
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Comments
Those lines...
I want to soak in them.
And happy day to you, even though I imagine it's about sunset there right now.
tg within, it is indeed a beautiful and magical country.
bobbot, it sounds like your brother kind of liked us Aussies, huh? Or our wonderful country? Or our beer? Oh heck! What's not to like about us? (I know! I know! Just being cheeky!)
Joan .... YAY!!!!!! Oh I wish you and your camera could come and visit!
John, happy I could show you around just a little! It's a poem I grew up with but admittedly, it's the second stanza that most of us remember!
blufeather, Thank you!
Mission, yes, the day is nearly over. Sunset is long gone ... it just about midnight and time for me to sleep! Happy day to you, Mission!
Cheers!
So interesting.
HUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Thank you for Dorothea Mackellar's poem. I can see why it is so well loved; it captures everything one can imagine about the beauty, flora, fauna, climate, hopes, and the people of the country.
R♥
Erica, my pleasure! : )
I Love Life, it's kind of a big deal but I'm quite sure we're much more low key with our celebrations than you are on 4th July. The official part of the day is usually marked with a ceremony to honour those who, often through hard work and selflessness, have made huge contributions to their country or within their own town. Each local government area presents those selected Australians, young and old, famous and the every day man or woman, with a little award. Then mostly the day is one of just enjoyment with family and friends - usually outdoors somewhere in this great land of ours.
Matt, I think you just might know what a tinny is too! Yep, it's a can of beer.
Songbird, I'm glad I could share just a little more of Australia with you. If you haven't already visited Kim Gamble, please do. He has more to tell! Thanks for the smiles too. : )
Linda, it's a fact that is not well known. From Radio National ... Life Matters.... 'Tamers and breeders'. That was basically the role for female convicts sent to Australia during the British government's transportation era. With an imbalance of nine men to one woman there was a need to populate this vast land with female company and domestic servants. Around 25,000 women, most of whom were first-time offenders, were rounded up and shipped out to a sentence of servitude and abuse. Through incredible resilience and solidarity, they survived, yet their stories are seldom told. US author and gender consultant Deborah Swiss has now written about them in a new book called The Tin Ticket. There is an audio on the RadioNational site too .... http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/australias-convict-women/2947192
catch-22, hey thank you! I'm not really the rowdy type but I did enjoy a fine lunch, a couple of glasses of wine and some good company at a lovely spot overlooking the Richmond River. The weather wasn't the best but still it was a lovely day.
Fusun, Dorothea's poem captures so much so perfectly. I didn't know of Canada's humble beginnings and how Canada became a french speaking country. You learn something every day!!! : )
Kim, thanks mate! (Hey, Kim, I'm at work but look what I'm doing ... Oops! Sprung! I'd better get back to work!!! See you ron!)
tril, hey there! Thanks for stopping by nonetheless! Say hello to those little cutie-bubs for me, please? : )
r
rated with love
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JD, it is the second stanza of the poem that most Australians (at least those my age and older) know and can recite by heart. It seems to capture the essence of what we love about Australia. "convicts" does seem misplaced, doesn't it? It really is hard to understand why and how they could be treated as if they had committed the most heinous crimes when in fact they were petty, minor things. Australia is a great country ... a small one but great in so many ways.