Australian Federation
Australian Federation
Original Text
The Complete Poetical Works of William Gay , ed. J. Glen Oliphant (Melbourne: Thomas C. Lothian, 1911): 103. Internet Archive. Sydney Electronic Text and Image Service (SETIS), digital text sponsored by AustLit: http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/oztexts
2 For God has made her one: complete she lies
3 Within the unbroken circle of the skies,
4And round her indivisible the sea
5Breaks on her single shore; while only we,
6 Her foster children, bound with sacred ties
7 Of one dear blood, one storied enterprise,
8Are negligent of her integrity.--
10 With hands unfilial we have basely rent,
11 With petty variance our souls are spent,
12And ancient kinship under foot is trod:
13 O let us rise, united, penitent,
14And be one people,--mighty, serving God!
Notes
1] Australian Federation: proposals and conventions to federate all the Australian colonies into a national union were held beginning with the Conference of 1890, followed by the Convention of 1891. All Australian colonies voted for confederation after several attempts, in 1900. Back to Line
9] Mammon: pagan god of wealth. Back to Line
RPO poem Editors
Cameron La Follette
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form