The Ballad of a Nation

[thestoryteller]

THE BALLAD OF A NATION

Our great ancestral continent, as best we understand,
way back before Jurassic times split from Gondwanaland.
These ancient rocks then buckled by, creations mighty force,
formed rugged mountain ranges, where most rivers find their source.

This land called Terra Australis - amid the southern sea,
existed in the minds of men, as just mythology.
Though medieval Europe, mused that logic did demand,
to balance northern land masses, there was this great Southland.

To all nomadic Australoids, this land was no mere myth,
but real as mighty Uluru, that sandstone monolith.
They hunted and they gathered food with tools of wood and stone,
and danced their dreamtime stories to the didge's haunting drone.

'Mongst Chinese, Indonesians, the Arabs and Malays,
some may have reached our sandy shores, though none had real long stays.
The Portuguese and Spanish ships were simply not impressed,
and though the Dutch were int'rested, they too, left like the rest.

At first the English thought the land, the mis'rablest on earth,
'til Cook sailed up the eastern coast, reporting on its worth.
The colony, America, removed the British yoke,
which forced King George to find a home to house his convict folk.

On January, twenty-sixth, in sev'teen eighty eight,
one Gov'ner Philip raised the flag and did initiate,
a proclamation stating, that this new found property,
was British owned, which did confuse the Aborigine.

Despite harsh years at Sydney Cove, from lack of daily bread,
'twas sweat and blood from convict hands, that forged this land ahead.
The New South Wales Corp posed a threat by trading goods for rum,
and Hunter, King and Captain Bligh saw pandemonium.

Men crossed the Great Dividing Range to pastures further out,
where wool and wheat and cattle herds, fought fire and floods and drought.
The Bigge Report reduced the pow'rs, Macquarie exercised,
as legislative council nominees were realised.

As men sought outposts further out, ensuring dreams come true,
bold pioneers would join their ranks and townships then grew too.
The shearing teams and droving plants, the teamsters with their drays,
gold miners and the sundowners were ev'rywhere those days.

When Hargreaves came up trumps that day, gold fever reached new heights.
Eureka saw the miners rise, to stand up for their rights.
The eighteen fifties saw the rush of immigrants begin,
and a White Australia Policy, was quickly ushered in.

The legislative councils of the now six colonies,
displayed a rather jealous streak on certain policies.
Some argued for protection, while the others sought free trade;
the dream of one Australia, was now somewhat delayed.

Dense settlement throughout the bush was not sustainable,
so colonies then urbanised around each capital.
The cultural activities of colonies then grew,
each championed uniqueness in whatever they would do.

Though loyal to the British Lion, they now romanticized,
the plucky frontier battler, whom they fiercely idolized.
Their poets and their balladeers immortalized such folk,
and there were rumblings, murmurings to break the British yoke.

The thought was raised some years before by Grey and Dunmore Lang,
but not all thought - you ripper mate! The new colonial slang.
Then Henry Parkes stoked up the coals and when the smoke had cleared,
Australia was a Commonwealth and all the nation cheered.

'Twas Deakin, Barton, Griffith, Hughes, to mention but a few;
the Federation Fathers and our hats go off to you.
We all were now Australians, a name we highly prized.
excluding Aborigines; they were not recognized.

The old Victorian moral codes would soon disintegrate,
as human progress forged ahead and would initiate,
consumer self-indulgence, war, depression also greed;
the price reformist politics were willing to concede.

The cry 'a fair go' issued forth from all the working class,
society's controller's though saw justice as a farce.
The Unionist took up the fight and were behind the scenes,
when Labour found a Fed'ral voice by parli'men'try means.

Our nation's women were repressed, subjection was their role
and also kept so tightly dressed, protection for the soul.
The suffragettes had fought for years to earn the right to vote,
then one by one the states succumbed, a turning point of note.

With now a Nat'nal Government and culture of its own,
this land beneath the Southern Cross had reached a milestone.
The oneness of the Commonwealth was soon put to the test;
we rallied to the allied call; we sent our very best.

The army of the Commonwealth all said its last farewells,
then sailed to fight on many fronts, such as the Dardenelles.
We sacrificed our nation's cream to keep the Poms on side,
despite the orphaned children's tears, the cause was bonafide.
Dame Nellie's farewell concert was broadcast on 3LO,
as wonder man Marconi had invented radio.
We listened to Don Bradman score, heard newsmen rant and rave
and listened to soap operas like 'Blue Hills' and 'Dad and Dave.'

For twenty-six years of its life our government was housed,
in Melbourne 'til the concept of a capital espoused.
A brand new territ'ry was formed, our seat of parli'ment;
Canberra was its capital, a nat'nal monument.

Our nation then grew icons like the Reverend John Flynn,
Charles Kingsford Smith and Phar Lap and the Sydney Bulletin.
The Holden, Hubert Opperman, Cazaly and the Don;
old two-up and the Tuesday when the Melbourne Cup is on.

Then Hitler sought to have his dream, at ev'ryone's expense,
which threw the world into a war, which made so little sense.
To make it worse, the Japanese had now joined in the fray
and Darwin saw catastrophe which caused much disarray.

While Aussie sons fought on two fronts, the women did their jobs,
in factories and on the land and other thing'mabobs.
Then VP Day saw gaiety and folk kick up their heels,
while others fought hard to expunge, horrific war ordeals.

The answer to the future of this continent, they said,
was populate or perish, but with British born and bred.
The immigration net then spread to Europeans too
and many built the Snowy Scheme, an Aussie dream come true.

A simple-hearted people backed the freedom they had bought,
supporting manufacturing, the sciences and sport.
Its minerals and pas'tral lands were assets true enough,
but Communism was a thing most Aussies would rebuff.

Korea saw our native sons join Yanks to 'Hold the line,'
while later on the Petrovs done the Menzies cause just fine.
The cloak and dagger Cold War found itself on printed page,
with so called hush, hush, documents, spy networks all the rage.

Though introduction of the box into the living room,
was welcomed by the populace, one surely would assume,
this thing called television would now alter through the years,
the lifestyle of a nation's folk, along with new frontiers.

Olympic fever gripped the land in nineteen fifty-six,
Australia was to host The Games despite world politics.
The Friendly Games as they were called saw Frazer rise to fame,
and Hendriks, Strickland, Cuthbert, Crapp, Browne, Marchant won acclaim.

When Albert Namatjira died, the nation lost a son,
but still his spirit lingers in the landscapes he had done.
The H.M.A.S. Melbourne's bow that fateful moonlight night,
hit H.M.A.S. Voyager which disappeared from sight.

Then Menzies sent our sons once more to fight another war
across the seas to Vietnam, though Labour seemed unsure.
The moratorium campaign of rallies and parades,
changed attitudes and sons sailed home, though not to accolades.

Of all Priministerial reigns that had come under test,
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies run advanced beyond the rest.
Prime Ministers have come and gone, and left their legacies,
advancing Aussie interests at home and overseas.

The nation loves its sporting codes, its sun and surf and prose;
they love the arts, the Op'ra House and outback rodeos.
Some love the sound of rock or pop, some stick to classical,
still others go for country tunes, some think they all are swell.

Its people have from time to time faced many tragedies,
like cyclones, droughts and fierce bushfires and other maladies,
but when some battler's really down and doing things quite tough,
most Aussies love to lend a hand, they just can't do enough.

Then came the fight for women's lib and Dr. Germaine Greer,
who led the way for women’s rights and sought a list'ning ear.
Extinction by some nuclear means became a poignant threat,
which 'roused a new permissiveness the nation might regret.

Industrial revolution came with new technology
and automation was the go among society.
A throng of displaced people who no longer played a roll
among the nation’s workforce were now forced to take the dole.

Development was growing fast, too fast, for nature’s good.
an issue of some prominence the greenies understood.
The White Australia Policy was something of the past
as Asian immigration was now rising rather fast.

Nostalgia over past events saw Aussies celebrate,
the nations Bicentenary in nineteen eighty-eight.
Two hundred years of settlement - we'd come a darn long way.
Except the Aborigines, who'd never had a say.

At first extermination was the nation's policy,
concerning the black populace; the Aborigine.
Then came assimilation and the right to cast a vote,
and many did their people proud and some I'd like to quote.

The likes of Bonner, Nicholls, Blair, Mundine and Goolagong,
Cath Walker, Marbo, Freeman, Rose, and Perkins join their throng.
Also the quiet achievers too whose names are never heard,
prove reconciliation is not just a dirty word.

To say we've gained the upper hand, that life is pretty cool,
would truly show our ignorance and us to be the fool.
Society's fast pace of life exacts a gruesome toll;
there's murders, thefts, and overdose, abuse of alcohol.

The world today is not so wide, as Lawson used to say,
as global economics is the new thing of today.
We send our troops as peacekeepers to all parts of the earth
and play a role in East Timor and shared the nation's birth.

We reached a new millennium which saw the nation rage,
then hosted both Olympic Games, the best in any age.
This year will see one hundred years since Federation came,
though sense Republic sentiments are rising just the same.

From here there is no crystal ball to where our future lies,
but each and ev'ry one of us within our hearts should prize,
that true blue Aussie spirit mates, we've waltzed the best we can,
so raise your glass and cry aloud - "I am Australian!"


With the Federation celebrations approaching I wanted to record some of the achievements made by the nation and its characters, not just over the past one hundred years, but as far back as one could possibly go. We are such a young nation and still very much in the process of forging our own identity.

© Merv Webster

From the book Excuse Me! It's the Gidyea!