ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

My Country’s Colours.

Gleaming golden wattle trees. A brilliant bottle brush.
Tawny wheat sways and bends to summers wanton breeze.
A purple haze above the ridge from stately old gum trees.
Colours of Australia - that cause our blood to rush.

Dotted sheep in paddocks green. Brown cattle in their crush.
A wiry, working, cattle dog, with lolling tongue that’s red.
Farmer with a broad brimmed hat set lazily on his head.
Colours of Australia - that cause our blood to rush.

Crisp cream sand upon the shore. Swimmers skin ablush.
Green ocean rollers cresting spume, salted in the air.
Tightened, multi coloured sails and crewmen's sandy hair.
Colours of Australia - that cause our blood to rush.

Starry night above our head. The Southern Cross, first flush.
Blue velvet as a backdrop, with pale moon, a waning eye.
Orange comet, in a madding dash, lights the evening sky.
Colours of Australia - that cause our blood to rush.

Green and Gold of athletes. Spectators bated hush.
When prior to the finish line it could be one of us ; that’s made
to stand tall upon the dais and receive an accolade.
Colours of Australia - that cause our blood to rush.

Gleaming golden wattle trees. A grove of bottle brush.
White woolly sheep on hillsides green. Brown cattle in their crush.
Cream crisp sand upon the shore. Swimmers painted red.
Boats all with their coloured sails, crewmen’s tousled head.

Starry velvet southern sky. Moon with eye aglow.
The energy of green and gold that others do not know.
A spirit in Australians that waits in bated hush.

These
Colours of Australia -
that cause our blood to rush.

(c). Rimeriter.11/9/00.
Modified 25/9/10
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Did you know that the official heraldic colours of Australia are blue and gold. Ask any public servant who gets the national medal with its blue and gold ribbon, otherwise known as the Parramatta medal

Colourful indeed.

Neville, thank you for the info.

Dennis, thank you for your interest.

Regards,
Jim.

G'day Neville and Jim,

I thought I might be the only one who remembered our official colours were not green and gold!
Thanks, Neville, for the reassurance.

Jim, there is a song about the colours of Australia. It opens with
"It's a Cape Tribulation kind of morning".
I'm not sure who wrote it but I can check. I know it from my favourite Folk Festival performer Enda Kenny. He is an Australian/Irish man who lives in Melbourne and performs around the Festival circuit. He writes some beautiful songs.

Love anything that extolls the beauty of our Country.

Neville,
our public service minions, obviously have a ribbon different to those issued to servicemen.

One of mine is supported by an inch wide dark green vertical band with two much narrower gold bands down each side.
The other more recent issue (1972) is multi coloured ( 6 ) vertical bands with gold being the middle and green three in from each side. Other colours are red (?), pale blue, white then dark blue either side of the gold.

Heraldry and its place in Aussie is another topic it seems.

Zondrae,
I'm with you mate - ( hope I don't get into trouble for stealing my own thread )
But because of your comment, I'll take the risk.

My Australia.
Australia My Land.
One nation and free,
an island of beauty encircled by sea.

Great mountain ranges deserts of gold,
mysterious secrets yet to be told.
Plains so extensive rivers and gorges
beauty and splendour a canvas it forges.

Snowcapped escarpments waterfall spun
crystals of brilliance vibrate in the sun.
Birds in a spectrum of colour and light,
myriads of rainbows banking in flight.

My land, Australia,
much more to behold, an artistic canvas
with more to unfold.
**
(c) Rimeriter
1980 (?)