A Migrant In Wonthaggi Poem by Francis Duggan

A migrant in Wonthaggi is all I'll ever be
For I come from a distant Land beyond the cold north sea
A place of bracken mountains where skies are seldom clear
And the weather wet and windy for nine months of the year.

A migrant in Wonthaggi where I don't feel out of place
And the culture of the once Mining Town I openly embrace
But that accent I brought with me is still a give away
And what Country do you come from? I hear that every day.

A migrant in Wonthaggi in a once migrant Town
From the nineteen twenties to the sixties strong young men journeyed down
From countries around Europe they were paid to mine for coal
Till the passing years brought with them change and time on them took toll.

A migrant in Wonthaggi and in the minority
But in the old coal mining Town there's a few left like me
Who live in South West Gippsland far from their home Country
That we have journeyed this far south part of our life's destiny.

A migrant in Wonthaggi far south of my Homeland
And all those who made the journey could only understand
That the accent I brought with me is with me for to stay
And what Country do you come from? I hear that every day.