Australia Poem by Francis Duggan

All of the World's cultures this Southeern Land embrace
This vast and marvellous Country of the World's oldest Race
From Cape York to Tasmania from the northern tropics to the south
Through wooded hills and grasslands and deserts lain bare by drought.

The refugees and displaced from their home Countries banned
Have found a home and haven in this sunny Southern Land
From Africa and Asia and from Europe far away
Their debt to this great Country their children will repay.

Many live near the big Cities where they are better paid
In Melbourne and Sydney and Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide
In Hobart and in Darwin and in Alice Springs and Broome
And the Gold Coast of South Queensland undergoing a tourist boom.

And for those who like the quiet life and feel the need for the quiet place
There are small towns in the outback and in between there's miles of space
Miles and miles of open country flat and wide and looking brown
As you drive along the highway towards another country town.

This the land of Kookaburra, Magpie, Emu and Cockatoo
And of Koala and Wombat, Echidna and Kangaroo
This vast Land of many climates home of the oldest indigenous race
Has given home to many and all cultures now embrace.