Cape Paterson Poem by Francis Duggan

The butcherbird piping on the wattle tree
In Cape Paterson in South Gippsland overlooking the sea
And o'er the volcanic cliffs in the clear and sunny sky
The Pacific and silver gulls call as they fly.

The surfers in their wet suits the towering waves ride
And the smell of the sea weed washed in by the tide
And the giant waves crash where the sea breakers roar
On the volcanic rocks by the cliffs on the shore.

Perhaps this place has not changed much since the white fellows came
For it has a natural wild beauty that man could not tame
Overlooking the ocean from the rocks on the hill
You behold a scene where time itself has stood still.

All the moods of Nature the ocean embrace
And where the land meets the sea is such a beautiful place
The sea loving people in the coastal towns stay
From the salt water waves they don't live far away.

Cape Paterson a quiet Township overlooking the sea
Where the suburban man and his wife and their young family
Spend two weeks of the Summer free of stress and care
Far from the smoky suburbs in the healthy sea air.

Where sooty oystercatchers pipe as they fly
The challenge of riding the big wave the surfers enjoy
And this place has not changed much since white fellows came
For the wildness of Nature man never could tame.