They Had Lived In Australia For Thousands Of Years Poem by Francis Duggan

They had lived in Australia for thousands of years
Until the northern invaders brought them sorrow and tears
Their lands taken from them they were dispossessed
And in their own Country they became the oppressed

Their water holes poisoned they were hunted and gunned down
And on their sacred sites the so called pioneers built a town
Their children taken from them such sadness of they have known
And the respect they deserved to them was never shown

The day of the invasion of their Country now celebrated as Australia Day
True respect to Australia's first people it is time we did pay
That the day for Australia Day celebrations to them is quite hurtful should be obviously clear
And for such celebrations the date should be changed to another time of year

Australia it is true has a black history
And Australia's first people they will always be
They have survived dispossession and oppression and crimes against humanity
And they have known of racism and are treated as outsiders in their own Country

But eventually they will claim their rightful place
And be given the respect they are due as Australia's first race
That they have survived as a race of people is a miracle it does seem
And they deserve to be held in much higher esteem.