And thou dost stand, thine arms outstretched with pleasure,
To greet thy friends from that dear Motherland,
To welcome them and give them of thy treasure,
The wealth of ages which thou can’st command—
Of ages when thy central seas became
Haunts of primeval monsters of the deep;
When thy volcanoes belched their sulphurous flame,
And covered all with an eternal sleep,
But thou art waking now, thou great Australia;
Thou art an empire of thy very self,
A trinity of oceans thee embraces,
And crowns thee Empress of one Commonwealth.
Oh, may our Empire-builders faithful be,
Basing thy pillars’ vast foundations’ might
Firm on the rock of justice, truth, and liberty,
Leading thy people upward to the light.
PEACE.
Would that I had the muse’s lyre,
The poet’s gift, and warm desire
To cleave the heights to glory’s fame;
From mountain pinnacles proclaim—
Peace, universal peace.
I’d string my lute, and make the chords
Echo my heart’s deep burning words;
And bid the nations contemplatively
To vibrate to the grandest harmony—
The song of peace.
For nations rise, and nations fall;
Battles are fought, and over all
Death’s wings, their shadowy darkness spread
With woe and terror, fraught with dread
To all mankind.