President Jim Hood
welcomed Patrick Morgan, who represents twenty-two Gippsland Historical
Societies at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. A resident of
Gippsland, he is the author of 'The Settlement of Gippsland', 'Shadow and
Shine' and 'Folie a Deux'.
In the period 1877-1900, Australia was not yet a nation, and there were
many opinions and attitudes towards federation.
Opposites: England v. Australia
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England
Formal
Class Distinction
Wealth held by few
Religious
Political divisions |
Australia
lnformal
No Class system
Egalitarian Society
Secular
No political divisions
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Paradise in the South Seas:
Europeans had long believed that there must be Paradise
somewhere. Australia was the last unknown, and Eden must be there.
It would be a
superior place, where fruit would just drop off trees, and there
would be plenty for all.
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Freedom: Australians
would all be equal and could do as they liked. There would be a
fresh start - this would be a new, unique and better country.
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Unity: If the
colonies united, the people would be whole, undivided, with no
sectarian
squabbling.
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Land: As there was
boundless land, people could just squat on the plains and farm.
Farming, nature and myths were of the land. However, these were not
the beliefs of
many city people.
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Sunshine: This was a
golden place with clear light and greenness. It was a virginal
continent with great natural beauty.
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Dawn: There were images
of dawn and the dawning of the world. Australia had been
sleeping, and had waited for centuries to be discovered. Many
thousands of years of
occupation by the aboriginal people were ignored.
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A Great Empire: The
mighty empires of Egypt, Rome and France rose and declined.
Australia will be a Great Empire.
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Separation: Australia
was separated from all other countries by the oceans, which
enclosed the land and protected the people.
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Self-sufficient and
Self-sustaining:
People believed that Australia would be better -
their children would be taller, and each subsequent generation would
be wealthier. We
would be able to produce everything we needed, and be beholden to
nobody.
Patrick then read to us many
of the poems written during this period. They illustrated the themes
outlined above.
Some excerpts from quoted below show the themes recurring again and
again.
'The Dominion of Australia: A Forecast' by James
Brunton Stephens 1877
At Wisdom's voice shall leap to light,
And hide our barren feuds in bloom,
Till, all our sundering lies with love o'ergrown,
Our bounds shall be the girdling seas alone.
Stephens was a Queensland poet, who was looking to the future, where
there will be a new start, with no feuds or divisions. We will wait
for the sun-kiss of Federation and the Constitution.
'Australia' by John Farrell 1889
O land of widest hope, of promise boundless!
Why wert thou left upon a dark, strange sea,
To wait through ages, fruitless, scentless, soundless,
Till from thy slumber men should waken thee?
There are some rather odd ideas here
of a past where trees have no fruit, flowers are without scent, and birds
do not sing!
'A Song of the Republic' by Henry Lawson 1888
Sons of the South, awake! Arise!
Suns of the South, and do
Banish from under your bonny skies
Those old-world errors and wrongs and lies,
Making a hell in a Paradise
That beIongs to your sons and you.
.....
Sons of the South, aroused at last!
Sons of the South are few !
But your ranks grow longer and deeper fast,
And ye shall swell to an army vast,
And free from the wrongs of the North and Past
The land that beIongs to you.
Henry Lawson wrote 'A Song of the Republic' when he was twenty-one. It was
published in the 'Bulletini', which shaped public opinion with the slogan
"Australia for the Australians". It encouraged the beginnings of an
indigenous Australian literature. There was a strong Republican
movement leading up to Federation, but "God, Queen and Empire"
predominated. Lawson says that we should free ourselves from the wrongs,
greed and errors
of England, and that we should reject their beliefs and worn-out customs.
The quintessentially Australian element is "The Land".
'Australian Federation' by
William Gay
From all division let our land be free
For God has made her one; complete she lies
Within the unbroken circle of the skies,
And round her indivisible the sea
Breaks on her single shore;....
This is a religious, different king of poem: Gay wants unity, freedom and
one people with no divisions.
'Advance Australia Fair' by Peter Dodds McCormack
CLICK HERE to listen to Advance Ausralia
Fair
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free,
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea.
Our land abounds in Nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare,
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.
After reading verse two of this poem, Patrick asked if anyone knew verse
three. Our webmaster, Walter Pickering, sang it for us in a delightful
tenor voice. This was followed by spontaneous applause !
'Federation' by Nellie Clarke
(From 'Song of the Gippsland Forest')
Britannia's sons, prove now your worth,
Fulfil your glorious destiny.
Arise, unite, show all creation
Your great and glorious Federation .....
Nellie Clarke was born in England. She wrote this poem in Korumburra, and
it was published in the 'Mirboo North Times'. She would have liked a
replica of the British Empire - an Imperial nation that would dominate
Asia. Australia would have to be the policeman of Asia, guarding 'the
freedom of the main' - referring to the British Navy which controlled the
oceans.
Unfortunately, these are only excerpts from a few of the poems we heard,
but we all enjoyed Patrick's address, The poets reflect the passionate and
wide-ranging views of our grandparents and great grandparents as they
considered the union of six widely dispersed and isolated communities.
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