Australia fair, I love thee, The dear land of my birth;To me thou art the sweetest, The brightest spot on earth.
I love the leafy gullies
Where palm and fern-tree hide, The tall gum-trees that clamberOn many a steep hill-side. I love the ferny pathwaysWhere wattle blossoms fall, While, in the dreamy distance,The bell-bird rings his call. Dear southern land, Australia,Wherever I may roam, My heart will turn for everTo thee, my native home.
-MaybanKe Anderson
About the Author.-MaybanKe Anderson, wife of a universityprofessor in Sydney, wrote many songs for children. The stanzas quoted are part of a longer poem.
About the Poem.-Why is Australia the sweetest and brightest spot to the writer? Would an English writer, an American writer, an Eskimo writer give similar praise to this country? Where do you find palm gullies? Fern-tree gullies? Tall gum-trees? How many kinds of bell-bird do you know? Imitate their notes. How the last word explains everything!