Poem

Republican Pioneers

by Henry Lawson · 1894

We're marching along, we're gath'ring strong' We place on our right reliance,We fling in the air, for all who care, Our first loud notes of defiance! We fling in the air, For all who care, Our first loud notes of defiance!
Laugh long and loud, you toady crowd, At the men you call benighted,In spite of your sneers, we are pioneers Of "Australian States United"! In spite of your sneers, We are pioneers Of "Australian States United"!
Not long we'll stand as an outcast band, And be in our country lonely,For soon to the sky shall ring our cry, Our cry of "Australia only"! For soon to the sky Shall mount our cry, Our cry of "Australia only"!
And we'll sleep sound in Australian ground, 'Neath the blue-cross flag star lighted,When it freely waves o'er the grass-grown graves Of the pioneers united! When it floats and veers O'er the pioneers Of "Australian States United"!
Sources, publication & text notesReference details
Canonical recordPOEM-000440
Copy-textProject Gutenberg Australia, Collected Poems of Henry Lawson (2022), anchor p152; selected digital copy-text retained exactly; wording and layout confirmed against Ironbark Resources under D-180
Source recordSRC-000066
Rights determinationRGT-000594
Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY
TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D208_D180

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While The Billy Boils · Public-domain text · www.whilethebillyboils.com.au/poems/republican-pioneers

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