Poem

The Wattle

by Henry Lawson · 1910

I saw it in the days gone by,

When the dead girl lay at rest,

And the wattle and the native rose

We placed upon her breast.

I saw it in the long ago

(And I’ve seen strong men die),

And who, to wear the wattle,

Hath better right than I?

I’ve fought it through the world since then,

And seen the best and worst,

But always in the lands of men

I held Australia first.

I wrote for her, I fought for her,

And when at last I lie,

Then who, to wear the wattle, has

A better right than I?

Sources, publication & text notesReference details

Canonical recordPOEM-000041

Copy-textHenry Lawson — The Skyline Riders and Other Verses; selected digital copy-text retained exactly; complete University of Sydney institutional edition independently corroborates substantive wording and meaningful selected-copy layout under D-180/D-208

Source recordSRC-000001

Rights determinationRGT-001023

Text statusCANONICAL TEXT READY

TranscriptionDIPLOMATIC_D180_D208

How texts and rights are verified →