[Editor: A poem from the First World War. Published in The Geraldton Guardian (Geraldton, WA), 13 July 1915.]
How we landed on Gallipoli Peninsula.
(By one of the Third Brigade.)
Written at Gallipoli, May 28th, 1915.
Do you hear what they say? We are getting away
To make name and fame for Australia!
And the news we’ve just heard, that they’ve chosen the Third —
The Brigade that knows not the word “failure.”
It was just break of day, we steamed into the bay —
The shot and shell all around us were flying —
With desperate will, we climbed up the hill,
Though we left comrades wounded and dying.
’Gainst great opposition we took the position;
Prepared to hold out to the last.
We fought all the night, till daybreak brought light,
Though the fighting was furious and fast.
There was many a friend, who had met with his end —
Ushered out like the close of a story.
They fell in the fight for justice and right,
And their memories are hallowed with glory.
One word to the scribe who proposed to deride
And attempted to wreck our fair name:
The weapons we use are not ink and abuse,
But rifles, and men who are game.
The boys of the Third, of whom you’ve all heard,
Are bright, happy, cheerful, and hearty,
And tender no thanks to the wowsers and cranks,
Who belong to the stay-at-home party.
Source:
The Geraldton Guardian (Geraldton, WA), 13 July 1915, p. 3 [Attribution: “By one of the Third Brigade … May 28th, 1915.”]
Also published (with some differences) in:
Southern Times (Bunbury, WA), 15 July 1915, p. 3 [Attribution: “Private Arthur Hall, 11th Battalion. Gallipoli Peninsula, 6/5/15.”]
The Blackwood Times (Bridgetown, WA), 16 July 1915, p. 4 [Attribution: “Private Arthur Hall, 11th Battalion. Gallipoli Peninsula, 6/5/15.”]
The Daily Telegraph (Launceston, Tas.), 30 October 1915, p. 12 [Attribution: “Written by “One of the Boys” of “B” Company, 12th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade, Australian Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli.”]
The Delegate Argus (Delegate, NSW), 16 December 1915, p. 12 [Attribution: “By one of the Boys of 12th Battalion”.]
G. Burnett, Lest We Forget: Humorous Sketches [Sydney?: G. Burnett?, circa 1915?-1919?], p. 5 [Attribution: “H. W. Morris, Gallipoli, April 30, 1915”.]
Editor’s notes:
The authorship of this poem is unclear, considering the range of authorship attributions as noted in the above list.
game = possessing a fighting spirit, plucky; eager, ever ready, or willing to have a go at something new or challenging (as in the phrase “game for anything”)
wowser = someone who is puritanical, bigoted, censorious, or overly moralistic, particularly those who aim to force their morals upon others (in the past, the word was especially applied to temperance campaigners)
[Editor: Changed “at Gallopoli” to “at Gallipoli”.]
The Institute of Australian Culture
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