[Editor: This poem by Henry Kendall was published in Leaves from Australian Forests (1869).] The Last of His Tribe. He crouches, and buries his face on his knees, And hides in the dark of his hair; For he cannot look up to the storm-smitten trees, Or think of the … [Read more...] about The Last of His Tribe [poem by Henry Kendall]
poetry about Aborigines
The Black King’s Skull [poem by Kenneth Mackay]
[Editor: This poem by Kenneth Mackay was published in Stirrup Jingles from the Bush and the Turf and Other Rhymes (1887).] The Black King’s Skull. One night, when round the walls with dismal shrieks The winds of winter blew, And sudden rains had filled the forest … [Read more...] about The Black King’s Skull [poem by Kenneth Mackay]
When the Nigger Saw the Train [poem, 28 April 1894]
[Editor: This poem was published in The Bird O' Freedom (Sydney, NSW), 28 April 1894. Designed to be read as a humorous poem, the poem is about an Aboriginal man’s first contact with a train.] When the Nigger Saw the Train. In the guileless, simple savage there was … [Read more...] about When the Nigger Saw the Train [poem, 28 April 1894]
The Aboriginal Mother [song by Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, 15 October 1841]
[Editor: A song published in The Sydney Herald, 15 October 1841. This song was based upon a poem by Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, set to music by Isaac Nathan. There are some significant differences between the song and the original poem.] The Aboriginal Mother. “Only one female … [Read more...] about The Aboriginal Mother [song by Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, 15 October 1841]
The Aboriginal Mother [poem by E. H. D. (Eliza Hamilton Dunlop), 13 December 1838]
[Editor: This poem, by E. H. D. (Eliza Hamilton Dunlop), was published in The Australian (Sydney), 13 December 1838. It was subsequently set to music by Isaac Nathan; however, there were some significant differences between the original text and the later version.] Songs of … [Read more...] about The Aboriginal Mother [poem by E. H. D. (Eliza Hamilton Dunlop), 13 December 1838]
Disinherited [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
[Editor: This poem by Marie E. J. Pitt was published in The Horses of the Hills and Other Verses (1911).] Disinherited. (Here and there, a little apart from the laughing crowd that surged in the traffic-ways of Melbourne streets during Fleet Week, little groups of … [Read more...] about Disinherited [poem by Marie E. J. Pitt]
Barak’s Requiem [poem, 13 September 1930]
Barak’s Requiem Mr. J. Taylor (president of the Healesville A.N.A.) has received the following beautiful poem on William Barak, aboriginal king of the Yarra Yarra tribe, whose grave is in the cemetery at Coranderrk:— The wind in the trees, The birds on the wing, The rain … [Read more...] about Barak’s Requiem [poem, 13 September 1930]
Decay of the Aboriginal Race [poem, 19 December 1890]
Decay of the Aboriginal Race. Prize Poem by Miss Robertson, Yarrawonga. I wandered through a forest’s depths where giant gum trees thickly stood, Until, beneath a tow’ring king, I paused in contemplative mood ; For lo ! the fibrous bark was gone clean from one side the … [Read more...] about Decay of the Aboriginal Race [poem, 19 December 1890]
When the Niggers Own the Land [poem, 16 June 1931]
[Editor: An example of anti-Aboriginal sentiment, this poem criticizes what the author views as the overly-soft treatment of Aborigines in the Northern Territory. In earlier days, the word “nigger” did not have the same stigma as is attached to it in modern times, as it was often … [Read more...] about When the Niggers Own the Land [poem, 16 June 1931]
An Aboriginal Mother’s Lament [poem by Charles Harpur; in an anthology of poetry, 1888]
[Editor: A poem by Charles Harpur. Published in Australian Ballads and Rhymes: Poems Inspired by Life and Scenery in Australia and New Zealand (1888).] An Aboriginal Mother’s Lament. Still farther would I fly, my child, To make thee safer yet, From the unsparing white … [Read more...] about An Aboriginal Mother’s Lament [poem by Charles Harpur; in an anthology of poetry, 1888]