[Editor: This poem, which is critical of Asian immigration (and implicitly supportive of the White Australia Policy), was published in The Worker (Sydney, NSW), 2 September 1905.]
White or Brown.
[For The Worker.]
Listen, ye men whose skins are white, in a country young and fair,
I would lift the scales from your careless eyes, and warn ye to Beware!
For the dawn is nigh of hosts to come from the yellow tainted East,
Where our land is eyed from across the sea as the vampires eye the feast.
The East comes now with abject mien and builds up a festering slum,
Like a canker spot in the city’s breast to the tap of the cheap slave drum;
He’s swarming fast from West to East from the Gulf to the Tasman Sea —
So watch him well, lest your bones be cursed by unborn posterity!
His grip grows tight on the throat of trade, he reeks in our nation’s mart,
With claws outspread for the white man’s bread, the blood of a white man’s heart,
And ye laugh and pass his jabbering slum where the foul smells fill the night,
Where the slant-eyed babe draws strength and life from the breast of a woman white.
But a dark Shape looms on the rolls of Time, when the blood of the yellow race
May spread and throb though the nation’s heart and show in the nation’s face.
So guard ye well for your children’s sake ye white-limbed men of brain,
Ye have steered the world through ages past, but the dark East stirs again;
He’s lurking strong in your own bright land, he’ll rise when his fierce hosts come,
To swell his ranks in the battle rush ’midst the flash of sword and gun.
Ye must arm your men and guard your coast for the fights that lie in store,
Ye must watch and ’ware the Yellow Curse that creeps through your open door,
For the hordes that crouch across the sea ye must keep your bayonets bright,
And leave for your sons of the days to come Australia — clean and white!
DRIFTER.
Source:
The Worker (Sydney, NSW), 2 September 1905, p. 3 of the second section of the “Special double moving-in number” (11th page of that issue)
Editor’s notes:
abject = utterly hopeless, humiliated, miserable, or wretched (in a very bad, low, or severe condition or state of affairs); dejected, down in spirit, forlorn, miserable; expressing, offering, or showing humbleness, hopelessness, resignation, or submissiveness (e.g. an abject apology); contemptible, despicable, or morally low (e.g. an abject liar)
bread = a food which is made by baking dough in an oven (the dough being made from cereals, e.g. wheat, rye, corn); food or nourishment; the fruit of one’s labour; money
canker = an ulcerous condition or disease affecting humans or animals; an ulcer or sore that is difficult to treat; may also refer to: a fungal disease that attacks the wood of trees (especially apple and pear trees), damaging the bark; an erosive or spreading sore; a gradual and spreading source of corruption, debasement, or evil; a malign and pernicious influence that is hard to eradicate
East = the Eastern world; the Orient; Asia, including East Asia (China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, etc.), Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc.), South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc.), and West Asia (Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, etc.); of or relating to the Eastern world, the Orient, or Asia
Gulf = in the context of the northern coast of Australia, the term “Gulf” usually refers to the well-known Gulf of Carpentaria, although there are several other gulfs located on Australia’s northern coast (Admiralty Gulf, Beagle Gulf, Cambridge Gulf, and Van Diemen Gulf)
host = a lot, a large number, a multitude (especially regarding a large number of people); a large number of items; a large inventory; a lot of people arrayed, displayed, or organised like an army; (archaic) an army
mart = market; marketplace
mien = the air, bearing, demeanor, or manner of a person, especially as showing an attitude or personality
’midst = amidst; of or in the middle of an area, group, position, etc.
posterity = offspring, descendants, future generations
reek = a strong unpleasant smell (may also refer to fog, fumes, smoke, steam, or vapor)
reeks = emitting or giving off a strong unpleasant odour, smell, or stink [see: reek]
slant-eyed = of or pertaining to a person or persons of an East Asian racial background
’ware = (archaic) an abbreviated form of “beware” (i.e. be cautious of something; be wary of something; be on one’s guard against something; to use caution regarding something; to pay attention to something, due to a possible threat or a possible negative outcome)
white = of or pertaining to a person or persons of a European or Caucasian racial background
ye = (archaic; dialectal) you (still in use in some places, e.g. in Cornwall, Ireland, Newfoundland, and Northern England; it can used as either the singular or plural form of “you”, although the plural form is the more common usage)
See: 1) “Ye, youse and yiz in Irish English speech”, Sentence first
2) G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin and J. D. A. Widdowson (editors), “Dictionary of Newfoundland English”, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage
3) Mal Rogers, “13 English words that have a different meaning in Ireland”, The Irish Post, 28 December 2016
4) “The word ye is a valid scrabble word”, 1word
5) “Ye (pronoun)”, Wikipedia
yellow = a reference to something that is East Asian (especially Chinese) with regards to ethnicity, origin, or style
Yellow Curse = East Asian immigrants, especially Chinese immigrants; the large-scale immigration of East Asian people; the threat (real or perceived) of an East Asian takeover of a country or place, caused by demographic change (via immigration and/or miscegenation)
[Editor: Changed “abject mein” to “abject mien”, “white man’s heart” to “white man’s heart,” (added a comma). Line breaks have been inserted in the heading area, between stanzas, and before the author’s name.]
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