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Australasia (poem)

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1823 poem by William Wentworth

"Australasia"
byWilliam Wentworth
Written1823
First published inG. and W. B. Whittaker
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Published in English1823
Full text
Australasia (Wentworth poem) atWikisource
William Charles Wentworth

"Australasia" is apoem by Australian authorWilliam Charles Wentworth.[1] It was the first book of verse composed by a native-born Australian poet.[2]

Subtitled "A Poem Written for the Chancellor's Medal at the Cambridge Commencement, July, 1823", it was first published in London, U.K. in 1823 by G. and W. B. Whittaker in a 27-page pamphlet.[3] It was reprinted in full inThe Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser on 25 March 1824. Subsequent reprints were generally excerpts.[1]

Synopsis

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According toThe Cambridge History of Australian Literature, the poem is an "extended ode [that] celebrates the development of a newBritannia in another world and is marked by a rugged individuality of touch."[4]

Wentworth dedicated his composition to the formerGovernor of New South WalesLachlan Macquarie, vowing to redress perceived injustices to his name.[2]

A representation of theBlue Mountains crossing by Wentworth,Gregory Blaxland andWilliam Lawson

The poem is wide-ranging. The author makes reference to the scenery he witnessed onthe 1813 expedition across theBlue Mountains, which opened the interior for settlement:[5]: 142–143 [6]

The boundless champaign burst upon our sight,
Till nearer seen the beauteous landscape grew,
Op'ning like Canaan on rapt Israel's view.

He romanticises the lifestyle ofAboriginal Australians:[7]

Ye primal tribes, lords of this old domain,
Swift-footed hunters of the pathless plain,
Unshackled wanderers, enthusiasts free,
Pure native sons of liberty,
Who hold all things in common, earth, sea, air,
Or only occupy the nightly lair.

Wentworth also writes:[8]

And, O Britannia!... may this—thy last-born infant—then arise,
To glad thy heart, and greet thy parent eyes;
And Australasia float, with flag unfurl'd,
A new Britannia in another world!

Critical reception

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Wentworth submitted his poem for theUniversity of Cambridge Chancellor's Medal in 1823, that year's subject being "Australasia". His composition came in second place out of 25.[5]: 202  It was subsequently published in London and Sydney.[3][1]

In his volumeA History of Australian Literature, H. M. Green stated that it is a poem "that commands respect: it gives a charming picture of the environs of Sydney which Wentworth knew well, and of the mountains which he had crossed. It is rhetoric, but rhetoric worthy of respect because of its subject".[9]

The Oxford Literary History of Australia states: "The poem attempts to project a distinctly Australian viewpoint and, with its prophecy of future greatness, is one of the first outbursts in Australian literature of nationalistic pride."[10]

The Cambridge History of Australian Literature called the poem "one of the most authoritative of the early poems with its robust epic vision and its patriotic assertion of the progress of British civilisation."[4]

Publication history

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After the poem's initial publication in London in 1823 it was reprinted in full as follows:

Excerpts from the poem were reprinted in:

  • A Century of Australian Song edited by Douglas Sladen, Walter Scott Publishers, 1888[14]
  • An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1907[15]
  • The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse edited by Walter Murdoch, Oxford University Press, 1918[16]
  • Poets of Australia : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1946[17]
  • An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1952[18]
  • From the Ballads to Brennan edited by T. Inglis Moore, Angus & Robertson, 1964[19]
  • Australian Verse from 1805 : A Continuum edited by Geoffrey Dutton, Rigby, 1976[20]
  • A Treasury of Colonial Poetry, Currawong, 1982[21]
  • Our Country : Classic Australian Poetry : From Colonial Ballads to Paterson & Lawson edited by Michael Cook, Little Hills Press, 2002[22]
  • Harbour City Poems : Sydney in Verse, 1788-2008 edited by Martin Langford, Puncher and Wattmann, 2009[23]

Notes

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  • Dedication: To Major General Macquarie, late Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of New South Wales and Its Dependencies [followed by a letter commencing 'My dear Sir...' (pp. 9-13)
  • Epigraph: 'En unquam patrios longo post tempore fines, / Pauperis et tuguri congestum cespite culmen / Post aliquot mea regna videns mirabor aristas?'

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcd"Austlit — "Australasia" by William Wentworth". Austlit. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  2. ^abWentworth, William Charles (July 1823)."Australasia".Macquarie University. Retrieved1 August 2023.
  3. ^ab"Australasia : a poem written for the Chancellor's Medal at the Cambridge commencement, July 1823 by W. C. Wentworth". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  4. ^abThe Cambridge History of Australian Literature edited by Peter Pierce, 1st edition, 2009, pp 74-75. Accessed: 6 February 2026
  5. ^abRitchie, John (1997),The Wentworths : father and son, Miegunyah Press,ISBN 978-0-522-84751-2
  6. ^"History – general history". Blue Mountains Crossings Bicentenary. Archived fromthe original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved28 May 2013.
  7. ^Tink, Andrew (2009).William Charles Wentworth : Australia's greatest native son. Allen & Unwin. pp. 98–99.ISBN 978-1-74175-192-5.
  8. ^Frank Welsh,Great Southern Land: A New History of Australia, Penguin Books, 2005, p.27 (ISBN 0-140-29132-6)
  9. ^A History of Australian Literature by H. M. Green, Angus and Robertson, revised edition 1984, p121. Accessed: 6 February 2026
  10. ^The Oxford Literary History of Australia edited by Bruce Bennett and Jennifer Strauss, 1st edition, 1998, p44. Accessed: 6 February 2026
  11. ^""Australasia"". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 25 March 1824, p4. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  12. ^""Mr. Wentworth's Poem on Australasia"". The Australian Town and Country Journal, 25 May 1872, p21. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  13. ^"Australasia by W. C. Wentworth". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  14. ^"A Century of Australian Song edited by Douglas Sladen". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  15. ^"An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  16. ^"The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse edited by Walter Murdoch". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  17. ^"Poets of Australia : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  18. ^"An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  19. ^"From the Ballads to Brennan edited by T. Inglis Moore". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  20. ^"Australian Verse from 1805 : A Continuum edited by Geoffrey Dutton". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  21. ^"A Treasury of Colonial Poetry (Currawong)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  22. ^"Our Country : Classic Australian Poetry edited by Michael Cook". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
  23. ^"Harbour City Poems : Sydney in Verse, 1788-2008 edited by Martin Langford". National Library of Australia. Retrieved6 February 2026.
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