"My Country" is a

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 about her love of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

landscape. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started writing the poem in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1904 and re-wrote it several times before her return to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The poem was first published in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' in London on 5 September 1908 under the title "Core of My Heart". It was reprinted in many Australian newspapers, such as '' The Sydney Mail & New South Wales Advertiser'', who described the poem as a "...clear, ringing, triumphant note of love and trust in ustralia" The poem quickly became well known and established Mackellar as a poet. The first stanza describes England while the rest of the poem refers to Australia. "My Country" is one of the best-known pieces of

Australian poetry Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such ...

and is considered by many Australians to present an overtly romanticised version of "The Australian condition". Mackellar's family owned substantial properties in the Gunnedah district of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and a property (Torryburn) in the Paterson district of New South Wales. The poem is believed to have been inspired in part by Mackellar's love of the Allyn River district in NSW. In an interview in 1967, Mackellar described her reasons for writing the poem. MacKellar's first anthology of poems, ''The Closed Door'', published in Australia in 1911, included the poem. The last line of the third stanza, ''"And ferns the warm dark soil"'' was originally ''"And ferns the crimson soil"''. Her second anthology, ''The Witch Maid & Other Verses'', published in 1914, included the original version. A recording of "My Country" made by the radio and TV actor

Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was an Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant ...

became so popular in the 1970s that his reading of the first lines of the second stanza were often used to parody him.

Notes

References

*{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography, first=Dorothea, last=Mackellar, id=A100291b.htm, title=Mackellar, Isobel Marion Dorothea (1885–1968) *http://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au *http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/people_places/caergwrle/mycountry/index.html

External links

* 'My Country' was added to the National Film & Sound Archive's

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...

registry in 2009 * Listen to 'My Country' read by Dorothea Mackellar and read more about it o
australianscreen online
Australian poems 1908 poems