We're all Australians Now

The poem that I have chosen is ‘We’re all Australians Now’ by Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson in 1915. Paterson was a famous Australian born poet, solicitor, journalist, war correspondent and soldier that was born in Orange, New South Wales during 1864. His work mainly consisted of poems about rural and outback Australian life and what it was like.

We’re all Australians Now is a piece of poetry about the brave men in the ANZAC forces that were fighting in the first world war. It has a very important meaning which talks about how the soldiers came from far and wide to fight together. Paterson focuses on the bravery, unity and nationalism of these men on the warfront.

We’re all Australians Now
Australia takes her pen in hand
To write a line to you,
To let you fellows understand
How proud we are of you.

From shearing shed and cattle run,
From Broome to Hobson’s Bay,
Each native-born Australian son
Stands straighter up today.

The man who used to “hump his drum”,
On far-out Queensland runs
Is fighting side by side with some
Tasmanian farmer’s sons.

The fisher-boys dropped sail and oar
To grimly stand the test,
Along that storm-swept Turkish shore,
With miners from the west.

The old state jealousies of yore
Are dead as Pharaoh’s sow,
We’re not State children any more–
We’re all Australians now!

This poem includes various types of poetry. It is written is written in an ABAB rhyme scheme. This means that the 1st line and 3rd line rhyme, and the 2nd and 4th line rhyme.