ON THE PROSPECT OF LEAVING NEW ZEALAND FOR AUSTRALIA.

Evening Post, Volume LXI, Issue 30, 3 August 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)

ON THE PROSPECT OF LEAVING NEW ZEALAND FOR AUSTRALIA.

Bright triple crown of green and brown, Engirded by the sea, Thy mountain cliains, thy lakes and plains, Are very dear to me; Thy forest shades and grassy glades Have crept into my heart, It fills my brain with aching pain To think that we must part. Thy ferny bowers and rocky towers, Thy foaming blustering creeks, The glorious sheen I've often seen About thy mountain peaks ; When ice and snow in sunset's glow Have worn such wondrous hues, That night and morn my fancy's drawn To claim thee as my muse. With equal grace thy sturdy race Are springing quick and strong, Like primal rocks they'll bear the shocks That to all times belong ; In peace or strife my lot in life, Contented well I'd be To have my place with such a race, To live and strive for thee. But Fate's harsh frown has borne me down, And from thee I must part, Yet tho' my way lies thro' the spray, Zealandia has my heart ; O, western lands ! your iron hands Shall grasp this form in vain, Thro' memory's door this soul shall soar Its homeward course again. Then fore-theo-well each mountain fell That I have loved to roam — Farewell, kind land of heart and hand, Thou art, indeed, my home ; From plains of fire where Nature's ire Foredooms the laud to dearth, I'll turn once more to thy loved shore, The dearest spot on earth. — " J.T.W."