The divisive and highly unpopular attack by elite republicans on our Australian Flag on Australia Day of all days has backfired. Rank and file Australians are certainly not impressed by their stunts.
It is not that they are proposing some alternative; it is just that they have an obsessive hatred of our Flag. They might as well hate the rule of law, the common law, parliament and the English language.
The Australian Flag is too close to the hearts of Australians to be dislodged by these tactics. Just glance at the video below from ANZAC Day , a day defiled last year by this campaign.
In the meantime,a reader from NewCastle, Gregory Byfield, has sent us this wonderful poem, Our Australian Flag.
The Librarian of the State Library of Queensland had earlier confirmed that the poet is Robin Northover, also from Newcastle.
Full details were published in the Australasian Post on 20th April 1996.
Our Australian Flag
Our Flag bears the stars that blaze at night
…….in our southern skies of blue;
And that little old Flag in the corner,
…….that's part of our heritage, too.
It's for the English, the Scots and the Irish,
…….who were sent to the ends of the earth;
The rogues and the schemers, the doers and dreamers;
…….who gave our Australia birth.
And you who are seeking to change it,
…….you don't seem to understand;
It's the Flag of our law and our language,
…….not the Flag of a faraway land.
There are plenty of people who'll tell you
…….that when Europe was plunged into night,
That little old Flag in the corner
…….was their symbol of freedom and light.
It's not that we owe allegiance
…….to a forgotten imperial dream:
We've the stars to show where we're going;
…….that old Flag to show where we've been.
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