Poet’s Corner – ‘Tasmania’s Appeal’

This poem was first published by The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser on Wednesday 7 October 1846. The author is ‘B.C.’.

Please note that historical material reflects views and attitudes of the period that may be considered outdated or otherwise inappropriate today.

‘Tasmania’s Appeal’

By B.C.

Great Queen of Nations! mighty Britain, hear –
Deign to receive a stricken suppliant’s prayer!
Renowned for justice – island of the free,
‘Tis thine own offspring now that cries to thee.
Yes; though between the broad Pacific reigns,
‘Tis thine own blood that quickens in our veins;
And the dear memories of our youthful home
Still haunt our footsteps whereso’er we roam!
Ye English mothers – British fathers, hear
Compassionate the ills, you cannot fear.
A violated seal once claimed your aid
A nation’s voice indignant answer made!
Oh, can you grudge your generous sympathies,
Your powerful aid, to miseries like these?
There was a time when Plenty’s bounteous hand
Poured wealth and gladness o’er this happy land –
When the rich soil an ample tribute made,
And full fruition all our toils repaid.
But when forgetful of the Almighty’s hand,
Flushed with success, we spurned at his command,
(Vainglorious, arrogating as our own),
That power and wisdom due to Him alone.
Indignant He withdrew His gracious smile,
And happiness forsook our favoured isle!
Then, when emerging from the dreadful blow,
That withering laid our brightest prospects low,
Seeking, not luxuries or dainty meat,
But roofs to shelter us, and bread to eat,
And craving sought of thee, alas, in vain,
One trifling boon our object to attain,
Its very insignificance was made
A pretext the indulgence to evade.
Was it well timed then, Fatherland, to dash
Aside the whip, and ply the scorpion lash –
Thy hordes of hardened ruffians to pour,
And empty all thy prisons, on our shore?
Yes. The same barks that bear our earnings hence,
To add their might to swell thine opulence,
Freighted by thee, disgorge upon our strand,
The very refuse of thy mighty land:-
Men born in guilt, grown grey in villainy,
Skilled to invent new schemes of deeper dye,
Lost to all goodness, every sense of shame,
Whose fearful crimes it were a crime to name –
These haunt our ports, beset our far retreats,
Swarm in our thoroughfares, and throng our streets!
Nay, more, to realise our boding fears,
Thou hast at last e’en made them our compeers –
Left them at liberty their rage to vent,
And gratify their lusts without restraint!
Was it for this we left our father’s hearth,
This land which thou hast made a “hell on earth?”
This mighty moral charnel-house, whose breath
Is foul pollution – its infection death.
Death – not that debt we all to nature owe,
But endless misery – eternal woe!
Oh, men of Britain, if not all bereft,
You have one spark of generous feeling left!
Stand for our right – ye who so nobly freed
Biafra’s captives – answer to our need! –
Who the proud Othman crushed, bid Greece be free,
Tasmania stretches forth her hands to thee!
Refuse not. – Oh remember, ere too late,
Successive importations seal our fate! –
This is no fiction offered to your view,
But stern reality – truth too true.
Or if too far the dire disease has run,
Too firmly rivetted to be undone –
Grant us conveyance to some distant shore,
Ourselves, our little ones, our scanty store,
And we will bless you still, and ask no more!

‘Tasmania’s Appeal’. The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 – 1893), 7 October 1846, page 1. Retrieved 15 July 2020 from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/685141.

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Poet’s Corner is a quaint and quirky section of The Tasmanian Times. It has been designed to offer a haven to those who relish and immerse themselves in the sheer joy and pleasure emanating from English verse. Our idea is to share poems published in Tasmania during the early years of British arrival.

We would also like you to share your poetry with us. Submissions can be sent to arts@tasmaniantimes.com. Please see www.tasmaniantimes.com/contact for general submission guidelines.