TO THE WOMEN OF AUSTRALIA

A Toast to the splendid daughters
Of the New World over the waters,
     A world that is great as new;
Daughters of brave old races,
Daughters of heights and spaces,
Broad seas and broad earth places--
     Hail to your land and you!

The sun and the winds have fed you;
The width of your world has led you
     Out into the larger view;
Strong with a strength that is tender,
Bright with a primal splendour,
Homage and praise we render--
     Hail to your land and you!

Sisters and daughters and mothers,
Standing abreast with your brothers,
     Working for things that are true;
Thinking and doing and daring,
Giving, receiving, and sharing,
Earning the crowns you are wearing--
     Hail to your land and you!

Poems of Optimism. By Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
London: Gay & Hancock, 1919.


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