Many people from many countries have come to Australia, and known the experience of a new life in a new land. Tony Kibblewhite (Snr), who came with other boys on the SS Balranald in 1923, voiced his reflection on this - in verse. It has spoken for many other Dreadnought Boys over the years.
.........
We left our homes so long ago,
To reach a land we did not know.
Our hearts were young, our hopes were high,
To live beneath the southern sky.
The land was wild, the country rough,
The wages low, the conditions tough.
At milking cows we found employ,
Most cockies had a ‘pommie’ boy.
As years went by, for many reasons,
And just as varied as the seasons,
By change of job, and change of station,
We played our part to build this nation.
Yet we prize our British birth,
Still call it ‘Home’ across the earth.
I think you’ll agree with me,
These lines, our epitaph should be.
We love this land of our adoption,
To leave, we know, there is no option.
She gave us joy, she gave us toil,
God give us peace, beneath her soil.
