Day 5: "I love a sunburnt country"

These evocative words are from one of Australia’s most quoted poems. They are from the second verse of My country written by a homesick young Australian, Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968) in about 1904.

We came across this wonderful silo art in Gunnedah. It depicts Dorothea Mackellar and the famous second verse of her poem.

The poem was first published in the London Spectator on 5 September 1908 titled as Core of My Heart. It reappeared several times in Australia before being included as 'My Country' in her first book, The Closed Door and Other Verses (Melbourne, 1911). This famous poem is believed to have been directly inspired by Dorothea Mackellar's experience of life on the land, and her love of the Allyn River district, NSW.

At school in the 50s and 60s we learned to recite and to sing it. I understand that it is still being taught in schools today.