Australia’s outback is huge and most of the time very brown and dusty. Think “Mad Max” films, and the recent film “Dry” an excellent movie set in the drought ravaged outback of Queensland. An excellent movie that I can recommend going to see.
But it is “My Country” a poem written by Dorothea MacKellar in 1908, capturing the spirit of this amazing country and it is what inspired me to think back to 2010/11, when we traveled 37000 kilometres around Australia. I hope you enjoy this version of the poem set to music by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, arranged by David Lawrence.
So I spent an enjoyable few hours looking back through the archives at the many photos we took back then to find some for this weeks “life in colour” challenge that Jude is hosting this year.
The outback is also the graveyard of many rusty, brown relics of another era. As we drive by I wonder what their stories are.
But then as the sun sets in the cloudless blue sky the land is turned to a glowing red brown as it stretches endlessly in front of us.
I’m enjoying this new challenge and it has drawn me back into the blogging community. Take a look at Jude’s rules for this challenge, very simple, and the colour choice will be changing each month.
I am first to congratulate you on this brilliant post.
Dorothy Mackellar was in England homesick for Australia when she wrote the poem.
And she goes on to say, about ordered woods and gardens of green and shaded.
Your choice of photos is superb and bring back memories of one of our many travel adventures.
The Canberra Telstra Tower gives an idea of the size of the’Wide brown land writing.
Very cleverly done and so appropriate for this post. 😎
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Thanks Jack. Doing this challenge gives me a reason to search back through the old photos
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We have the photos and in the garden there are rocks we brought back.
And our home is full of nature’s gifts picked up in our travels priceless souvenirs,
worth nothing to anyone but the ones that know, and your blog is sharing all the wonder.
Travel opens eyes and although we are confined we still have our home and garden.😎
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🤗👍
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I love the video, Pauline. You can see in there everything that would draw one to your country of choice. Some wonderful images, as are yours. Stay well, lovely lady 🙂 🙂
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Thank you Jo. There is so much to love about this country. We are keeping well. How are you. Is your adopted country going to be getting the vaccine?
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We’re fine but in lockdown at the moment. Result of Christmas 🙄. Vaccine being rolled out to health care professionals and the elderly. It will reach us eventually. I’m trying to stay young 🤣💕
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You certainly do a great job of staying young Jo. Nearby Brisbane went into lockdown when the UK virus raised its ugly head. They seem to have stopped it in its tracks, thank goodness, and we are all out and about again. Our vaccine starts maybe next month. Stay safe my friend in blogging.🤗
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I am trying to stay young too and it is not happening for me.
No worries Jo as long as I can keep getting older.
Slowing down gives me more time to appreciate all the good still available to us.😎
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Bless you, Jack! Nobody said it was easy 😦 Someone keeps inventing new hurdles for us to jump! And us old dogs can’t jump so high any more. Look after each other, you two 🙂 🙂 Sending hugs!
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Thank you for this lovely post. As much as I enjoy our coastal areas and bushland, the outback scenery is amazing and we always love visiting.
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It is quite breathtaking in its vastness too. I loved visiting it too, But I wouldn’t want to live out there.
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Me neither.
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Lovely photos and video! Your photos capture the outback perfectly. I love the piece of old gnarled wood on the soil, and the old rusty car. Beautifully captured!
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Thank you it is full of photo opportunities
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So Aussie ❤
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That poem captures this country so well, even written so long ago, it is timeless
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I am loving the visits back into your archive, especially that wide brown landscape. This is the Australia that I was drawn to, not the big cities, nice as they are. Jane Harper’s novels are brilliant and I have read all of them including The Dry, I didn’t know it was a film though so I shall have to look out for that. Thanks Pauline 😘
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I have read all the Jane Harper books too Jude, the film follows the book plot perfectly, Jack hadn’t read the book so didn’t know what was coming and loved the film too. Having your challenge is great as it prompts me to look around and/or scroll through the archives
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I had forgotten that there was music to A Sunburnt Country – a great reminder, thank you.
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I didn’t know it either, but found it when I was googling the words to the poem.
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As I sit here rather duffled up as I would call it being somewhat chilly but not freezing by any means Pauline your lovely evocative photographic memories of your big ‘brown’ trip are very welcome 🙂
What an amazing country it is … rather sad we only ever had one trip to Australia but boy did we enjoy the expansive landscape coast and yes, one or two cities . Not surprised Dorothea was homesick !
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I can just imagine you “duffled up” Poppy. I had a lovely red duffle coat with toggle fasteners in my teens and lived in it through winter. I never got homesick for England but I would if I ever had to leave Australia. Even though we travelled so far there is still so much left to explore
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😘
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You shared a sere beauty, Pauline.
janet
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I didn’t know the word “sere” Janet, so I looked it up on google…. “Synonyms for sere
arid, droughty, dry, thirsty, waterless” What a perfect word to describe the outback.
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Lovely collection. I also wonder about the story behind every car I find slowly returning to earth.
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I imagine a sad story with broken dreams☹️
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