Anzac Day: Australian history in six verses, by Mervyn Nielsen

BRISBANE poet Mervyn Nielsen put pen to paper in a poem to mark the centenary of troops landing at Gallipoli.

Merv Nielsen, of Kedron, has written a poem about the mighty maroons State Of Origin side. Picture: Peter Cronin

WE can talk about Kokoda Trail,

We can talk about the wars,

We can talk about the Anzacs,

How they stormed those southern shores.

We can talk about Vietnam,

And those jungle fields of crime,

We can talk about the Second World War,

When they dropped those bombs on time.

We can talk about the battles,

The Coral Sea was one,

The battles in the desert,

We the Rats’ made Rommel rum.

The Battle of Nui Dat,

Where the Aussies stood so tall,

And many of these battles,

When the bugler made the call.

We can talk about our heroes,

With those medals shining bright,

And we won’t forget the nurses,

Who tended the wounded through the night.

Everyone of them a hero,

Who gave their life, their blood,

Protecting their great country,

It’s Australia we all love.

By Mervyn Nielsen, of Kedron, Queensland

To commemorate 100 years since the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, and recognise the sacrifices of those men and women who have served out country since WWI, Quest Community Newspapers will publish one story each day online in the lead-up to Anzac Day.

THIS story is part of Quest Community Newspapers’ 100 Years, 100 Days, 100 Stories project, which will profile Queensland WWI heroes and families as the nation builds up to the centenary of the Allied landing on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915.

Originally published as Anzac Day: Australian history in six verses, by Mervyn Nielsen