Union Songs
The Men of Eureka
A poem by Mary Gilmore (1950s)
They have gone out, the men of Eureka,
One by one they have passed. Now there is none
Of them left to sit by the fire and talk;
For them, life's journey is over and done.
Digger by digger they marched,
Each man in his order;
As digger by digger they went,
Over the border.I was a child while still we talked of them,
And, when there came one walking lame, I ran
To my father, and my hand in his, cried,
Eager for stories, "Here comes a Eureka man!"
Digger by digger they marched,
All named in their order,
And digger by digger they went,
Over the border.And the men who had been at Eureka
Made me a flag of stars, and gave me
A name, and the name they gave was Eureka;
"For the child," they said, "is one of our kin."
Digger by digger they marched,
Each numbered in order,
Who digger by digger are gone,
Over the border.And many a time, with a wooden sword,
I stood, my father's kinsman, Ross, and laced
Upon the air with glancing strokes, while cried
They there, "Well placed! Well struck, Eureka!"
Digger by digger they marched,
Each man in his order,
Who, digger by digger, are gone,
Over the border.Now shall I weep them, even as the tribes
Wept those they deemed illustrious, who passed
From them forever, or, far-journeying,
Moved outward from their ken, the seen no more.
Notes
This poem was published in 'Mary Gilmore: a Tribute' published by Australasian Book Society in 1965. Compiled by Dymphna Cusack, T.Inglis Moore and Barrie Ovenden and bibliography by Walter Stone.
union songs..........a selection by mark gregory