A Song of Australia

By: Wik, Philip

A Song of Australia brings to life the challenges of my pioneering ancestors in Australia. It portrays a unique journey. But it's also a story that's common to many who came to Australia.I started writing this book of more than 50,000 words more than twenty years ago to understand my Australian heritage. Understanding the places, people, and challenges of my pioneering ancestors has enriched my appreciation of Australia as a vast land of matchless beauty with a fascinating history.In 1770, James Cook first charted Queensland's coast. In 1787, a fleet of eleven ships carrying about 1,500 persons, 800 of them convicts from England, establishing the first European colony in Australia. Our forebears were on these ships and were the early pioneers. In 1824, a penal colony from Sydney was established near Moreton Bay at a site where Brisbane was later settled and where my ancestors put down roots. Between the Gold Coast and the bright lights of Brisbane are the Redlands, with its sand dunes, mangrove inlets, and forested islands teaming with bright-feathered parrots and lazy koalas. The Redlands of Moreton Bay derives its name from its rich, volcanic red soil. This soil has produced prize-winning fruit, vegetables, and flowers, from rainforest species to roses and orchids. This was the playground of my mother during her childhood.The time I've lived in Australia amounts to months rather than years: March 1955, May 1960 to May 1961, and June 1965 to July 1965. And yet I've retained my mother's accent. For better or for worse, almost everyone I meet for the first time assumes I'm Australian. And, in a sense, I am and I will always be an Australian and a child of the First Fleet.The title of this book is a nod to my ancestral roots on my father's side and the 1944 operetta Song of Norway, from the music of Edvard Grieg.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1695951921
• ISBN13: 9781695951921
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"