Flag of the Southern Cross
Encyclopedia
Flag of the Southern Cross is a poem written in 1887 by Australian bush poet
Henry Lawson
. The "Flag of the Southern Cross" refers to the Eureka Flag
flown at the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria
in 1854.
The victory song of the Australian cricket team—Under the Southern Cross I Stand
—is said to have been inspired by this poem.
Bush poet
Bush poets were Australian poets who wrote about Australian rural life during colonial times and about the Australian bush. Many colonial bush poets were illiterate and performed their poems from memory instead of writing them. Bush poetry evolved from the jokes and stories shared by early settlers...
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
. The "Flag of the Southern Cross" refers to the Eureka Flag
Eureka Flag
The Eureka Flag is a design; a dark blue field with a central white symmetric cross consisting five eight-pointed stars, representing the Crux constellation....
flown at the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
in 1854.
The victory song of the Australian cricket team—Under the Southern Cross I Stand
Under The Southern Cross I Stand
Under The Southern Cross I Stand is the victory song of the Australian cricket team.It is typically sung by the players after every victory and "treated with reverential consideration and respect" within the team...
—is said to have been inspired by this poem.