What can we say of him better than this:
He has walked in the clean, straight way;
He has played the game, he has won to fame
Only as white men may.
We trusted him well in the days gone by;
So shall we trust him now.
With the will to do, and a motive true,
He has put his hand to the plough.
True to his mates of the long gone days,
True to the same just Cause,
He has marched ahead with a strong firm tread,
Scorning to halt or pause.
And this shall be said in the years to come,
E'en as we say of him now:
'His fame was straight; he was true to a mate;
And he kept him hand to the plough.'
First published in The Call: The Ha'penny Daily, 25 July 1914
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
