Poetry+Analysis

“Aboriginal Purpose"- by Paul Buttigieg
The meaning of this poem is to demonstrate how the Aboriginals of the land were effected and how much they loathe the white settlers. Due to the way the Aboriginals were treated, they strongly regret having anything to do with the European settlers and ultimately hate ever seeing the 'white settlers' who arrived on Australia's shore in the 18th century. The author Paul Buttigieg describes his love of the Australian land by verbalizing "My task is to kiss the land" (line 1) and "Roam and hunt with my band of blacks" demonstrates how close the Aboriginals were with one another back before colonisation. The poem really made us think of life back in 1788 from an Aboriginal's point of view. At the end of the poem, Buttigieg asks what effort the white settlers have made in order to better the land, and I think this drives the point further of how much the Europeans changed the Australian culture - for better and for worse. It is clear that the author is upset with the immigrants, "When the land swallows your white arse" tells us how he feels towards them as he also states, "You will take your chance without me, my land tells me all I need to know, and has done for forty thousand years" meaning that he will be of no help to the 'white people'. Our group selected this poem because we felt that it captures the emotions of the Aboriginal people and relays their reaction towards the invasion of the 'white settlers' with passion. The poem relates to colonisation of Australia through the hatred that the Aboriginal have for the way that it has changed their lifestyle. [|Click to view the poem's website]

The First Australians by Troy Hopkins
The meaning of this poem is to point out how the Aboriginals were treated in the days of colonisation as well as in 21st century. "They invaded us, and took our land, then labeled me a criminal." (Line 1) This outlines the hardships that they went through and how they are labeled in this day and age. The two people, Lex Wotton and Richard Saunders, have been described in the poem as being put in jail, indicating further the stereotypical brand, but from the tone of the poem and words of line 19 and 20; "My thoughts are with Richard Saunders too, much love and much respect. You're a warrior amidst our Dreamtime now, your people will never forget." It sounds as if he died while in jail or had been killed. A deeper meaning can be seen if looked at closely, the “half-caste mob” gets less severe sentences due to the way society thinks and the author is deeply angered by this, he describes that they are accepted into the community better than the full-blooded Aboriginals, enabling them to get off with a lighter punishment as it seems pity has been taken out on them. It states in line 31, that "if you're dark in complexion, we are the worst offenders"; meaning that he thinks no matter the crime, you already have a bad mark against you due to skin colouring. We chose this poem due to the way it it demonstrates the hatred from the Aboriginals, and particularly the displeasure which the author shows. If an Aboriginal dies in custody, the poem states that in line 23, "No one is held accountable, meaning that no one takes the blame" and he expresses that they are expendable and not really taken into consideration, something that he says they just endure. This poem relates to the topic of Australian white settlement as it shows the effects that colonisation has caused over the years and this damage may not be able to be undone. [|Click here to view the poem's website]