WHAT can we give in return 
For her beauty and mystery 
 Of flowering forest, infinite plain, 
 Deep sky and distant mountain-chain, 
And her triumphant sea, 
Thundering old songs of liberty? 
 
Love?steadfast as her stars, 
And passionate as her sun, 
 And joyous as the winds, that fling 
 The golden petals of her spring 
By gully, spur, and run, 
On dreaming age, and little one: 
 
Courage?when courage fails 
In the blind smoke and pain 
 Of raging fire, and lurid sky, 
 And dumb thirst-driven agony? 
Till river and creek again 
Swirl seaward through the teeming rain. 
 
Faith?wild flower of the soul, 
Thrilling the breathless night 
 With fragrance, and the desolate ways 
 Where silence fears to whisper praise, 
With radiant delight 
Of wonder?worship in God?s sight. 
 
Duty?O great white stars, 
And glorious red cross, shine 
 On victory, when, rushing forth 
 Against the peril of the North, 
Australia?s battle-line 
Flings out Trafalgar?s deathless sign.