Funny coming across this thread after all this time. By way of introduction my name is Bob Brown, aka Captain Rock who wrote the song Give Me a Home Among the Gumtrees with Wally Johnson in 1975, amd first recorded the song on my Captain Rock album called Buried Treasure. Wally and I had parted ways by this time. It was written as a tongue in cheek song and originally performed as part of a comedy act we were doing at the Flying Trapeze Cafe in Fitzroy Melbourne. In 1982 Bullamakanka found a copy of the album in a reduced sale bin in a music shop in NSW and re recorded it. It became a hit. John Williamson subsequently recorded it and so many others that it is now amongst to most recorded Australian songs of all time.

When we wrote it the Australin government were proposing a song writing contest to have a new national anthem following the decision to scrap God Save the Queen. In my comedy act at the time I played an ex pat living in Paris on an Arts council grant who claimed the song came flushing through my mind when sitting on the loo in the Louvre.

First time I sang it people started singing the chorus loudly after one 2 verses. Burkes Backyard picked it up as their theme song and used it for 17 years.

For the record Wally sadly died about 12 years ago, but not in an accident as someone suggested.

Also the original song contained no reference to mulling up on the porch, or rabbits running round. Bullamanka added these for some reaon. Maybe they didn't like the original lyrics which were meant as one contributor has mentioned to be tongue in cheek.

I would hate anyome to think it is a nationalistic song. At best it is a song longing for those long rememebered and often longed for hippy days of Eltham and St Andrew in the mid 70's.