THE OTHER OLDER NATION
(Louisa Wise)

In Australia towns have an avenue of trees
Each poplar planted for a young man fallen
In a whiteman's war faraway
There's just such a town
Near here where we stand
And there's a marsh hard by the avenue of trees
Where men and women and children were killed one day
In a one-sided war that was very much here to stay

And where are the trees for these dark-skinned fallen
Do they merit a tear or a tree?
If we planted a tree for each dark one fallen
The wetland would give way to woodland

The killings avenged a killing before
A white landowner died by the spear
Of a black man who had come to take back his wife
Take her on back from the whiteman's service
The service of flesh - if she would give it or no

And for this the people died
They were all chased down
To the marsh by the road
That would be planted with trees
Some time in the next generation
Trees for the boys of the nation
But what of the other nation?
The other older nation?

And where are the trees for these dark-skinned fallen
Do they merit a tear or a tree?
If we planted a tree for each dark one fallen
The wetland would give way to woodland

I got the song from Bob Rummery's 'The Man with the Concertina'. I reproduced the line structure as printed in the booklet for that CD. I presume Bob got it directly from Louisa. As Bob points out, this one incident in WA was replicated across the country.

Lest we forget.

Youtube clip

--Stewie.