Cross of the South
'Twas the month of December, the year fifty four,
When the men of Eureka rebelled.
And the swore the flag they had made for themselves,
Ever proudly aloft would be held.
The miners took arms in the stockade that day,
The bold word passed from mouth to mouth.
"We will stand by the flag, and the stars that it bears,
White stars of the Cross of the South".
The hot blood of the heroes ran fast in their veins,
There was but one man they obeyed.
The hero of heroes they chose from their ranks.
Peter Lalor their hero they made.
Peter Lalor said, "Now we must stand by our guns,
Fear not the canon's fierce mouth!
For I see the soldiers are gathering now
To tear down the Cross of the South".
Captain Thomas charged the Eureka Stockade,
Three hundred troops by his side.
Fire and steel met them there and they fell back again,
But the first of the miners had died.
The smoke from the battle had scarce cleared away,
When the soldiers came charging once more,
The miners were killed as they stood 'round ther flag,
Or fell from the wounds that they bore.
Bold Peter Lalor lay shot on the ground,
Where the soldiers had left him for dead.
And the flag that he loved lay there by his side,
The white stars all stained with red.
Peter Lalor he rose on his knees in the dust,
Wild words poured from his mouth.
"You can murder us all in black tyranny's name,
But you can't kill the Cross of the South".
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:
- published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
- anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
- government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.
Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.
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