We Are One

As promised here is the video of the song I am Australian. I love this song as I think it embodies everything Australian. I have posted two videos. The first one is the original that was sung by the Seekers as a group with the original lyrics. The second is the version penned specifically for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal on the National Day of Mourning on Sunday.

You will need to pause the music at the very bottom of the blog before you press play on these video's. Alternatively if you double click on the video itself it will take you to the website where it is. This may be better because the full screen is not shown on blogger.

Bruce Woodley and Dobe Newton, 1987

I came from the dreamtime
from the dusty red soil plains
I am the ancient heart,
the keeper of the flame
I stood upon the rocky shore
I watched the tall ships come
For forty thousand years I’d been
the first Australian.

I came upon the prison ship
bowed down by iron chains.
I fought the land,
endured the lash
and waited for the rains.
I’m a settler.
I’m a farmer’s wife
on a dry and barren run
A convict then a free man
I became Australian.

I’m the daughter of a digger
who sought the mother lode
The girl became a woman
on the long and dusty road
I’m a child of the depression
I saw the good times come
I’m a bushy,
I’m a battler
I am Australian

[chorus]
We are one,
but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream
and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian!

I’m a teller of stories
I’m a singer of songs
I am Albert Namatjira
I paint the ghostly gums
I am Clancy on his horse
I’m Ned Kelly on the run
I’m the one who waltzed Matilda
I am Australian

I’m the hot wind from the desert
I’m the black soil of the plains
I’m the mountains and the valleys
I’m the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock,
I am the sky
The rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land
I am Australian

CHORUS x 2



We are one
But we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream
And sing with one voice
I am, You are, We are Australian

There are no words of comfort
that can hope to ease the pain
Of losing homes and loved ones
the memories will remain
within the silent tears you’ll find
the strength to carry on
you’re not alone
we are with you
we are Australian

There are so many hero's
who’s stories must be told
they fought the raging fires of hell
and saved so many souls
From the ashes of despair
our towns will rise again!
we mourn your loss
we will rebuild
We are Australian!

I’m the hot wind from the desert
I’m the black soil of the plains
I’m the mountains and the valleys
I’m the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock, I am the sky
The rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land
I am Australian

National Day of Mourning

Today across the nation, bells rang out to commence the day of mourning for those affected by the bush fires of Feb 7. There is a song that I love called "We Are One" that was written by Bruce Woodley and sung by the Seekers. It talks about how we are all from different parts of the world but we are all one nation and we are Australian. He came back to Australia and wrote 2 more chorus' for those who are victims of the fire. He even had two of those victims up on stage singing with him. I am hoping that I will soon find a copy of the song/video from the memorial service so that you can all listen to it as well.

There were members of the CFA who could not attend the service today as they were preparing for the week ahead. Apparently Victoria is looking at similar conditions this week as those of Feb 7. I just hope and pray that nothing happens.

For more information on the Day of Mourning please visit the Herald Sun.

Fire Appeal Give Away

Ok I promised my valentine creation as well as a free giveaway. Considering my blog of late has been about Koalas and the fire in Victoria I decided to try and combine it all. Below is a set of 3 ATCs which I will be giving away on March 1st. All you need to do is leave a comment and leave a link to my blog on yours (I will be checking).


Ideally I would love to give them away to someone who has donated to the fire appeal, but that is not something that I can police so I will leave it up to your own conscience. Donations can be made by anyone from anywhere in the world at the Australian Red Cross web site.


The ATCs show the progression of Samantha the Koala from the day she was found, getting her bandages and finding her soul mate in Bob (the last ATC is the valentine one). Among the techniques used were stamping, embossing, burning, bleaching, rub and buff and so on. I will put magnets on the back if the winner wishes.

Blog Party

Which was held yesterday for valentines and I totally forgot about it. On the up side I was doing my cousins wedding album but I am not showing images of that until she see's it.

This means I will now have a belated blog party all on my own and will post something very special as soon as I have finished it. Keep watching this space. There may even be a giveaway!

Good News

First of all I would like to thank Lady North in Canada for her kind words and believe it or not, keeping me up to date with Sam (actually a Samantha) the Koala from the fires. Her story below.

I know I said that this is going to be good news but I just have one thing to let you know and that is that at least 1 million, if not more, wild life have lost their lives. Some that survived may take weeks to crawl out of the devastated areas.

Ok now for some GOOD NEWS. Earlier this week I sent you a link to a video about Sam the Koala and how she was found by volunteer firefighter. You can actually purchase a photograph of that moment (similar to the one I have in a previous blog) to help raise funds for the CFA. Just click here and it will take you to where you can purchase it.

Below is a quote I took from the Herald Sun web site. Peter Tree is the CFA volunteer who found her.

Mr Tree said he was surprised by the reaction to the photograph, which was snapped by Mark Pardew - a fellow CFA volunteer - on a mobile phone.
Mr Tree said he was in the middle of backburning at Mirboo North when he saw the stricken koala."I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck. She just plonked herself down, as if to say 'I'm beat'," he said.
"I offered her a drink and she drank three bottles.
"The most amazing part was when she grabbed my hand. I will never forget that."
Mr Tree and his brigade then received an emergency call-out to save a house, but minutes later Sam was picked up by wildlife carers.
She is one of 22 koalas, 14 ringtail possums, several wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos that have been handed into Gippsland carers.

Below are images of Sam now. She is on her way to recovery and should be able to be released back into the wild in a by the end of the year.

Sam even found herself a boyfriend named Bob. According to the video below, she sat on him the first time they met.

Once this video is finished you can click on links to see others. I recommend the one where she meets her saviour as well as the interview he gives.