My Country

"My Country" is a poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 while homesick in the United Kingdom. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started writing the poem in London in 1904 and re-wrote it several times before her return to Sydney. The poem was first published in The Spectator in London on 5 September 1908 under the title "Core of My Heart". It was reprinted in many Australian newspapers, such as The Sydney Mail & New South Wales Advertiser, who described the 'little poem' as striking the right note of "...the clear, ringing, triumphant note of love and trust in [Australia]." The poem quickly became well known and established Mackellar as a poet.