Summary

Patriotic poem in song form titled 'Song of H.M.A.S. "Sydney"'. Printed during World War I, the poem was written 'E.M.C.' - Ethel M. Campbell - in Durban, South Africa. It describes the first Australian fleet during World War I, including the engagement of the HAMS Sydney with the German raider the Emden, resulting in the sinking of the Emden. The song is undated, but the Emden action occured in October 1914.

Ethel Campbell (1866-1954) was known for her enthusiastic greetings and farewells of Australian troopships in Durban during World War I. In 1923 she visited Australia to dedicate a memorial to Australian soldiers. She faced a 'formidable list of engagements' in Melbourne, including visits by 'several limbless men' who had 'first made her acquaintance at Durban in the war years'. (The Australasian, 7 July 1923). She later became a well-known poet and author in South Africa. While the provenance of this war-time poem by Ethel Campbell, acquired with a collection of similar poems, is unknown, the collection includes two poems which have been signed, possibly during her visit to Australia.

Physical Description

Song of three verses and a repeated chorus, printed in black in two columns on coarse green stock, faded at centre fold. Printed on one side only.

More Information

  • Collecting Areas

    Public Life & Institutions, Home & Community

  • Author

    Ethel M. Campbell, Durban, South Africa, circa 1914-1915

  • Inscriptions

    Printed: 'SONG OF THE H.M.A.S. "SYDNEY." / Three long black lines of troopships / From Albany they steer, / The "Melbourne" proudly at the head, / They "Sydney" in the rear - / The answer to old England's call, / The flower of her Southern sons - / When hark! there comes a call for help / Tho- blurred by the Pirate Huns. / The "Melbourne" was the flagship, / And dare not leave her place, / So off the "Sydney" streaked full speed, / Nigh thirty knots her pace; / They guessed 'twould be the "Emden," / And o-er the foam they sped, / To catch the raider at her work, / Now sixty miles ahead...' More lines, a chorus and verses follow. Final line: 'DURBAN. / BY E.M.C.'.

  • Classification

    Military history, Civilian life, Souvenirs

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    History

  • Type of item

    Document

  • References

    THE GIRL WITH THE FLAGS. (1919, March 17). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from [Link 1] MISS ETHEL CAMPBELL. (1919, April 26). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), p. 39. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from [Link 2] MISS ETHEL CAMPBELL. (1923, July 7). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 40. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from [Link 3] Ethel M. Campbell, Rare Books - Important Acquisitions, National Library of Scotland, [Link 4] accessed 15 Jan 2015

  • Keywords

    World War I, 1914-1918, Music, Poems