Convict

VERSE

1834 Melbourne established
From famished convicts we upset the balance
In '35 the Treaty For Land negotiated
A hundred knives, thirty mirrors and some flour traded
Two years later, the Port Phillip District sanctioned
Where Billy Buckley ran the banks of the Yarra just dashing
The brass up in Sydney said was well earned
When Batman displaced the locals
And settled the site of Melbourne City
I call it my home
But I am just as guilty as invaders, I know
I pay respect, I'm a product of convict society
I was blinded by the literature they provided me
From '44 to '49 convicts arrived
And they were sent to penal depots, onto the line
It's paid slave labour, no choice to make ha?
No golden soil or wealth for toil
Until ya meet ya maker son
In 1851 Victoria split
An independent colony, reform sounded legit
A year before, the AATL formed
To lobby against the transport of more, yes more after more
Of these convicts
They said that we had had enough
Conveniently '51 marked the Gold Rush
And so the powers that be
Wanted to keep it low key
So they could feed their greed
And line their pockets with ease
A year into the rush, crime rates began to rise
300 fold more than last year at the same time
And in a lawless free for all
The callous man stands tall
While the righteous fall
If ever standing at all
By 1854 Hotham was Governor
Decreed that license checks eight times a month would come, ha?
The diggers tension ran deeper with every new day
This was the catalyst for the Eureka Stockade
Ten thousand miners burned their licenses on Bakery Hill
Behind a Southern Cross flag, that's flown to this day still
It represents rebellion, and in the same breath democracy
This convict nation created hypocrisy that we all call home
This is Australia, never failing
Endeavour landed, now we endeavour to understand it
What have we done to the rightful owners of all this land?
We're taking shots, instead of treating them like fellow man
So as the years progressed
The tension of bloodlines was racing
And white parliament decided dividing a nation
Was the only was to assimilate races...
The Genesis, indigenous Stolen Generations
This Ornament pays respect to Kulin Nation
Whether or not the majority choose to face it
A multicultural society inside of you and inside of me
Is what Australia needs, come on!