Dorothea Mackellar
Overview
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and fiction writer.
The only daughter of noted physician and parliamentarian Sir Charles Mackellar
Charles Mackellar
Sir Charles Kinnaird Mackellar KCMG, was an Australian politician and surgeon.-Early life:Mackellar was born in Sydney, the only son of Dr Frank Mackellar , and his wife Isabella, née Robertson . Charles was educated at Sydney Grammar School and then moved to Port Macquarie district...
, she was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1885. Although raised in a professional urban family, Mackellar's poetry is usually regarded as quintessential bush poet
Bush poet
Bush poets were Australian poets who wrote about Australian rural life during colonial times and about the Australian bush. Many colonial bush poets were illiterate and performed their poems from memory instead of writing them. Bush poetry evolved from the jokes and stories shared by early settlers...
ry, inspired by her experience on her brothers' farms near Gunnedah
Gunnedah, New South Wales
Gunnedah is a town and Local government area in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. 7,542 people lived in the town of Gunnedah in 2006, including 931 indigenous people ....
, North-West New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
Her best-known poem is My Country
My Country
"My Country" is an iconic patriotic poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar at the age of 19 while homesick in England. 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...
, written at age 19 while homesick in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and first published in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
in 1908 under the title Core of My Heart.
