They came to a land, rugged and brown,
With never a road nor field nor a town.
But league upon league hills, plain and spur,
Of grass the colour of weasel's fur.
Of leafless bushes and sedges harsh,
And rugged forest and reedy marsh.
And wandering rivers born of snow,
That through flat wastes of shingle flow.
And terrible winds that sear and parch,
As they boom from under their cloudy arch.
Afar from their lonely doors they gazed,
Right over the plains where their cattle grazed.
To the stern of the Alps, all stony and grey,
And the snow peaks flushing at close of day.
"The Pioneers" by Arnold Wall
Great poems. Our Pilgrims and Early Settlers were brave, resilient, compassionate, pioneering survivors. I think most passed on their vision and values of faith, education, land and respect for each genuine person of different backgrounds and cultures.
My father’s maternal grandfather, Henry Jacobs DD ( Oxon) came on ‘Sir George Seymour’ 1850. My mother’s mother’s father Walter James Prebble, on ‘Aurora’, 1840.