[Verse 1] Now D’Entrecasteaux Channel opens fair, And Tasman’s Head lies on your starboard bow Huge rocks and stunted trees meet you where’er You look around; ’t is a bold coast enow. With foul wind and crank ship ’t were hard to wear: A reef of rocks lies westward long and low. At ebb tide you may see the Actæon lie A sheer hulk o’er the breakers, high and dry. [Chorus] Van Dieman’s Land, where waves embrace, Tasmania’s rugged, timeless grace. In solitude, the echoes stand, Of ancient trees and virgin land. A wilderness so vast and grand, Behold, Van Dieman’s Land. [Instrumental] [Verse 2] ’T is a most beauteous Strait. The Great South Sea’s Proud waves keep holiday along its shore, And as the vessel glides before the breeze, Broad bays and isles appear, and steep cliffs hoar With groves on either hand of ancient trees Planted by Nature in the days of yore: Van Dieman’s on the left and Bruné’s isle Forming the starboard shore for many a mile. [Chorus] Van Dieman’s Land, where waves embrace, Tasmania’s rugged, timeless grace. In solitude, the echoes stand, Of ancient trees and virgin land. A wilderness so vast and grand, Behold, Van Dieman’s Land. [Instrumental] [Verse 3] But all is still as death! Nor voice of man Is heard, nor forest warbler’s tuneful song. It seems as if this beauteous world began To be but yesterday, and the earth still young And unpossessed. For though the tall black swan Sits on her nest and stately sails along, And the green wild doves their fleet pinions ply, And the gray eagle tempts the azure sky, [Chorus] Van Dieman’s Land, where waves embrace, Tasmania’s rugged, timeless grace. In solitude, the echoes stand, Of ancient trees and virgin land. A wilderness so vast and grand, Behold, Van Dieman’s Land. [Instrumental] [Verse 4] Yet all is still as death! Wild solitude Reigns undisturbed along that voiceless shore, And every tree seems standing as it stood Six thousand years ago. The loud wave’s roar Were music in these wilds. The wise and good That wont of old, as hermits, to adore The God of Nature in the desert drear, Might sure have found a fit sojourning here. [Chorus] Van Dieman’s Land, where waves embrace, Tasmania’s rugged, timeless grace. In solitude, the echoes stand, Of ancient trees and virgin land. A wilderness so vast and grand, Behold, Van Dieman’s Land. [Instrumental] [End]
