The following poem is written by an anonymous soldier from Olinda who went under the pen name ‘Aussie’ and sent to The Lilydale Express to be published –

HOME THOUGHTS

When Fritz his hate was raining down,
And poison filled the air;
I thought of a mount near Melbourne town,
And wish’d that I was there.

When in this muddy trench I sit,
And more whizz bangs come along,
I pray the Lord to wait a bit,
Till I again see Mount Dandenong.

The gap through which the coaches go,
Over Olinda side,
The lookout from whence you see below,
Far as the ocean tide.

This war can make you give up hope,
But one thought prolongs;
Heaven to me is the sunset on the slope,
North side – Mount Dandenong.