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Across this Land
She walked the tracks where dust would rise,
A steady heart beneath wide skies.
With soft-bowed strings her hope would start,
A waltzing beat inside her heart.
She crossed the plains through heat and rain,
With worn-out boots and quiet pain.
When conflict tried to break her stand,
She held her ground across this land.
She kept on moving, kept on giving,
Taught the young where they were living.
Through harsher winds and bowed-string strain,
Her courage walked the long terrain.
They cast her out, then called her back,
Yet still she stayed upon her track.
And every school she raised from dust
Was proof of faith that would not rust.
She kept on moving, kept on giving,
Taught the young where they were living.
And through the storms she had to stand,
Her spirit crossed this rugged land.
Soft beginnings, rugged ending,
Grace made strong through tireless wending.
SONG OVERVIEW
This song, Across this Land was written by Tasmanian songwriter, author and consultant Jason Bresnehan and forms part of his Saints and Sinners series, a collection of twenty-seven original songs inspired by twenty-seven saints whose lives demonstrate overcoming and movement. The series is being developed into a companion book that combines song lyrics with concise saint biographies focused on each saint’s story, saintly movement and the obstacle they overcame.
ACROSS THIS LAND, the SONG, by Jason Bresnehan, Tasmanian Songwriter
Mary MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842 in Melbourne, in the British colony of Victoria in Australia and died on 8 August 1909 in North Sydney, New South Wales. Her saintly movement took place across colonial Australia, where she co-founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph and helped establish schools for children who otherwise had little access to education. Her resting place is recognised at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in North Sydney.
Mary's life was shaped by poverty, distance and conflict. She travelled widely across Australia to establish schools and support communities, often working with limited resources and facing opposition from both civil and Church authorities. At one point she was excommunicated during a dispute with a bishop, although the decision was later withdrawn. Mary turned adversity into service. Her saintly movement carried her across a vast continent, helping bring education, compassion and practical support to people living far from centres of power and opportunity.