For Manning Clark

And so Strzelecki set out from Hannibal
Macarthur's station, leaving the girls behind
In Sydney. – All night the Nacki washed my mind
Like willow roots in water. – From the Geehi wall
The party climbed Mt Townsend through a whole
Avalanche of wild flowers only to find
The south peak topped it - much like one in Poland
Called Kosciuszko, Strzelecki claimed. The Pole
Scaled it alone, and when a cloud came down
Shutting the alpine vastness in a room
With his brief triumph, Strzelecki picked the bloom
Of one of those rare snowflowers sprung from stone
Remembering Adyna Turno and her love,
And joined the others happily enough.

From:
Alan E.J. Andrews
"Kosciuszko. The Mountain in History"
Tabletop Press O'Connor Canberra 1991.