Built By Nature – Spoiled By Man by James Rowe

Built by nature, loved by man

Where children play in pristine sand

Gentle waves caress the shore

Surging back and forth once more

Sustaining life in this fair land,

Sea birds calling, swooping, feeding

Dolphins, penguins playing, breeding

Fish abound within these waters

Bring your families, sons and daughters

Relax, enjoy that peace you're needing.

A ship called Rena came one night

Travelling fast and giving fright

Through tranquil seas and amongst the isles

No thought for safety – just dollar smiles

Thinking they were in the right.

No thought for others or the life beneath

They crashed onto a rocky reef

Then wondered, “Now what shall we do?”

“We will leave this problem – it's up to you.”

They left their vessel with relief.

The angry sea attacked its foe

The ship had nowhere else to go

It bent, it buckled, it bled its oil

The cargo smashed and now will spoil

Is there no end to this tale of woe?

The sea was sick, the wildlife died

Beaches blackened by an oily tide

Dead birds, dead fishes washed up on shore

Our pristine beaches are no more

Can we clean it up? It's time we tried.

Thousands of people arrived on the scene

Determined to make our beaches clean

They gathered up the obscene oil

Determined that it should not spoil

Those lovely beaches where we all have been.

Hundreds of tonnes are taken away

Collected by people who care for their Bay

Large and small dollops are gathered up

In their love for the birds and a small seal pup

They do what they can so their children may play

We inherit this land, we inherit this sea

It's where we always wanted to be

Let's nurse it to health and make it pure

So that it's ready and so we can be sure

Our children's own families may enjoy this great scene.