It was the year 2000 and Sydney was preparing to host the Olympics when music lover and composer Natalie Raab decided to create a uniquely Australian song.
Her hope was that the ballad-style piece, celebrating Australia's beauty, and modern and ancient cultures, could be featured somewhere during the Sydney Olympics.
Ms Raab had fallen in love with Australia after moving from Italy with her family in 1960 and had been involved with Indigenous students through her work as a high school teacher in Sydney.
"My wife was always very musical," her husband, Erich Raab said.
"She wrote quite a bit of music for some well-known artists, she played the violin, the guitar, the piano, and she studied music from an early age.
Ms Raab offered the song to the Sydney Olympic Committee three months before the games.
Mr Raab said the committee members praised the song but said it was too late to incorporate it into their program.
"They loved it, they absolutely loved it, but they had already completed their program for the Sydney games," he said.
Song rediscovered two decades later
The song stayed in that drawer for more than 20 years, until last year when Mr Raab discovered it during a clean-up of his home at Forster, on the NSW Mid North Coast.
Ms Raab died in 2014 in a motorcycle accident and Mr Raab was eager to see her song shared with others.
"She was a very outdoors sort of a girl … she died riding her motorbike after coming back from a ride to Alice Springs," he said.
"When I found the music, I thought, 'This song in a few verses says everything that needs to be said about this country, its beauty, its natural history, its people history, and its emphasis on reconciliation for all'.
Choral Society brings music to life
Mr Raab engaged a singer to perform the song and shared it on YouTube initially, before gifting it to the Manning Valley Choral Society.
The Choral Society has now performed the song, called Till I Come Home, as part of a concert series, and also made a recording of the music.
"They are lovely people," Mr Raab said.
The Manning Valley Choral Society's Robyn Rankin said they gratefully received the music.
"Erich asked us if we would take care of it and record it for him," she said.
"We are lucky enough to have it in our possession now … it's a tribute to Erich's wife."
Mr Raab was thrilled to see his wife's music shine and hoped the song would be widely shared.
"It's a fond memory I have," he said.
