See also: The literary works of Henry Lawson (external site)
HENRY LAWSON’S EARLY DAYS.
Father built a two-roomed slab-and-bark hut over the flat on the other side of the gully—and on the other side of the world, as it was then; and grandfather came with a load of stringy-bark slabs and stringy-bark poles, for a kitchen. And granny and the rest were going to Mudgee (about five miles away) or to some other place away out in the world. The dining-room had a good pine floor, and there were two dogs, and a church with a double tower, and a sentry on the mantel-shelf, and the sofa tick had a holland cover—l remember this because we weren’t allowed to get on it. About this time I was put into knickerbockers, and “’come a man.”
But we didn’t seem to live in the new house any time before a tremendous thing happened. We were in a cart with bedding and a goat, and a cat in a basket, and fowls in a box, and there were great trees all along, and teams with loads of bark and rafters, and tables upside down with bedding and things between the legs, and baskets and pots hanging round, and gold-cradles, gold-dishes, windlass, bales and picks and shovels; and there were more drays and carts, and children and women, and goats—some tied behind the carts —and men on horses and men walking. All the world was shifting as fast as ever it could.
Gulgong, the last of the great alluvial or “poor man’s rushes,” had broken out. And it seemed no time, but it must have been months, and may have been a year or so, before a still greater thing than ever happened. Father’s party had bottomed on payable gold, and we went with mother and some aunts to Sydney. I remember little of the coach journey down, except that I felt smothered and squeezed once or twice, and it was jolly. We went to sleep on chairs in the waiting-room at the railway-station, and when I woke up somebody said it was Sydney, and there was a lot of smoke, and it was raining. I remembered little of Sydney, except that we stayed at a place in Castlereagh Street. We must have picnicked at Manly Beach or somewhere, for we had a picture at home of a Newfoundland dog with the sea behind him, and that picture meant Sydney to me for a long time afterwards.
Louisa Lawson, (mother of Henry Lawson), her son Charles William (born 25 June 1869)
and her sister Phoebe Albury, (dressmaker), outside Miss. Albury's dressmaking shop, Gulgong area
and her sister Phoebe Albury, (dressmaker), outside Miss. Albury's dressmaking shop, Gulgong area
Click here for zoomable image
Louisa Lawson and Phoebe Albury
I remember even less of the journey home than I did of the journey down. There was an inn where we stayed for a night, so we must have taken the coach journey by van, and not by Cobb and Co’s.
Then the hut on Gulgong. Father was always working, or going somewhere with an axe or a pick and shovel on his shoulders, and coming home late. I remember watching for the glint of his white moles in the dusk, and sometimes following him out again after tea, when it was moonlight, and he went a little way with the axe on his shoulder to split firewood from a log. He worked in a claim in the Happy Valley, and again on the Canadian Lead.
Louisa Lawson and her son Charles William in front of their bark hut, Gulgong area, 1870
Click here for zoomable image
One day mother and father packed up all the things, and next morning we were called early; there was a dray at the door and we heard a great scraping overhead. Suddenly we saw the sky, and next moment we were nearly blinded by a shower of pungent stringy-bark dust. Father was taking off the roof of the hut — for we carried the house with us in those days.
We were back at Pipeclay again. There was someone living in the new house on the flat, so we camped for a night or so with the Spencers. We’d brought the lining of the Gulgong hut with us — “scrim,” or bagging, with the newspapers still pasted on it, and our table stood outside, where the dray had dumped it with the rest of the load; so we children pulled a big piece of the lining over the table and let it hang down all round, to make a cubby house, and we all got under — Spencer had a big family and it was a tight squeeze. And we compared notes and got chummy, and told stories. They were the first playmates we had, and we theirs, and we were chums until we were scattered.
Father and a few others petitioned for a provisional school at Pipeclay. It was Eurunderee now; the aboriginal name had been restored. Father built the school; it was of bark. It was furnished with odds and ends thrown out of the public school in Mudgee, when the public school got new desks, stools, and other things. Father made blackboards and easels, and mended the rickety furniture.
A selector, an Irishman, named John Tierney, was appointed schoolmaster. He was six feet and more, and very gaunt.
One day in the first week at the bark school was a great day in my life, for I was given a copy-book and pen and ink for the first time.
Mother got a copy of “Robinson Crusoe,” and used to read to us in the evenings, and when she’d get tired and leave off at a thrilling place, we’d get the book, and try to spell our way ahead. By the time “Robinson Crusoe” was finished, we could go back and read the book through from beginning to end.
The master explained that the world was round. I thought it must have something to rest on, but I was willing to let that stand over for a while, and wanted the hill question cleared up. The master got an india-rubber ball, and stuck a pin in it up to the head, and told us that the highest mountain in the world would not have the ten thousandth effect on the roundness of the earth that the head of that pin would on the roundness of the ball. That seemed satisfactory. He it was, I think, who tied a string to the neck of a stone ink-bottle, and swung it round, to illustrate the power of gravitation and the course of the earth round the sun. And the string broke, and the bottle went through a window-pane.
A favourite fad of the master’s was that the school, being built of old material, and standing on an exposed sidling, might be blown down at any moment, and he trained the children to dive under the desks at a given signal, so that they might have a chance of escaping the falling beams and rafters when the crash came. Most of us, I believe, were privately resolved to dive for the door at the first crack.
Amongst the scholars was a black goanna. He lived in a dead hollow tree near the school, and was under the master’s immediate protection. On summer days he’d stretch along a beam over the girls’ seats, and improve his mind a little, and doze a lot. The drone of the school seemed good for his nerves. Sometimes, when the master’s back was turned for a minute or so, one of the boys would cry suddenly, “Girls, the goanna’s failin’!” And then you’d hear the girls squawk.
Source: HENRY LAWSON, From “A Selection from the Prose Works of Henry Lawson,” edited by George Mackaness. Abridged. In The school magazine of literature for our boys and girls Vol. 27 No. 5 Part 3 Class 5 (June 3, 1942)
________________________
Louisa Lawson Memorial, Rookwood Cemetery
Source: Julie Rusten
Source: Julie Rusten
Louisa Lawson Memorial, Rookwood Cemetery
Source: Julie Rusten
Read more about Louisa Lawson:Source: Julie Rusten
THE LATE HENRY LAWSON. IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL IN SYDNEY.
SYDNEY, September 4.
The funeral of the late Mr. Henry Lawson this afternoon was a wonderful tribute to the memory of the poet. A continuous procession of persons of all ranks viewed the body at the mortuary in the morning, and later at the Cathedral, where every seat was occupied long before the service commenced. The Lieutenant-Governor (Sir William Irvine) sat in one of the front pews, and near him were the Prime Minister (Mr. Hughes ) and Ministers of both the Federal and State Governments. The chief mourners and relatives present included Mrs. Henry Lawson (widow), Miss Bertha Lawson and Mr. James Lawson (children), Mrs. G. O'Connor (sister), and Mr. Peter Lawson and Mr. Charles Lawson (brothers). There was a large attendance of the late poet's friends and literary colleagues, and representatives of the newspapers, at the Cathedral and at the graveside. After the playing of Chopin's "Funeral March," "Rock of Ages" was sung by the choir.
The cortege was headed by mounted police and a band. Crowds of persons lined the route almost all the way to Waverley Cemetery, and hundreds had assembled at the grave awaiting the cortege. At the cemetery Archdeacon Darcy Irvine read the burial service.
Miss Bertha Lawson, daughter of the late poet, said to-night: "On behalf of us all I desire to express our sincerest thanks and deepest gratitude to the Federal and State Governments and to all the people of Australia for their magnificent tribute to my father's memory. There could be no higher reward for his life's work than that the love of the Nation should follow him to rest."
As a mark of respect to the late Mr. Henry Lawson, the flag at the Toowoomba Town Hall was flown at half-mast yesterday.
The death of Mr. Walter Hegarty, who had long resided at Manly (Sydney), occurred yesterday in Sydney. The death of his old friend Mr. Henry Lawson affected him so deeply that he was seized with a paralytic stroke. Mr. Hegarty was a graceful writer, and some of his earlier verses published in the "Bulletin" are still popular as recitations. He was 55 years of age.
MISS BERTHA LAWSON, daughter of Henry Lawson, Australia's national poet, reads the inscriptions on wreaths commemorating the anniversary of his death.
Miss Bertha Lawson and Mrs Lawson, daughter and widow, were among the gathering that visited the poet's grave yesterday.
The statue that was made in England, and cost over £10,000 and recently unveiled to the memory of the Australian poet, Henry Lawson, was presented to New South Wales by the late J. F. Archibald, for many years connected with the Sydney ''Bulletin" and a friend and admirer for years of Australia's premier verse writer. Here is what Mr. O. J. Doyle, a Sydney journalist, says in the last issue of 'The Printer': —
"The unveiling of the Henry Lawson statue in the outer Domain took place in a scene of sylvan grandeur so beloved by the poet himself. It is the hope of all Australians that this most enduring memorial will rest in the hearts and minds of its people, in a knowledge and love of his work in prose and verse. Lawson was truly the people's poet, and especially the poet of the working class. Their friends were his friends, and their God was his God. Hence he became the stager of their battle hymns."
The writer, who was connected with newspapers in the early days of Mudgee. remembers Lawson as a boy. His mother, Mrs. Louisa Lawson, who lived at Eurunderee, was a contributor to the local newspaper, and on many occasions brought into the Editor (the late Mr. T. F. De Courcey Browne was then Editor of the Mudgee 'Independent') verses of poetry on different subjects, and stated that they were composed by her son Henry, who was then a small boy going to school.
They were so brilliantly written that Mr. Browne was sceptical as to the authorship, and was under the impression that they were extracts from other journals and altered. Of course, they were published from time to time, and were eagerly sought after by many enthusiastic readers. As Henry Lawson grew into manhood he was a regular contributor to that journal. His mother was also a good journalist, and successfully conducted a woman's paper in Sydney for many years. Lawson was a native of Grenfell, his parents going there in the days of the Weddin Mountains gold rush (near Grenfell) in the late sixties, and when Gulgong broke out, attracting thousands from all parts, a rush set in from the southern gold fields, and the Lawson family came over among the many. Thus, by a great number, Henry Lawson is claimed as a Mudgee native. He was very young when he came here, and lived all his life at Eurunderee, the locality of which he loved, and two of his writings in verse are entitled 'Eurunderee' and 'Mount Buccaroo,' a few miles from Eurunderee.
Mrs. Lawson's husband was a contractor, and among the buildings he erected in Mudgee was an office which printed a paper called the 'Mudgee Times,' in Church Street, on the land where Loneragan's warehouse now stands.
Mrs. Lawson's parents were old residents of Pipeclay, and afterwards resided in Mortimer street, near Loneragan's wool store, and named Albury.
They had a large family, among them being many daughters. The late Mr. Richard Stear, who married one daughter, owned the Times Bakery (now Mr. J. Spears) in Gulgong for years. Mr. Stear was Mayor of Gulgong, and took a leading part in all public movements.
A Foreign Father
Handwriting of Henry Lawson
Source: Archived web page
1949 - WORSHIPPERS AT THE SHRINE OF HENRY LAWSON: The Poet of the People
History was made at Eurunderee, a few miles beyond Mudgee on Friday afternoon last, when a fine memorial to perpetuate the memory of Henry Lawson, the bard of the people, was unveiled by his widow, Mrs. Bertha Lawson.
In bright sunshine, and on the site of the poet's old home, a crowd of some 2000 people, representative of the whole State, gathered to witness the historic ceremony. The memorial was made possible by the Housing Commission, and the work of construction was ably carried out by the Cudgegong Shire Council.
Mr. L. Deutscher, the owner of the property, has earned the thanks of the nation by donating the site, on which the memorial stands. His splendid gesture was fittingly acknowledged by the Hon. C. Evatt and other leading speakers at both civic reception and unveiling ceremony. The fine organising work of Messrs. C. James and B. Swindlehurst was also gratefully acknowledged at the various functions, while the people of Eurunderee, who prepared and served the afternoon tea, came in for special mention, and rightly so, too, for they performed a magnificent job.
At, the function were some who had been closely associated with the poet in early life, while there must
have been many who were personally acquainted with him during his rise to fame. It was truly a wonderful gathering, a pleasing feature of which was the presence of hundreds of school children.
Opening of Henry Lawson Memorial at Eurunderee near Mudgee
Source: SLNSW
THE CIVIC RECEPTION
The civic reception in the Town Hall on Friday morning was a memorable occasion, which will live long in the memory of those who were privileged to be present. The Mayor, Ald. R. A. Roth, presided; and in the course of an eloquent address, said:—
'The occasion is a memorable one, in that it gives to us, the citizens of Mudgee, the opportunity of bringing to Mudgee so very many people who play such prominent parts in the life of New South Wales. I cannot remember, in my very many years of civic association, such a distinguished visitation, and I am proud to bid you welcome, and to confer upon you all the freedom of this city.For all of this, of course, we are indebted to Henry Lawson. You have, all of you, paid to him a magnificent tribute just by your presence here. For Mrs. Lawson in particular, I would suggest, this must be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, day in her life. To find, after all these years, that the work of her late husband, has been so magniffcently appreciated by the nation must be a wonderful comfort and source of intense pride. He lived and worked in times so very different from conditions we know to-day. Everything has changed so very swiftly in those few brief years since 1922, when he left us, and yet, after all, it is only 27 years, and we have now, the sacred priviledge of recognising as a State and a nation, the greatness of the man who did so much for Australia.Looking back through history, the same thing has happened so many times before. So many famous men have only been really appreciated after they have gone, and in some instances it has taken hundreds of years for the worth of a man to be really appreciated. We have done better than that. There are many here to-day who really knew Henry Lawson. There are many here in the hall to-day who knew him well. Who really knew him; lived with him, went to school with him; saw him from day to day, in his child hood days and in his later more mature years; who knew what he was doing, what he was trying to tell Australia, but it remains for us now, in a later generation, to really honour him.He is worthy of that honour, be cause he earned it. There are many here, to-day who can speak of him more eloquently than I, more intimately than I, because they actually knew him, worked with him, talked with him, and lived with him. That is their privilege. I envy them that. I, as one of a later generation, would merely wish to do him honour for what he did for Australia.Henry Lawson was a great Australian. We have given great honour to painters, to scientists, to sculptors, to generals, to any who have made their mark conspicuously in matters for the good of Australia, and now we have the opportunity to honour one who placed us in world class in literature. It gives me great pleasure to do honour now to Henry Lawson, who put Australia on the front page of literature, and so we convey to Mrs. Lawson, with deep respect, the debt of gratitude we owe to him.'
Cr. A. Barton, president of the Cudgegong Shire Council, also spoke words of welcome. Mr. W. F. Dunn, M.L.A., in endorsing the remarks of the Mayor and President, said that it was indeed gratifying to see so many distinguished visitors present to honour the memory of Australia's great writer, who was almost a native of Mudgee.
Mr. D. Clyne, M.L.A., made a brief response, and he was followed by Mr. C. Evatt, Minister for Housing, who said it was a privilege to be afforded the opportunity of honouring the memory of Australia's great national bard. He went on to pay a tribute to the generosity of Mr. L. Deutscher, who had donated the site of the memorial to the nation, and to the Cudgegong Shire Council and its clerk, Mr. C. James, who had played a prominent part in the establishment of the memorial. He also thanked the Mudgee Council and Mr. B. Swindlehurst for their warm, welcome.
Mrs. Bertha Lawson told briefly but eloquently, of what her late husband had striven to accomplish for Australia, and its people, for whom he had a great love. She exhorted her hearers to endeavour to make his words even more widely known by encouraging the children to read them.
Messrs. C. Martin, M.L.A., P. B. Cox, president of the Henry Lawson Society, and M. Holburn, president Fellowship of Australian Writers, also responded.
The visitors and other invited guests were later entertained at an official dinner at the Hotel Mudgee, the arrangements for which were perfectly carried out by the Mudgee Council and its clerk.
UNVEILING CEREMONY
Early in the afternoon great crowds of people began to converge on the site of the memorial at Eurunderee, and the spectacle was an inspiring one. Hundreds of cars were parked in orderly array under capable police officials, while Mr. Mathews bus service transported between four and five hundred men, women and children to the scene. Boy Scouts, Cubs and Girl Guides formed guards of honour, and all carried themselves like veterans.
Proceedings opened with the National Anthem, rendered with spirit by a choir of girls from the Mudgee School. The visitors were met by Cr. and Mrs. Barton and Mayor Roth and his wife, and then followed a presentation of bouquets to Mrs. Lawson by Yvonne Sargeant, a Eurunderee school pupil, and to Mrs. Evatt by Jeanette Deutscher.
Cr. Barton extended a sincere welcome to those present and went on to say:—
'The attendance of so many here this, afternoon is most gratifying not only because it is a tribute to one who, in the words of Mr. McKee Wright, 'was the first articulate voice of the real Australia,' but also because it shows a timely awakening of interest in the recognition of the fact that there have been, and still are, Australian writers quite the equal of those found in other countries of the world, and that these men and women are worthy of our praise, appreciation, and practical support.Many of you, I am well aware, have travelled long distances to be with us to-day, and to you I want to say how pleased we are to have you with us. I trust that your stay, though necessarily short perhaps, will remain pleasantly fresh in your memories for many years to come. Included in this gathering are quite a number of distinguished persons, and some who, even now, are making history in the literary sphere. I fear that time will not permit me to name them individually, but I want to thank them for their attendance at this function. I must, however, extend a special welcome to Mrs. Bertha Lawson, for whom this function must have a very great significance, and to the Honourable Clive Evatt, his good lady, and the Misses Evatt. It is, I think, well known to all present that this memorial has come into existence through Mr. Evatt's keen interest in Henry Lawson and his works, and I desire at this early stage to publicly express to him the very sincere thanks of those many people who, over the years, have advocated some tangible recognition of Lawson's association with the locality in which we find our selves at this moment. To-day we see the fulfilment of Mr. Evatt's untiring efforts, and I think we should honour him for all he has done. And so, to you all, I offer a most hearty welcome. May you enjoy this function thoroughly. May you, in the Lawson spirit of mateship, make many new and worthwhile friends, and finally return to your respective home's with the feeling that your visit, in the words of George Farwell, 'to the Lawson country,' has been worthwhile.'
Mr. L. A. Deutscher, the donor of the site, then presented the deeds to Hon. C. Evatt, and in doing so he said that he was not looking for any credit, as he was only doing what one Australian should do for another. The memorial, he went on to say, could have no better custodian than the Cudgegong Shire Council, and he congratulated the members and staff on the way they had supervised the erection.
The Hon. C. Evatt, who accepted the deeds on behalf of the nation, expressed his deep gratitude to Mr Deutscher for his generous and much appreciated gift. He then dealt eloquently with the life and work of the poet, and expressed the hope that he would be even more widely appreciated in the future.
Mrs. Bertha Lawson, who was deeply touched by the sincerity of the people assembled, said that she could not tell them how grateful she was for all they had done to honour the memory of her late husband. To the members of the Deutscher family she expressed her heartfelt thanks, while to the others
associated with the construction of the memorial she paid a glowing tribute. The completed work was something to be proud of. She then performed the unveil ing ceremony.
Messrs. Martin, M.L.A., P. B. Cox, D. Clyne, M.L.A., M. Holburn, and Ald. L. Montague, Mayor of Drummoyne, also addressed the gather ing. Mr. W. F. Dunn, in moving a vote of thanks to the Cudgegong Shire Council and other organisations and individuals associated with the work of establishing the memorial, said that they all deserved the thanks of the nation. To the people of Eurunderee he offered his warmest congratulations. They had performed a magnificent job. In conclusion he added words of praise for the bright little girls of the school choir, and to young Ron Sargeant, who had so effectively recited one of Lawson's poems.
Opening of Henry Lawson Memorial at Eurunderee near Mudgee
Source: SLNSW
During the proceedings the Hon. C. Evatt presented Cr. Barton with a scroll dedicating the site as a national reserve, and vesting the same in the Cudgegong Shire Council. Cr. Barton accepted the scroll, and gave an assurance that the council would carefully preserve the memorial.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, the multitude adjourned for afternoon tea, which was prepared and served by the people of Eurunderee, who earned the deepest thanks of their many guests. It was truly a wonderful gesture. The Rev. Father O'Byrne, of Kandos, was the official representative of the Catholic Historical Society, at the Henry Lawson ceremonies in Mudgee on Friday last.
Opening of Henry Lawson Memorial at Eurunderee near Mudgee
Source: SLNSW
THE MEMORIAL
The memorial is certainly a credit to all concerned on its construction. The site of the old Lawson home,
comprising an area of 40 by 60 feet, is enclosed with a handsome stone fence, worked out very attractively in patterns of various coloured stone. It is described by an eminent Sydney architectural authority as most unique and interesting. Part of the wall embraces a semi-circular recess, with the main features, the memorial and its surroundings, which stand above the wall proper, thus throwing the memorial into prominent relief. This section is paved in attractive crazy-work pattern, and on one side is a concrete seat let into the wall, while on the other is an iron gate leading to the memorial area. The exact site of the old home has been paved, and a handsome summer compound with massive stone pillars, erected. The tiled roof, which is remarkably well conceived, has the appearance of great age. Standing out in relief are the old brick chimney and verandah post, round which old English ivy is climbing. The unpaved section of the area has been covered with local quartz gravel.
TREE PLANTING
During the afternoon Mesdames Deutscher and Evatt presided at a tree planting ceremony. Kurrajongs and wattles were set out to the best advantage, while rambling roses, Virginia creeper and rosemary bushes will, as time goes on, add considerably to the beauty of the surroundings.
THE VISITORS' BOOK
Mr. A. P. Daniels, the Eurunderee school teacher, was in charge of the visitors' book, and many hundreds of signatures were secured.
THE CONCERT & BROADCAST
The concert in the Town Hall at night attracted a capacity house, and the artists engaged put on a really bright and colourful programme, which was greatly enjoyed. Over 2MG the Mudgee Drama Group presented the story of the life of Henty Lawson, and it was a striking performance, on which the various artists are to be warmly congratulated.
Opening of Henry Lawson Memorial at Eurunderee near Mudgee
Source: SLNSW
