After leaving Leeton in 1917, Henry Lawson spent the remaining years of his life in Sydney. His alcoholism, depression, and poor health all made the final years of his life difficult. Lawson died on 2 September 1922 and was granted a state funeral. Thousands flock to pay their respects and to give Lawson a fitting send off after a life of literary service to his country. In this last episode of the Henry Lawson’s Crumbs Podcast, we discuss the closing years of Henry Lawson’s life.

Some of Anne-Marie Hanson’s favourite Lawson works:

His Father’s Mate. Originally published in The Bulletin 22 December 1888. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

The Drover’s Wife. Originally published in The Bulletin 23 July 1892. Collected in Short Stories in Prose and Verse (December 1894).

Mitchell Doesn’t Believe in the Sack. Originally published in the Bulletin 13 May 1893. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

“Shall We Gather at the River.” Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

The Story of ‘Gentleman Once.’ Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

Some of Gregory Bryan’s favourite Lawson works:

Prose:

The Drover’s Wife. Originally published in The Bulletin 23 July 1892. Collected in Short Stories in Prose and Verse (December 1894).

Send Round the Hat. Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

“Shall We Gather at the River.” Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

By the Banks of the Murrumbidgee. Originally published in The Bulletin, 18 May 1916.

Poetry:

The Wreck of the ‘Derry Castle’. Originally published in The Bulletin 24 December 1887. Collected in In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses (February 1896).

“The Western Stars.” Originally published in Freeman’s Journal 23 December 1893.

Henry Lawson died in 1922. One year later—almost to the day—the Henry Lawson Memorial and Literary Society was inaugurated. The Society continues today under the capable leadership of the President of the Society, James Thomas, and other similarly dedicated committee members, including Leigh Hay. Leigh is the editor of the Society’s publication, The Lawsonian. In this episode of the Henry Lawson’s Crumbs Podcast, James and Leigh discuss their passions for Lawson and their roles within the Society that honours his name.

Some of Leigh Hay’s favourite Lawson works:

The Bush Girl. Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

The Women of the Town. Originally published in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).

Do They Think That I Do Not Know? Originally published in The Skyline Riders and Other Verses (October 1910).

Hannah Thomburn. Originally published in For Australia and Other Poems (October 1913).

Some of James Thomas’ favourite Lawson works:

Prose:

That There Dog of Mine. Originally published in New Zealand Mail 8 December 1893. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

Send Round the Hat. Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

Poetry:

The Fire at Ross’s Farm. Originally published in The Bulletin 6 December 1890. Collected in Short Stories in Prose and Verse (December 1894).

Trooper Campbell. Originally published in The Boomerang 11 April 1891. Collected in In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses (February 1896).

“Tambaroora Jim.” Originally published in The Bulletin 19 March 1892. Collected in The Rising of the Court and Other Sketches in Prose and Verse (August 1910).

The Bush Fire. Originally published in In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses (February 1896).

Written Afterwards. Originally published in The Bulletin 29 January 1898. Collected in Verses Popular and Humorous (December 1900).

In 1916 and 1917, Henry Lawson lived in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, where he had the responsibility of writing promotional materials to attract settlers to the area. One of the unexpected benefits of the move from Sydney was that it provided for Lawson the opportunity to reconnect with Jim Gordon. Lawson and Gordon had not seen one another for 23 years, but their shared experiences in Bourke in 1892 and 1893 had formed a sufficiently strong bond that they were immediately able to pick up their friendship when they got back together in the summer of 1916. In this episode we discuss Henry Lawson’s time in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and some of the writing created there and inspired by his experiences living there.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

First Impressions of Leeton. Originally published in The Murrumbidgee Irrigator, 28 January 1916.

Drought and Irrigation. Originally published in The Murrumbidgee Irrigator, 4 February 1916.

Leeton Town. Originally published in The Murrumbidgee Irrigator, 11 February 1916.

Travellin’. Originally published in The Bulletin, 30 March 1916.

By the Banks of the Murrumbidgee. Originally published in The Bulletin, 18 May 1916.

Bonnie of our Area. Originally published in The Bulletin, 21 September 1916.

A Wet Camp. Originally published in The Bulletin, 21 July 1921.

Jim Everett is the grandson of Henry Lawson's mate, Jim Gordon. A Tale of Two Poets is by Jim Everett.

One of Henry Lawson’s best friends was Jim Gordon, who was also a poet who published regularly in the Bulletin and other similar forums for Bush writing.  Jim Gordon wrote under the pen-name, Jim Grahame. As had been the case with Lawson in 1920, Grahame was awarded a Commonwealth Literary Pension in 1947; Prime Minister Ben Chifley deciding it was due recognition of his contribution to Australian literature. Lawson and Gordon first met in Bourke in 1892, when Lawson was 25 and Gordon was 18. Late in 1892, they tramped from Bourke to Toorale shearing shed and back (a distance of approximately 300km). In early 1893, they tramped from Bourke to Hungerford and back (approximately 450km). Life took them in different directions and so they were subsequently separated for many years. Fortune brought them together again in 1916 in the newly established Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Once again, the two became inseparable. In this podcast episode, we speak with Jim Everett, who is the grandson of Jim Gordon.

Henry Lawson wrote a series of stories set in the city slums of Jones’s Alley. Arvie Aspinall and his mother were two of the inhabitants of Jones’s Alley. In this podcast episode, we discuss Arvie and the stories in which he and his mother feature. We also discuss the autobiographical connections between Henry Lawson and the character of Arvie.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

Two Boys at Grinder Brothers. Originally published in Worker, 7 Oct 1893. Collected in Over the Sliprails (June 1900).

Arvie Aspinall’s Alarm Clock. Originally published in The Bulletin, 11 June 1892. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

Jones’s Ally. Originally published in three parts in Worker, 1, 8, & 15 June 1892. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

A Visit of Condolence. Originally published in The Bulletin, 23 April 1892. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

His Mother’s Mate. Originally published in The Bulletin, 6 July 1895.

Henry and Bertha Lawson were married on 15 April 1896. Henry was 28 and Bertha was 19 years of age. Throughout their time together in England from 1900-1902, the marriage was difficult. Upon their return to Australia in mid-1902, they separated but there followed a period of reunion-separation-reunion and further separation. Eventually, an official, judicial separation was granted on 4 June 1903. The marriage had barely lasted seven years. At the time of the separation, Henry and Bertha had two young children—Jim was 5 and Barta was 3. Throughout these difficult times, Henry Lawson penned a number of works that provide revealing insights into how he was feeling.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

After All. Originally published in The Bulletin, 28 March 1896. Collected in Selected Poems of Henry Lawson (November 1918).

That Pretty Girl in the Army. Published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

To Hannah. Originally published in The Bulletin, 1 September 1904. Collected in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).

The Secret Whiskey Cure. Originally published in The Bulletin, 22 September 1904. Collected in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).

To Jim. Originally published in The Bulletin, 9 March 1905. Collected in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).

The Separation. Published in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).

Hannah Thomburn. Published in For Australia and Other Poems (October 1913).

The Separated Women. Published in For Australia and Other Poems (October 1913).

Exit. Originally written 1903, but not published until after Lawson’s death. Collected in Colin Roderick (ed.) Henry Lawson: Collected Verse, Vol. 2: 1901-1909 (1968).

From mid-1900 until mid-1902, Henry Lawson lived in England, pursuing fame and fortune on what he perceived to be a bigger and more esteemed literary stage than the one he struggled to secure a comfortable living from in Australia. Before leaving Australian shores, he published a controversial article in the Bulletin, advising young Australian writers to seek success in England or America (or even Timbuctoo). Failing that, Lawson’s advice to any aspiring Australian writers was that they needed to kill themselves. When Lawson lived in England, he found many things were not as grand as he had imagined. He recorded his impressions of London and English life in a number of works where it is clear that he expected things to be different to the realities he discovered.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

“Pursuing Literature” in Australia. Originally published in The Bulletin, 21 January 1899.

Grimy Old Babylon. Originally published in The Daily Telegraph, 2 August 1902.

A Voice from the City. Originally published in The Bulletin, 1 October 1903.

Letters to Jack Cornstalk. Originally published in Triangles of Life and Other Stories, October 1913.

Henry Lawson’s most famous story is The Drover’s Wife. It initially appeared in The Bulletin in 1892 and was included in a number of Lawson’s books in the years immediately following its first publication. In this episode of the Henry Lawson’s Crumbs Podcast, we discuss Lawson’s classic work, The Drover’s Wife.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

Alligator Desolation: A Ghost Story. Originally published in The Boomerang 25 April 1891. Collected in Short Stories in Prose and Verse as We Called Him “Ally” for Short (December 1894).

The Drover’s Wife. Originally published in The Bulletin 23 July 1892. Collected in Short Stories in Prose and Verse (December 1894).

“Middleton’s Peter”: A Bush Yarn. Originally published in The Worker 21 December 1895. Collected in On the Track (April 1900).

A Double Buggy at Lahey’s Creek. Originally published in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine Monthly February 1901. Collected in Joe Wilson and His Mates (November 1901).

The Bush Girl. Originally published in Children of the Bush (July 1902).

Henry Lawson made three visits to New Zealand. In this episode of the Henry Lawson’s Crumbs Podcast, we discuss each of those trips. Lawson went to New Zealand in 1893, 1896, and 1897. As a bachelor who was fed up with life, his initial intent when he first left Australia in 1893 was never to return. His second trip to New Zealand in 1896 was very short. He was engaged to be married and missed his fiancé too much to stay away from her. In 1897, the newlywed Henry and Bertha Lawson travelled to New Zealand together. While on that trip, their first child was born in February 1898.

Lawson works discussed in the episode:

The first trip to NZ

Coming Across: A Study in the Steerage. Originally published in The New Zealand Mail, 15 & 29 December 1893. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

New Zealand from an Australian’s Point of View. Originally published in Fair Play, 30 December 1893.

“Here’s Luck.” Originally published in Fair Play, 16 December 1893. Collected in Verses Popular and Humorous (December 1900).

His Country—After All. Originally published in The Patriot, 22 December 1894. Collected in While the Billy Boils (August 1896).

‘Pursuing Literature’ in Australia. Originally published in The Bulletin, 21 January 1899.

The second trip to NZ

After All. Originally published in The Bulletin, 28 March 1896. Collected in Selected Poems of Henry Lawson (November 1918).

The third trip to NZ

A Daughter of Maoriland. Originally published in The Antipodean, Christmas 1897. Collected in Over the Sliprails (June 1900).

Pigeon Toes. Originally published in Town and Country Journal, 16 December 1900. Collected in When I Was King and Other Verses (November 1905).