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Poets/Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson

1867–1922

Poems
122
Reader comments
33
Portrait of Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson 1867–1922
1867Born

Biography

Henry Lawson (17 June 1867, Grenfell goldfields, New South Wales - 2 September 1922, Sydney) was an Australian writer and poet. Lawson and his contemporary Banjo Patterson are the best-known Australian fiction writers of the colonial period.

His mother was Louisa Lawson 1848 - 1920, a prominent suffragist and owner/editor of The Dawn journal which was partly responsible for Australia becoming one of the first countries to attain adult female suffrage. His father was Niels Larsen, a Norwegian seaman who settled in Australia; on Henry's birth, the family surname was anglicised and Niels became Peter Lawson.

Henry suffered an ear infection at the age of seven that left him with partial deafness and by the age of fourteen he had lost his hearing entirely. Most of his works focuses on the Australian bush, such as the desolate Past Carin', and is considered by some to be among the first accurate descriptions of Australian life as it was at the time. It should be noted, however, that even then the majority of Australians lived in cities like Lawson himself; the bush that Lawson depicted housed only a small minority.

Read the full biography

During his later life, the alcohol-addicted writer was probably Australia's best-known celebrity. At the same time, he was also a frequent beggar on the streets of Sydney, notably at the Circular Quay ferry turnstiles. He was gaoled at Darlinghurst Gaol for drunkenness and non payment of alimony, and recorded his experience in the haunting poem "One Hundred and Three" - his prison number- which was published in 1908. He refers to the prison as "Starvinghurst Gaol" because of the meagre rations given to the inmates.

At his death he was given a state funeral, attended by the Prime Minister W. M. Hughes and Lawson's brother-in-law, Jack Lang, the Premier of the State of New South Wales, as well as thousands of citizens.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Henry Lawson.

From readers

What readers say about Henry Lawson

  1. On Past Carin'

    “This poem by Henry Lawso is one of my favourites. It depicts the Australian pioneer woman in conflict with her internal nature through the harsh Aussie outback. She wants to be "past carin'" because she thinks that will stop the pain she experiences whenever something she loves is snatched from her…”

  2. On Above Eurunderee

    “My father Cyril Henry MACKS was born,1902, on the banks of Eurunderee Creek in the family home `Wallenstein`,one kilometer south of the Lawson 40 acre property,which was purchased in 1903 by Henry Macks, my grandfather, together wih 3 other blocks.”

  3. On Middleton's Rouseabout

    “In the version I have seen, the line I have seen is - "Tall, solid and stout" rather than "Tall, robust and stout" = On that line the first version reads better than the one here. I do not know which line is the original line. Robust does not sound quite right here and I suspect that it is not the…”

  4. On Andy's Gone With Cattle

    “This poem is yet another 1 of my favs. It gives a true outlook of how lifeworks out here in the bush. You can't win if its drought u mant rain and if its flooding u've normally planted drought crops. Its just how it is and this poem shows the ins and outs of Aussie bush life.”

  5. On The Ballad Of The Drover

    “This poem makes you realise how hard a drovers life really is. The loneliness on the long treks and the family he has left behind. The more you read Henrys' poems you can see and understand how life really was. Even tho he was a city boy and considering he was deaf he leaves nothing out... He…”

  6. On The Old Jimmy Woodser

    “One of my favourite 'Lawson' poems. I believe this poem is as relevant to modern Australia to-day as when it was first written. Henery has the gift of capturing the essence of the ordinary Australian as no other poet has. (Not even Paterson). You can just imagine you were there in the bar with…”

Where readers gather

Most discussed

  1. Andy's Gone With Cattle7 comments
  2. The Ballad Of The Drover4 comments
  3. Middleton's Rouseabout3 comments
  4. After All2 comments
  5. The Old Jimmy Woodser2 comments
  6. A Prouder Man Than You1 comment
  7. Above Eurunderee1 comment
  8. Faces In The Street1 comment
  9. Freedom on the Wallaby1 comment
  10. On The Night Train1 comment

All 122 poems

Poems · 122
  1. Faces In The Street18881
  2. The Ballad Of The Drover18894
  3. A Prouder Man Than You1
  4. A Song of Brave Men
  5. A Song of the Republic
  6. Above Eurunderee1
  7. After All2
  8. Andy's Gone With Cattle7
  9. As far as your Rifles Cover
  10. At The Beating Of A Drum
  11. Australia's Peril
  12. Australian Bards And Bush Reviewers
  13. Australian Engineers
  14. Ben Duggan
  15. Black Bonnet
  16. Borderland
  17. Cameron's Heart
  18. Cherry- Tree Inn
  19. Corny Bill
  20. Dan, The Wreck
  21. Eureka
  22. Eurunderee
  23. Every Man Should have a Rifle
  24. Fall In, My Men, Fall In
  25. Flag of the Southern Cross
  26. For Australia
  27. For'ard'
  28. Freedom on the Wallaby1
  29. From the Bush
  30. Here Died
  31. How the Land was Won
  32. I'll tell you what you Wanderers
  33. In The Days When The World Was Wide
  34. In the Storm that is to come
  35. In the Street
  36. Jack Dunn of Nevertire
  37. Knocked Up
  38. Marshall's Mate
  39. Middleton's Rouseabout3
  40. Mount Bukaroo
  41. My Land and I
  42. On the March
  43. On The Night Train1
  44. On the Wallaby
  45. Out Back
  46. Past Carin'1
  47. Peter Anderson And Co.
  48. Queen Hilda of Virland
  49. Reedy River
  50. Republican Pioneers
  51. Said Grenfell to my Spirit
  52. Scots of the Riverina1
  53. Send Round the Hat
  54. Sez You
  55. Sez You'
  56. Shadows Before
  57. Since Then
  58. Sweeney
  59. Taking His Chance1
  60. The Blue Mountains
  61. The Bush Girl
  62. The Cambaroora Star
  63. The Captain of the Push
  64. The Christ of the 'Never'
  65. The City Bushman
  66. The Cockney Soul
  67. The Dons of Spain
  68. The Drover's Sweetheart
  69. The Fight at Eureka Stockade
  70. The Fire At Ross's Farm1
  71. The Flour Bin
  72. The Free-Selector's Daughter
  73. The Ghost
  74. The Glass On The Bar
  75. The Great Grey Plain
  76. The Grog-an'Grumble Steeplechase
  77. The Heart of Australia
  78. The Iron Wedding Rings
  79. The League of Nations
  80. The Lights of Cobb & Co.
  81. The Loveable Characters
  82. The Man Who Raised Charlestown
  83. The Men We Might Have Been
  84. The Never-Never Country
  85. The Old Bark School
  86. The Old Jimmy Woodser2
  87. The Paroo
  88. The Poets Of The Tomb
  89. The Professional Wanderer
  90. The Rhyme of the Three Greybeards
  91. The Roaring Days
  92. The Shame of Going Back
  93. The Shanty On The Rise
  94. The Shearers
  95. The Shearers Dream
  96. The Ships that Won't Go Down
  97. The Sliprails And The Spur
  98. The Song And The Sigh1
  99. The Song of Australia
  100. The Song Of Old Joe Swallow
  101. The Song of the Darling River
  102. The Star of Australasia
  103. The Teams1
  104. The Things We Dare Not Tell
  105. The Tragedy
  106. The Vagabond1
  107. The Wander-Light
  108. The Wattle
  109. The Wreck Of The `Derry Castle'
  110. To An Old Mate
  111. To Be Amused
  112. To Hannah1
  113. Trooper Campbell
  114. Uncle Harry
  115. Up The Country1
  116. Victory
  117. Waratah and Wattle
  118. When The `Army' Prays For Watty
  119. When the Children Come Home1
  120. When Your Pants Begin to Go
  121. Wide Lies Australia
  122. Wide Spaces