Editing Henry Lawson

{{Short description|Australian writer and poet (1867–1922)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Henry Lawson
| image       = Henry Lawson May Moore c 1915.jpg
| caption     = Lawson {{c.|1915}}
| birth_name  = Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson
| birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1867|6|17}}
| birth_place = [[Grenfell, New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date  = {{death date and age|df=yes|1922|9|2|1867|6|17}}
| death_place = [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia
| occupation  = [[Author]], [[poet]], [[Bush ballad|balladist]]
| spouse      = {{marriage|Bertha Marie Louise Bredt|1896|1903|reason=div}}
| children    = 2
| relatives   = {{ubl|[[Louisa Lawson]] (mother)|{{nowrap|[[Bertha McNamara]] (mother-in-law)}}|[[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]] (brother-in-law)}}
}}

'''Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson''' (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922)<ref name=ADB>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last= Matthews |first=Brian |title=Lawson, Henry (1867–1922) |id2=lawson-henry-7118 |access-date=30 September 2012}}</ref> was an Australian [[writer]] and [[bush poet]]. Along with his contemporary [[Banjo Paterson]], Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the [[History of Australia#Colonisation|colonial period]] and is often called Australia's "greatest short story writer".<ref>{{Citation | author1=Elder, Bruce | title=In Lawson's tracks [The Henry Lawson Trail from Bourke (NSW) to Hungerford (Qld). Paper in: Re-imagining Australia. Schultz, Julianne (ed.).] | journal=Griffith Review | date=2008 | issue=19 | pages=115 | isbn=978-0-7333-2281-5 | issn=1448-2924 }}</ref>

A vocal [[Australian nationalism|nationalist]] and [[republicanism in Australia|republican]], Lawson regularly contributed to ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'', and many of his works helped popularise the [[Australian English|Australian vernacular]] in fiction. He wrote prolifically into the 1890s, after which his output declined, in part due to struggles with [[alcoholism]] and [[mental illness]]. At times destitute, he spent periods in [[Darlinghurst Gaol]] and psychiatric institutions. After he died in 1922 following a [[cerebral haemorrhage]], Lawson became the first Australian writer to be granted a [[state funeral]].

He was the son of the poet, [[publisher]], and [[feminist]] [[Louisa Lawson]].

== Family and early life ==
[[File:Grenfell Main Street 002.JPG|thumb|left|Grenfell, Lawson's birthplace, during the 2011 Henry Lawson Festival]]
Henry Lawson was born 17 June 1867 in a town on the [[Grenfell, New South Wales|Grenfell goldfields]] of [[New South Wales]]. His father was Niels Hertzberg Larsen, a [[Norway|Norwegian]]-born miner.  Niels Larsen went to sea at 21 and arrived in [[Melbourne]] in 1855 to join the gold rush, along with partner [[William Henry John Slee]].<ref name=ADB/> Lawson's parents met at the goldfields of Pipeclay (now Eurunderee, [[Mudgee|Locality Mudgee]]). Niels and [[Louisa Lawson|Louisa Albury]] (1848–1920) married on 7 July 1866 when he was 32 and she 18. On Henry's birth, the family surname was [[Anglicised]] and Niels became Peter Lawson. The newly married couple were to have an unhappy marriage.  Louisa, after family-raising, took a significant part in women's movements, and edited a women's paper called ''[[The Dawn (feminist magazine)|The Dawn]]'' (published May 1888 to July 1905). She also published her son's first volume, and around 1904 brought out a volume of her own, ''Dert and Do'', a simple story of 18,000 words. In 1905 she collected and published her own verses, ''The Lonely Crossing and other Poems''. Louisa likely had a strong influence on her son's literary work in its earliest days.<ref name=DAB>{{cite web |url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogL.html#lawson2|title=Lawson, Henry (1867 - 1922) |access-date=2009-07-17 |author=Percival Serle |work=[[Dictionary of Australian Biography]] |publisher=[[Angus and Robertson]] |year=1949 |author-link=Percival Serle }}</ref> Peter Lawson's grave (with headstone) is in the little private cemetery at [[Hartley Vale, New South Wales|Hartley Vale]], New South Wales, a few minutes' walk behind what was Collitt's Inn.

Lawson attended school at Eurunderee from 2 October 1876 but experienced an ear infection around this time. It left him with partial deafness and by the age of fourteen he had lost his hearing entirely. However, his master John Tierney was kind and did all he could for Lawson, who was quite shy.<ref name=DAB/> Lawson later attended a [[Catholic]] school at [[Mudgee]], New South Wales around 8&nbsp;km away; the master there, Mr Kevan, would teach Lawson about poetry. Lawson was a keen reader of [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]] and [[Frederick Marryat|Marryat]] and Australian novels such as [[Marcus Clarke]]'s ''[[For the Term of His Natural Life]]'' (1874) and [[Rolf Boldrewood]]'s ''[[Robbery Under Arms]]'' (1882); an aunt had also given him a volume by [[Bret Harte]]. Reading became a major source of his education because, due to his deafness, he had trouble learning in the classroom.

[[File:Henry Lawson portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Lawson, c. 1902]]
In 1883, after working on building jobs with his father in the [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]], Lawson joined his mother in Sydney at her request. Louisa was then living with Henry's sister and brother. At this time, Lawson was working during the day and studying at night for his matriculation in the hopes of receiving a university education. However, he failed his exams. Lawson lived in a boarding house along [[William Street, Sydney|William Street]] and wrote a poem titled [https://www.poetryverse.com/henry-lawson-poems/william-street William Street]. Lawson also spent time in [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] at the Wickham School of Arts while working for the Hudson Brothers branch railway workshops. He remarked that he "haunted the School of Arts, still with an idea of learning before it was too late."<ref>{{Cite web|last=University of Newcastle, Special Collections|date=2018-09-10|title=Henry Lawson and the Wickham School of Arts|url=https://hunterlivinghistories.com/2018/09/11/henry-lawson-wickham-soa/|access-date=2021-03-30|website=Hunter Living Histories|language=en-AU}}</ref> At around 20 years of age Lawson went to the eye and ear hospital in [[Melbourne]] but nothing could be done for his deafness.<ref name=DAB/>

In 1890 he began a relationship with [[Mary Gilmore]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gilmore-dame-mary-jean-6391|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|first=W. H.|last=Wilde|chapter=Gilmore, Dame Mary Jean (1865–1962) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University|via=Australian Dictionary of Biography}}</ref> She writes of an unofficial engagement and Lawson's wish to marry her, but it was broken by his frequent absences from Sydney. The story of the relationship is told in [[Anne Brooksbank]]'s play ''All My Love''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandarts/literary-lovers3a-henry-lawson-and-henry-lawson-and-mary-gilmo/6627114|title=Literary lovers: Henry Lawson and Mary Gilmore|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=16 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glenstreet.com.au/whats/all-my-love|title=All My Love - Glen Street Theatre|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181357/http://www.glenstreet.com.au/whats/all-my-love|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1896, Lawson married Bertha Bredt, Jr., daughter of [[Bertha Bredt]], the prominent socialist. The marriage ended very unhappily.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Falkiner, Suzanne | title=Wilderness | date=1992 | page=64 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=978-0-7318-0144-2 | author1-link=Falkiner, Suzanne }}</ref> Bertha filed for divorce and in her [[affidavit]] she stated: {{Cquote|''My husband has during three years and upwards been a habitual drunkard and habitually been guilty of cruelty towards me. My affidavit consists of the acts and matters following. That my husband during the last three years struck me in the face and about the body and blacked my eye and hit me with a bottle and attempted to stab me and pulled me out of bed when I was ill and purposely made a noise in my room when I was ill and pulled my hair and repeatedly used abusive and insulting language to me and was guilty of divers other acts of cruelty to me whereby my health and safety are endangered.''}}

A judicial separation was granted and was declared in June 1903.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A wife's heart|author=Davies, Kerrie|isbn=9780702259197|location=St Lucia, Qld.|oclc=960694840}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/henry-lawsons-marriage-a-dark-tale-of-drink-and-domestic-violence/news-story/9231066f3db506de4c230d215fb9038d|title=Henry Lawson's marriage a dark tale of drink and domestic violence|last=Davies|first=Kerrie|date=1 April 2017|work=The Australian|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> They had two children, son Jim (Joseph) and daughter Bertha.

== Poetry and prose writing ==
[[Image:Archibald.jpg|thumb|Lawson (right) with [[J. F. Archibald]], founder of ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'']]
Henry Lawson's first published poem was 'A Song of the Republic' which appeared in ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'', 1 October 1887; his mother's republican friends were an influence. This was followed by 'The Wreck of the [[Derry Castle (barque)|Derry Castle]]' and then 'Golden Gully.' Prefixed to the former poem was an editorial note:
{{Cquote|''In publishing the subjoined verses we take pleasure in stating that the writer is a boy of 17 years, a young Australian, who has as yet had an imperfect education and is earning his living under some difficulties as a housepainter, a youth whose poetic genius here speaks eloquently for itself.''}} 
Lawson was actually 20 years old at the time, not 17.<ref name=DAB/>

In 1890–1891 Lawson worked in [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]].<ref>{{Citation | author1=Falkiner, Suzanne | title=Wilderness | date=1992 | page=62 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=978-0-7318-0144-2 }}</ref> He then received an offer to write for the Brisbane ''Boomerang'' in 1891, but he lasted only around 7–8 months as the ''Boomerang'' was soon in trouble. While in Brisbane he contributed to [[William Lane]]'s [[The Worker (Brisbane)|Worker]]; he later angled for an editorial position with the similarly named ''[[The Worker (Wagga)|Worker]]'' of Sydney, but was unsuccessful.<ref name=DAB/> He returned to Sydney and continued to write for the ''Bulletin'' which, in 1892, paid for an inland trip where he experienced the harsh realities of drought-affected New South Wales.<ref name="Elder 113">{{Citation | author1=Elder, Bruce | title=In Lawson's tracks [The Henry Lawson Trail from Bourke (NSW) to Hungerford (Qld). Paper in: Re-imagining Australia. Schultz, Julianne (ed.).] | journal=Griffith Review | date=2008 | issue=19 | pages=113 | isbn=978-0-7333-2281-5 | issn=1448-2924 }}</ref> He also worked as a [[roustabout]] in the woolshed at [[Toorale Station]].<ref name=ABC>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/perspective/toorale/3166428|title=Toorale|date=1 December 2008|access-date=18 June 2014|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> This resulted in his contributions to the [[Bulletin Debate]] and became a source for many of his stories in subsequent years.<ref name="ADB"/> [[Bruce Elder (journalist)|Elder]] writes of the trek Lawson took between [[Hungerford, New South Wales|Hungerford]] and [[Bourke, New South Wales|Bourke]] as "the most important trek in Australian literary history" and says that "it confirmed all his prejudices about the Australian bush. Lawson had no romantic illusions about a 'rural [[idyll]]'."<ref>{{Citation | author1=Elder, Bruce | title=In Lawson's tracks [The Henry Lawson Trail from Bourke (NSW) to Hungerford (Qld). Paper in: Re-imagining Australia. Schultz, Julianne (ed.).] | journal=Griffith Review | date=2008 | issue=19 | pages=95 | isbn=978-0-7333-2281-5 | issn=1448-2924 }}</ref> As Elder continues, his grim view of the outback was far removed from "the romantic idyll of brave horsemen and beautiful scenery depicted in the poetry of [[Banjo Paterson]]".<ref>{{Citation | author1=Elder, Bruce | title=In Lawson's tracks [The Henry Lawson Trail from Bourke (NSW) to Hungerford (Qld). Paper in: Re-imagining Australia. Schultz, Julianne (ed.).] | journal=Griffith Review | date=2008 | issue=19 | pages=96 | isbn=978-0-7333-2281-5 | issn=1448-2924 }}</ref>

Lawson's most successful prose collection is ''While the Billy Boils'', published in 1896.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Falkiner, Suzanne | title=Wilderness | date=1992 | page=63 | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=978-0-7318-0144-2 }}</ref> In it he "continued his assault on Paterson and the romantics, and in the process, virtually reinvented Australian realism".<ref name="Elder 113"/> Elder writes that "he used short, sharp sentences, with language as raw as [[Ernest Hemingway]] or [[Raymond Carver]]. With sparse adjectives and honed-to-the-bone description, Lawson created a style and defined Australians: dryly laconic, passionately egalitarian and deeply humane."<ref name="Elder 113"/> Most of his work focuses on the [[Australian outback|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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} [[The Drover's Wife (short story)|"The Drover's Wife"]] with its "heart-breaking depiction of bleakness and loneliness" is regarded as one of his finest short stories.<ref name = "BE113">Elder (2008) p. 113</ref> It is regularly studied in schools and has often been adapted for film and theatre.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wells|first=Rachel|title=Keeping bush ballads alive and well|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Arts/Keeping-bush-ballads/2005/05/16/1116095902715.html|work=The Age|date=17 May 2005|access-date=11 December 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Henry Lawson and Children (RAHS Collection) (13981404964).jpg|thumb|Henry Lawson and children (1905), [[Royal Australian Historical Society]]/Osborne Collection]]
Lawson was a firm believer in the merits of the [[sketch story]], commonly known simply as 'the sketch,' claiming that "the sketch story is best of all."<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Henry|title=A fantasy of man: Henry Lawson complete works, 1901-1922|year=1984|publisher=Lansdowne|isbn=0701818751|pages=987|editor=Leonard Cronin|chapter=Three or Four Archibalds and the Writer}}</ref> Lawson's [[Jack Mitchell (Fictional Character)|Jack Mitchell]] story ''[[On the Edge of a Plain]]'' is often cited as one of the most accomplished examples of the sketch.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Henry|title=The Penguin Henry Lawson short stories|year=1986|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0140092153|pages=[https://archive.org/details/penguinhenrylaws00laws/page/11 11–12]|editor=Introduction by John Barnes|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/penguinhenrylaws00laws/page/11}}</ref>

Like the majority of Australians, Lawson lived in a city, but had had plenty of experience in outback life, in fact, many of his stories reflected his experiences in real life. In Sydney in 1898 he was a prominent member of the [[Dawn and Dusk Club]], a bohemian club of writer friends who met for drinks and conversation.

== Later years ==
[[File:John Longstaff - Henry Lawson - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Lawson by [[John Longstaff]], 1900, [[Art Gallery of New South Wales]]]]

In 1903 he bought a room at Mrs Isabel Byers' Coffee Palace in North Sydney. This marked the beginning of a 20-year friendship between Mrs Byers and Lawson. Despite his position as the most celebrated Australian writer of the time, Lawson was deeply depressed and perpetually poor. He lacked money due to unfortunate royalty deals with publishers. His ex-wife repeatedly reported him for non-payment of child maintenance. He was gaoled at [[Darlinghurst Gaol]] for drunkenness, wife desertion, child desertion, and non-payment of child support seven times between 1905 and 1909, for a total of 159 days<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/7484|title=Henry Lawson to Fred Shenstone from Darlinghurst Gaol (with inserts from Angus, Robertson & Shenstone publishers)|website=University of Sydney Library|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/7486|title=Henry Lawson to Reverend John Walker from Darlinghurst Gaol|website=University of Sydney Library|access-date=2019-03-22}}</ref> 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.<ref name="DC HL">{{cite web|title=Henry Lawson – poet of the people|url=http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/henry-lawson-poet-people|work=Discover Collections|date=4 September 2015|publisher=State Library of NSW|access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/lawson-henry/one-hundred-and-three-0698001|title=One Hundred and Three - Henry Lawson - Poem - Australian Poetry Library|website=www.poetrylibrary.edu.au}}</ref>

At this time, Lawson became withdrawn, alcoholic, and unable to carry on the usual routine of life.

[[File:Henry Lawson's funeral, at Waverley Cemetery 1922.jpg|thumb|Henry Lawson's funeral, at Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, September 1922]]
Mrs Byers (née Ward) was an excellent poet herself and, although of modest education, had been writing vivid poetry since her teens in a similar style to Lawson's. Long separated from her husband and elderly, Mrs Byers was, at the time she met Lawson, a woman of independent means looking forward to retirement. Byers regarded Lawson as Australia's greatest living poet, and hoped to sustain him well enough to keep him writing. She negotiated on his behalf with publishers, helped to arrange contact with his children, contacted friends and supporters to help him financially, and assisted and nursed him through his mental and alcohol problems. She wrote countless letters on his behalf and knocked on any doors that could provide Henry with financial assistance or a publishing deal.<ref name="DC HL"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Olive|title=The Good Wards of Windsor|year=2004|publisher=Deerubbin|isbn=0975099132|pages=49–53}}</ref>

[[File:Henry Lawson memorial Abbotsford.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Henry Lawson near the site of his death in Abbotsford]]

It was in Mrs Isabel Byers' home that Henry Lawson died, of a cerebral hemorrhage, in [[Abbotsford, New South Wales|Abbotsford]], Sydney in 1922. He was given a state funeral. His death registration on the NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages index<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/Index/IndexingOrder.cgi/search?event=births|title = NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages| date=21 January 2020 }}</ref> is ref. 10451/1922 and was recorded at the Petersham Registration District.<ref>{{cite web|title=NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages |url=http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/IndexSearch?form=IndexingSearch&SessionID=43058586&sname=lawson&gname=henry&fname=&mname=&event=deaths&frange=1922&trange=1922&place= |access-date=11 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125214928/http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/IndexSearch?form=IndexingSearch&SessionID=43058586&sname=lawson&gname=henry&fname=&mname=&event=deaths&frange=1922&trange=1922&place= |archive-date=25 November 2014}}</ref> It shows his parents as Peter and Louisa.  His funeral was attended by the Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] and the (later) Premier of [[New South Wales]], [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]] (who was the husband of Lawson's sister-in-law Hilda Bredt), as well as thousands of citizens.  He is interred at [[Waverley Cemetery]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henry+Lawson%E2%80%99s+Grave/@-33.9080715,151.2650751,20.65z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xbee6947fbd555ae1!8m2!3d-33.9079531!4d151.2652295 | title=Henry Lawson's Grave · 8 Pembroke St, Bronte NSW 2024, Australia }}</ref> Lawson was the first person to be granted a New South Wales state funeral (traditionally reserved for Governors, Chief Justices, etc.) on the grounds of having been a 'distinguished citizen'.<ref name="DC HL"/>

== Honours and legacy ==
[[File:Henry Lawson Monument Sydney.jpg|thumb|Bronze statue of Lawson accompanied by a [[swagman]] and dog, [[The Domain, Sydney]], designed by [[George Washington Lambert]] and unveiled in 1931]]
[[File:Australianstamp 1539.jpg|thumb|Henry Lawson honoured in 1949]]
[[File:Henry Lawson Centre, Gulgong, NSW.jpg|thumb|Henry Lawson Centre, [[Gulgong]]]]
[[File:Australian $10 - original series - reverse.jpg|thumb|300px|Henry Lawson on the reverse of a 10 [[Australian dollar]] banknote (1966-1993)]]

A bronze statue of Lawson accompanied by a swagman, a dog and a fencepost (reflecting his writing) stands in [[The Domain, Sydney]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Domain, Henry Lawson statue|url=http://sydney-city.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/domain-henry-lawson-statue.html|work=Sydney - City and Suburbs|date=2 February 2010|publisher=[[Blogger (service)|Blogger]]|access-date=12 February 2014}}</ref> The Henry Lawson Memorial committee raised money through public donation to commission the statue by sculptor [[George Washington Lambert]] in 1927. The work was unveiled on 28 July 1931 by the [[Governor of New South Wales]], Sir [[Philip Game]].<ref name=nga>{{cite web|title=George W. Lambert retrospective|url=http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Lambert/Detail.cfm?IRN=163409|publisher=[[National Gallery of Australia]]|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202003126/http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/Lambert/Detail.cfm?IRN=163409|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1949 Lawson was the subject of an Australian [[postage stamp]].

Lawson's "The Drover's Wife" short story was featured on a 1991 $1.20 stamp,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/143386-The_Drovers_Wife_-_Henry_Lawson-Literature-Australia|title = Stamp: The Drover's Wife - Henry Lawson (Australia) (Literature) Mi:AU 1269,Sn:AU 1230,Yt:AU 1227,Sg:AU 1308,Sev:AU 1316}}</ref> and a 2017 $1.00 stamp,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://australiapostcollectables.com.au/stamp-issues/henry-lawson-1867-1922|title = Henry Lawson: 1867-1922}}</ref> both from Australia Post.

In 2017 Lawson was again featured on two Australian [[postage stamp]]s, one featuring ''Mitchell: A Character Sketch'' and the other The Drover's Wife and family, including dog, pitted against the snake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://auspost.newsroom.com.au/Content/Home/02-Home/Article/Australia-Post-celebrates-Henry-Lawson-with-new-stamps/-2/-2/6150|title=Australia Post celebrates Henry Lawson with new stamps - Australia Post Newsroom|website=auspost.newsroom.com.au}}</ref>

He was featured on the [[Banknotes of the Australian dollar|first (paper) Australian ten-dollar note]] issued in 1966 when [[Australian currency|decimal currency]] was first introduced into Australia. Lawson was pictured against scenes from the town of [[Gulgong, New South Wales|Gulgong]] in [[New South Wales|NSW]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Museum of Australian Currency Notes |url=http://www.rba.gov.au/Museum/Displays/1960_1988_rba_and_reform_of_the_currency/australias_first_decimal_currency_notes.html |publisher=Reserve Bank of Australia |access-date=11 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050822211554/http://www.rba.gov.au/Museum/Displays/1960_1988_rba_and_reform_of_the_currency/australias_first_decimal_currency_notes.html |archive-date=22 August 2005}}</ref> This note was replaced by a polymer note in 1993; the polymer series had different people featured on the notes.

Lawson's treatment (or lack thereof) of [[Aboriginal Australians]] in his work has been criticised and debated.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The status of the Aborigine in the writing of Henry Lawson: a reconsideration|last=Lee|first=Christopher |date= 2002| journal= [[The La Trobe Journal]]| issue =70| pages=74–83| issn =1441-3760 | via=USQ ePrints | url=https://eprints.usq.edu.au/1228/ | access-date=3 August 2022}} [https://eprints.usq.edu.au/1228/1/Lee_2002_Publ_version.pdf PDF] and [http://latrobejournal.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-70/t1-g-t13.html here]</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Daley | first=Paul|title= When Douglas Grant met Henry Lawson: new light on Australia's dark story| website=[[The Guardian]] | date=26 February 2018 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2018/feb/27/when-douglas-grant-met-henry-lawson-new-light-on-australias-dark-story | access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Colonialism and Racism [in "The Drover's Wife"]| website=LitCharts | date=28 March 2019 | url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-drover-s-wife/themes/colonialism-and-racism | access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref> Author [[Ryan Butta]] writes that there are some "glaring omissions" in Lawson's writings about [[Bourke, New South Wales|Bourke]], in particular the [[Afghan cameleers in Australia|Afghan cameleers]] who were there at the time, and being written about in local newspapers, and who were responsible for opening up the interior of the continent.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kelsey-Sugg | first=Anna | title=Ryan Butta says Afghan cameleers were ignored by Henry Lawson, and our national story is the poorer for it | website=ABC News| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] | date=3 August 2022 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-03/afghan-cameleers-ryan-butta-henry-lawson-abdul-wade/101276766 | access-date=3 August 2022}}</ref>

In 2024, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between Australia and Indonesia, Indonesian composer [[Ananda Sukarlan]] was commissioned to set one of his poems to music, and Sukarlan chose "On the Night Train". It was premiered by the soprano [[Mariska Setiawan]] and the strings of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

== Henry Lawson Festivals ==
Currently the NSW towns of [[Gulgong]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.midwestern.nsw.gov.au/Community/Events-directory/Henry-Lawson-Heritage-Festival-2023 | title=Henry Lawson Heritage Festival 2023 }}</ref> and [[Grenfell, New South Wales|Grenfell]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://henrylawsonfestival.com.au/|title=Henry Lawson Festival &#124; Grenfell, NSW &#124; Recognising Artistic Australians|date=4 February 2022|website=henrylawsonfestival.com.au}}</ref> both host Henry Lawson Festivals, with the Grenfell Festival also incorporating a literary competition.

== Bibliography ==

=== Collections ===

* ''Short Stories in Prose and Verse'' (1894) - short stories, prose, poetry
* ''[[While the Billy Boils (collection)|While the Billy Boils]]'' (1896) - short stories
* ''[[In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses]]'' (1896) - poetry
* ''[[Verses, Popular and Humorous]]'' (1900) - poetry
* ''[[On the Track (collection)|On the Track]]'' (1900) - short stories
* ''[[Over the Sliprails]]'' (1900) - short stories
* ''On the Track, and, Over the Sliprails'' (1900) - short stories
* ''Popular Verses'' (1900) - poetry
* ''Humorous Verses'' (1900) - poetry
* ''The Country I Come From'' (1901) - short stories
* ''[[Joe Wilson and His Mates]]'' (1901) - short stories
* ''Children of the Bush'' (1902) - short stories, prose, poetry
* ''[[When I Was King and Other Verses]]'' (1905) - poetry
* ''The Elder Son'' (1905) - poetry
* ''When I Was King'' (1905) - poetry
* ''The Romance of the Swag'' (1907) - short stories, prose
* ''Send Round the Hat'' (1907) - short stories
* ''The Skyline Riders and Other Verses'' (1910) - poetry
* ''The Rising of the Court and Other Sketches in Prose and Verse'' (1910) - short stories, prose, poetry
* ''[[For Australia and Other Poems]]'' (1913) - poetry
* ''Triangles of Life and Other Stories'' (1913) - short stories
* ''My Army, O, My Army! and Other Songs'' (1915) - poetry
* ''Song of the Dardanelles and Other Verses'' (1916) - poetry
* ''Selected Poems of Henry Lawson'' (1918) - poetry

=== Posthumous collections ===

* ''Poems of Henry Lawson'' (1973)
* ''The Best of Henry Lawson for Young Australians'' (1973)
* ''The Drover's Wife and Other Stories'' (1974)
* ''The World of Henry Lawson'' (1974)
* ''The Poems of Henry Lawson'' (1975)
* ''Poems of Henry Lawson : Volume Two'' (1975)
* ''Favourite Stories'' (1976)
* ''Henry Lawson : favourite verse'' (1978)
* ''Henry Lawson Poems'' (1979)
* ''Henry Lawson's Mates : The Complete Stories of Henry Lawson'' (1979)
* ''The Essential Henry Lawson : The Best Works of Australia's Greatest Writer'' (1982)
* ''A Camp-Fire Yarn: Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900'' (1984)
* ''A Fantasy of Man: Henry Lawson Complete Works 1901-1922'' (1984)
* ''Henry Lawson Favourites'' (1984)
* ''Henry Lawson, The Master Story-Teller : Prose Writings'' (1984)
* ''The Penguin Henry Lawson Short Stories'' (1986)
* ''The Songs of Henry Lawson'' (1989)
* ''The Roaring Days'' (1994) (aka ''The Henry Lawson Collection Vol. 1'')
* ''On the Wallaby Track'' (1994) (aka ''The Henry Lawson Collection Vol. 2'')

== Popular poems, short stories and sketches ==

* "[[A Song of the Republic]]" (poem, 1887)
* "[[wikisource:Australian Loyalty|Australian Loyalty]]" (essay, 1887)
* "[[Faces in the Street]]" (poem, 1888)
* "[[Andy's Gone with Cattle]]" (poem, 1888)
* "[[wikisource:United Division|United Division]]" (essay, 1888)
* "[[The Roaring Days]]" (poem, 1889)
* "[[The Teams]]" (poem, 1889)
* "[[wikisource:A Neglected History|A Neglected History]]" (essay)
* "[[Middleton's Rouseabout]]" (1890)
* "[[The Song of Old Joe Swallow]]" (poem, 1890)
* "[[Freedom on the Wallaby]]" (poem, 1891)
* "[[wikisource:The Babies of Walloon|The Babies of Walloon]]" (poem, 1891)
* "[[The Bush Undertaker]]" (short story, 1892)
* "[[The City Bushman]]" (poem, 1892)
* "[[Up The Country]]" (poem, 1892)
* "[[When Your Pants Begin to Go]]" (poem, 1892)
* "[[wikisource:The Grog-an'-Grumble Steeplechase|The Grog-an'-Grumble Steeplechase]]" (poem, 1892)
* "[[The Drover's Wife (short story)|The Drover's Wife]]" (short story, 1892)
* "[[wikisource:Saint Peter|Saint Peter]]" (poem, 1893)
* "[[The Union Buries Its Dead]]" (short story, 1893)
* "[[wikisource:Steelman's Pupil|Steelman's Pupil]]" (short story, 1895)
* "[[wikisource:The Geological Spieler|The Geological Spieler]]" (short story, 1896)
* "[[wikisource:The Iron-Bark Chip|The Iron-Bark Chip]]" (short story, 1900)
* "[[The Loaded Dog]]" (short story, 1901)
* "[[A Child in the Dark, and a Foreign Father]]" (short story, 1902)
* "[[wikisource:Triangles of Life, and other stories|Triangles of Life, and other stories]]" (short stories, 1916)
* "[[Scots of the Riverina]]" (poem, 1917)

== Recurring characters ==

* '''[[Joe Wilson (Fictional Character)|Joe Wilson]]'''
** "[[wikisource:Brighten's Sister-in-law|Brighten's Sister-in-law]]"
** "[[A Double Buggy at Lahey Creek]]"
** "[[wikisource:Water Them Geraniums|Water Them Geraniums]]"
** "[[wikisource:Joe Wilson's Courtship|Joe Wilson's Courtship]]"
* '''[[Jack Mitchell (Fictional Character)|Jack Mitchell]]'''
** "[[wikisource:Mitchell: A Character Sketch|Mitchell: A Character Sketch]]"
** "[[On the Edge of a Plain]]"
** "[[wikisource:'Some Day'|'Some Day']]"
** "[[wikisource:Shooting The Moon|Shooting The Moon]]"
** "[[wikisource:Our Pipes|Our Pipes]]"
** "[[Bill, the Ventriloquial Rooster]]"
** "[[wikisource:Enter Mitchell|Enter Mitchell]]"
** "[[wikisource:Mitchell Doesn't Believe in the Sack|Mitchell Doesn't Believe in the Sack]]"
** "[[wikisource:Another of Mitchell's Plans|Another of Mitchell's Plans]]"
* '''[[Steelman and Smith]]'''
** "[[wikisource:The Geological Spieler|The Geological Spieler]]"
** "[[wikisource:Steelman's Pupil|Steelman's Pupil]]"
** "[[wikisource:An Oversight of Steelman's|An Oversight of Steelman's]]"
** "[[wikisource:How Steelman told his Story|How Steelman told his Story]]"
** "[[wikisource:A Gentleman Sharper and Steelman Sharper|A Gentleman Sharper and Steelman Sharper]]"
* '''Dave Regan, Jim Bently and/or [[Andy Page (character)|Andy Page]]'''
** "[[The Loaded Dog]]"
** "[[wikisource:The Iron-Bark Chip|The Iron-Bark Chip]]"
** "[[wikisource:Andy Page's Rival|Andy Page's Rival]]"
** "[[wikisource:The Mystery of Dave Regan|The Mystery of Dave Regan]]"
** "[[wikisource:Poisonous Jimmy Gets Left|Poisonous Jimmy Gets Left]]"
* '''[[Brummy Hewson]]'''

== Lawson in popular culture ==
* ''[[While the Billy Boils]]'' by [[Beaumont Smith]]
* ''[[Trooper Campbell]]'' by [[Raymond Longford]]
* ''[[Taking his Chance]]'' by [[Raymond Longford]]
* [[Bulletin Debate]]
* Recording of Henry Lawson's works by actor [[Jack Thompson (actor)|Jack Thompson]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.finepoets.com/?page=Products&product=The-Campfire-Yarns-of-Henry-Lawson | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306223301/http://www.finepoets.com/?page=Products&product=The-Campfire-Yarns-of-Henry-Lawson | archive-date=6 March 2012 | title=The Campfire Yarns of Henry Lawson - Fine Poets }}</ref>
*''[[The Drover's Wife (disambiguation)|The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson]]'': a play, novel and film by [[Leah Purcell]]
*[[Lawson (album)|Lawson]] by [[John Schumann]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==

* [[Bruce Elder (journalist)|Elder, Bruce]] (2008) "In Lawson's Tracks" in ''[[Griffith Review]]'' (19): 93–95, 113–115, Autumn 2008
* [[Suzanne Falkiner|Falkiner, Suzanne]] (1992) ''Wilderness'' (The Writers' Landscape), Sydney, [[Simon & Schuster]]

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |author=Phillips, A. A. |author-link=A. A. Phillips |date=March 1965 |title=Henry Lawson revisited |journal=Meanjin Quarterly |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=4–17}}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Wright |title=Henry Lawson |series=Great Australians |location=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1967}}
* [[Manning Clark|Clark, Manning]] (1978). In Search of Henry Lawson. Melbourne. The MacMillan Company of Australia Pty. Ltd.
* Ollif, Lorna (1978). 'Louisa Lawson - Henry Lawson's Crusading Mother'. Rigby Limited.

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikisource author}}
{{Portal |Australia |Poetry}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=Lawson,+Henry | name=Henry Lawson}}
* [http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m.html#lawson1 Works by Henry Lawson] at [[Project Gutenberg Australia]]
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/henry-lawson}}
* [https://www.poeticous.com/henry-lawson Page of Henry Lawson at Poeticous.com]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Henry Lawson}}
* {{Librivox author |id=415}}
* [http://www.telelib.com/words/authors/L/LawsonHenry/index.html Henry Lawson - Essays, Short Stories and Verse Collections]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060112124820/http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/lawsons/lawson_chronology.html Henry Lawson and Louisa Lawson Online Chronology]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180227052042/http://www.finepoets.com/ Jack Thompson reads The Poems of Henry Lawson]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-593468 Lawson, Henry (1867-1922)] National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Henry Lawson
* [http://www.sanjeev.net/poetry/lawson-henry/index.html Poetry Archive: 125 poems of Henry Lawson]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090318082052/http://www.jbrowley.com/The%20Drover%27s%20Wife.pdf The Drover's Wife] at jbrowley.com
* {{LCAuth|n80036700|Henry Lawson|70|ue}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Henry Lawson| ]]
[[Category:1867 births]]
[[Category:1922 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian short story writers]]
[[Category:Australian deaf people]]
[[Category:Australian male poets]]
[[Category:Australian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Australian nationalists]]
[[Category:Australian people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:Australian republicans]]
[[Category:Beggars]]
[[Category:Burials at Waverley Cemetery]]
[[Category:Colony of New South Wales people]]
[[Category:Deaf poets]]
[[Category:Mythopoeic writers]]
[[Category:Writers from New South Wales]]