Robyn Lee Burrows - non-fiction

First published November 1996 by Harper Collins Australia . Reprinted 1997. (Includes poems previously unpublished since Lawson's lifetime)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling

‘Towards the end of '92 I got £5 and a railway ticket from the Bulletin and went to Bourke. Painted, picked up in a shearing shed and swagged it for six months...'

The year was 1892. Henry Lawson — poet, short story writer, fervent Labor supporter — was finding it almost impossible to make a living in Sydney, and the few pounds he did earn were quickly spent in the nearby bars of Lower George Street. He was broke, alcoholic and “on the ropes”.

Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling begins when the editor of the Bulletin sent Lawson to the bush to save himself. At the time, Lawson was doing public battle with A. B. “Banjo” Paterson . Their argument: who could really lay claim to being “the Bard of the Bush”? Paterson argued that Lawson, a city slicker, had no right to the title; this was Lawson's chance to experience life outback.

‘You can have no idea of the horrors of the country out here. Men tramp and beg and live like dogs.'

Lawson's time in the outback gave him a new understanding of the Australian landscape and people, and he began to write about outback life from the heart. His sojourn in Bourke, and surrounds, inspired some of Lawson's most memorable stories and poems, peppered with characters he met “on the track”.

Here, father and daughter team, Robyn Burrows and Alan Barton, themselves from the Bourke region, reveal the true stories behind these works. They uncover, too, eight “new” poems attributed to Lawson, forgotten since that time.

‘Henry Lawson: A Stranger on the Darling is an engaging and fascinating trek with Henry Lawson on the most important Journey of his writing life.' – Brian Matthews, author of Louisa and The Receding Wave .

Henry Lawson - background
Henry Lawson - Extract
Editorial Reviews

 

 

 

Dairies and Daydreams

Dairies & Daydreams is a local history of the township of Mudgeeraba, which is located in the Gold Coast hinterland. The book contains information on early settlers, development of transport, timber and dairies, local buildings, the war years, etc. It was published 1989 by Boolarong Publishers, Brisbane. Contents – 149 A5 pages, contains index, maps, photos and sketches by the author. The book is now out of print.

Background
Extract

Bush Schools and Golden Rules

Bush Schools and Golden Rules is a history of Mudgeeraba State School, and its predecessor, Mudgeeraba Lower Provisional School . The book also contains histories of other now-defunct local schools at Bonogin Creek, Neranwood, Austinville and Upper Mudgeeraba , plus pupil enrolments at these schools. It was published 1992 by Boolarong Publishers, Brisbane, and is available from Mudgeeraba State School . It contains 108 A4 pages, an index, maps, photos and sketches by the author.

Background
Extract