1. Henry Lawson – An Introduction ‘Telling Stories’ An Emerging Australian Voice

2. Who Was Henry?  Manning Clark said that Lawson ‘had the gift….to use words to make people cry.’  What do you think that means in relation to ‘telling stories’?

3. Biography  Born near the gold-mining center of Grenfell, New South Wales, on June 17, 1867  Having suffered a severe loss of hearing as a lad, Henry Lawson grew up with little education beyond that gained from reading.

4. Biography Continued  At 14 he left school and began work. The homesteaders' endless struggle to earn a living from the impoverished land affected the Lawson’s outlook on life.

5. Biography Continued  In mid-1887 Lawson's first scrap of verse was published by the Bulletin, a radical weekly that had attracted an avid readership among rural workers.  At 22 Lawson began his wanderings about Australia, undertaking various jobs but hankering after journalism.

6. Henry’s Abode, Nth Sydney  Lawson was always concerned with the plight of the common man.  Lawson’s marriage was unhappy and his alcoholism was impacting upon his health and relationships.

7. His End  Lawson played out the final years of his life with a small literary pension and an allowance from his publishers. He died on Sept. 2, 1922, and was given a state funeral.

8. His Poetry and Short Stories  He often wrote stories of larrikins and their push and even a series about a bottle-o.  His poetry depicted the Australian virtue of mateship.

9. Representing Australia  Like written texts, visual artists also try to ‘represent’ subjects. Their representations could contain particular bias or leave out essential information.

10. What does this representation say?  ‘Near Liverpool, New South Wales  William Piguenit

11. What does this Representation Say?  John Glover  Patterdale Farm

12. What does this representation say?  Sydney Long  ‘Vaucluse’

13. What does this representation say?  Tom Roberts “Washing Day”

14. What does this representation say?  Tom Roberts ‘Shearing the Rams’ 1890

15. What does this representation say?  Frederick Mc Cubbin ‘Down on his Luck’

16. Lawson’s representations of the bush  Focused on the hardships that resulted in men and women becoming ‘mates’ and stoical (suffering great difficulties without showing one’s feelings) heroism.  Lawson saw the bush as a place of work and struggle.  Lawson used humour to ‘soften’ the harshness of the bush.

17. The Drover’s Wife (Russell Drysdale 1951)

18. Now it is your turn 1. Write down 4 things that you have learnt from this powerpoint presentation. 2. What problems can you see with the idea of ‘representation’?