Henry Lawson - Australian Poet and Writer Quiz

Answer: Middleton's Rouseabout

The character is Andy, Middleton's rouseabout. The other characters were all created by AB (Banjo) Paterson.

Answer: True

Lawson was an alcoholic, and was jailed for failing to support his family, and institutionalised because of his drinking. Banjo Paterson described Lawson's work as "doom and gloom", while Lawson thought Paterson was a "romantic".
Some biographers have concluded that Lawson may have suffered from bi-polar depression, and it is known that he suffered with deafness from a young age.

Answer: The Australian Outback

This poem relates the desolation of the outback, mateship and the equality created by the harsh conditions. Some of the descriptions are amazing e.g.
"Where lone Mount Desolation lies,
Mounts Dreadful and Despair -
'Tis lost beneath the rainless skies
In hopeless deserts there;
It spreads nor'-west by No-Man's Land -
Where clouds are seldom seen -
To where the cattle-stations lie
Three hundred miles between."

Answer: The Christ of the Never

Lawson was, prior to Federation in 1901, a strong supporter of Nationalism and Republicanism, and much of his work reflects these ideals. In "Christ of the Never", Lawson salutes an unnamed outback clergyman, whose faith is shown by his care for his fellow man.

Answer: He bought the station

Lawson used the term "rouseabout" as a synonym for station hand or farm worker. In Australia, its current use is more to describe a worker in a shearing shed, whose duties are to pen up sheep, sweep the shearing board clean and collect fleeces after they are shorn from the sheep.

This particular rouseabout went on to buy the station after "liquor and drought prevailed" and his former employer lost the station.

Answer: A dust storm

This story gives a very clear picture of what life was like for the pioneer women of Australia. As with Patterson's Man from Snowy River, Lawson does not give his heroine a name, and thus she is able to represent every pioneer woman. Her feminine qualities contrast with her harsh environment, and her ability to survive triumphs over all.

Answer: Mary and Jim

This poem tells the story of a young couple's parting, and the young woman's longing for her man to return home. The young man has developed a taste for roving, and we do not find out in the poem if he returns, or whether she waits in vain. The other couples are my children and their partners.

Answer: False

The story of the "Cambaroora Star" was based on a newspaper called "The Republican" owned by Louisa and William Keep, which Lawson had worked for until its demise.

Answer: No

The Bulletin was first published in 1880, and ceased to exist in March 2008.
It was called the "bushman's bible" in its early years, and in these years was seen as a radical, nationalistic and xenophobic publication. Both Lawson and Banjo Paterson were among its writers.

Answer: Leave Him in the Long Yard

All the titles mentioned have appeared on various albums released by Slim, but as far as I can find out, only "The Long Yard" was recorded as a duet with Lee Kernaghan. There is actually a Slim Dusty CD available featuring both Lawson's and Patterson's work.