State funeral for the 'Pote' of Australia

1922 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Two days after his death from a cerebral haemorrhage, the Commonwealth Government provided a State funeral for the country's favourite bard, Henry Lawson (b. 1867), the first ever held for an Australian writer.

The funeral was hastily organised between Saturday, September 2, and Monday the 4th, thanks to the intercession of Lawson's publisher and friend, George Robertson of publisher Angus & Robertson's. The funeral was attended by Lawson's former radical associate Prime Minister William Morris Hughes; Premier Sir George Fuller; eccentric politician King O’Malley; the Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales; poet Mary Gilmore; politician and friend of Lawson, Tom Mutch; some Cabinet ministers, and many others. Thousands assembled outside in George St to farewell the poet and author. For the last few years before his death, lost in alcoholism and poverty, he begged on Sydney's streets around Circular Quay and other parts.

On his headstone at Waverley Cemetery is a white marble plaque with the words:






Henry Lawson's grave, an interesting tale
Louisa and Henry Lawson – they drove each other crazy!
Louisa Lawson and Henry Lawson Chronology (our big online resource)

Henry Lawson & his mates: What they didn't teach us in school

Tagged: australia, biography, literature, australian+literature, poetry, henry+lawson