Republican Riot at Sydney Town Hall

1887 'The Republican Riot' at Sydney Town Hall: Hundreds of republicans with forged tickets (arranged by republican activist and criminal, John Norton) crashed a Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee meeting called by the Mayor of Sydney, Alban Joseph Riley following the debacle of June 3 [qv].

The event was a significant in the milestone of Australia's national poet. Henry Lawson, then just a week shy of his 20th birthday, was fired up on reading the Sydney Morning Herald reports of the riot and sent to Sydney's prominent Bulletin magazine a poem under pseudonym 'Youth'. 'The Hymn of the Socialists' was published on June 18 and in the 'Correspondence' column of July 23 was a note "'H.A.L.' Will publish your 'Sons of the South'. You have in you good grit". The poem 'Sons of the South' is now known as 'Song of the Republic' ...

Categories: australia, australian-history, australian-poetry, henry-lawson