Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was born on the 17th of June 1867 at Grenfell, New South Wales. Lawson suffered from deafness and was often teased as a result. Much of his work was set in the Australian bush, or was about bush life. Many believe he was the first poet to capture the Australian way of life.

He died of cerebral haemorrhage, in Abbotsford, Sydney in 1922, and was given a state funeral.





Francis Howard Greenway
Francis Howard Greenway was born on the 20th of November 1777 at Mangotsfield, near Bristol, England. He arrived in Sydney, as a convict, on the transport General Hewitt in February 1814 to serve his sentence. Between 1816 and 1818, whilst still a convict, Greenway was responsible for the design and construction of the Macquarie Lighthouse on the South Head at the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

He died in 1837, aged 59, in the Hunter River valley and was buried in a small cemetery in a lonely paddock outside East Maitland. There is no tombstone or marker over his grave. The exact date of his death is not known.

Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson
Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson was born on the 17th of February 1864 at Narrambla near Orange, New South Wales. In 1885, Paterson began submitting and having his poetry published in the Sydney edition of The Bulletin under the pseudonym of "The Banjo", the name of a favourite horse. Paterson's more notable poems include "Waltzing Matilda", "The Man from Snowy River" and "Clancy of the Overflow".

He died of a heart attack in Sydney on the 5th of February 1941. His grave is in the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Sydney.





Dame Mary Gilmore
Dame Mary Gilmore was born on the 16th of August 1865 at Mary Vale, Woodhouselee, near Goulburn, New South Wales. Mary's passionate desire for social reform gained political momentum in the radical and nationalist ferment of the 1890's. Sensitive to the conventions of the day, Mary guarded her teaching career during this time by writing under noms de plume, including Em Jaycey, Sister Jaycey and Rudione Calvert. A highly popular and nationally known writer, in 1937 she became the first person to be appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire for contributions to literature.

She died on the 3rd of December 1962 (Eureka Day) and, after a state funeral at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Macquarie Street, was cremated, her ashes being buried in her husband's grave in the Cloncurry cemetery.