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.
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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.
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Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson
Banjo Patterson was 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".
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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.
