Henry Lawson
Bairnsdale Rowing Club (VIC)
Henry Lawson (1867-1922), one of Australia's finest short story writers and balladist, has a rowing connection.
Bairnsdale locals believe that Lawson lived for a period of his childhood on a farm on the outskirts of Bairnsdale and was friends with local rowers. There is no evidence of Lawson having rowed and no race wins recorded to him.
Later in life, Lawson had a tumultuous life including marital breakdown, illness and alcohol abuse. His friends sent him to stay in the bush, including to his good friend Edwin Brady, who had retired to Mallacoota Victoria. His connections with Gippsland were maintained.
Local have produced the following poem of the Bairnsdale Rowing Club which was allegedly written by Lawson in 1907. If correct, it was no doubt on one of his visits to Gippsland. The people mentioned in the poem are the race winners of that Club in the first decade of the twentieth century and the poem accurately conveys club life at that time.
In Gippsland North, there is a town well known to rowing fame
Whose crews have on the Yarra rowed, and won themselves fame
Long years ago, in seventy two, few met and paid their sub
And thus they formed the nucleus of this great rowing club.
For one was Jones, and one was Vogt, C Radford, Bull and Day
And seventeen more with them did join, and last came Holloway.
Their famous four with Jones as stroke, no other crew did beat
When Radford, Vogt, and Woodward Chris, did make that crew complete
When Jones and Davey Williams met, their interest was so keen
All knew, that Daveys crew could, show, a race, that should be seen.
For Davey had a plucky crew, and knew what they could do
Fred Woodley bow, John Folder three, E Doherty number two.
But when these members came to row, or train a raw recruit,
'Twas in a hut just built of bark, they donned their rowing suit
In ninety four our maiden eight with Atkin in strokes seat,
In Bairnsdale met four Melbourne crews, and easily them did beat.
Just thirteen years have passed away, at Bairnsdale as before,
Our eight with Beckley C. as stroke, beat Park and Yarra sore.
With Atkin, Webb and Richardson, our eight oared boat has won
With Laird, Atkin and Arthur stroke, likewise the four has done.
But Atkin's was our champion eight, for scarcely asked to row,
It easily beat four Melbourne crews, by several lengths, you know.
When eight and four were training hard, by wind a sound was borne,
For Wilson was there, coaching them, helped by a sounding horn.
Our rowing club has prospered well for sixteen years or more
Since Eastwood, Wilson, and Arthur rowed, and many a win did score.
Bill Pearson was a champion stroke, and well his oar did wield,
But now he leads the fire brigade, to win its champion shield.
When Archer was our President and Lardner worthy man,
New boats kept coming to the shed, which up two storys ran.
And now its walls do proudly show the pictures of those crews,
That made the history of the club; note well all ye who choose.
Ye youthful members of this club, scan well these pictures here,
And rival them by glorious deeds, that we, your acts may cheer.
Then learn ye youths and young men to row without delay,
In eights and fours and pair-oared boats, your strength and skill display.
To celebrate like noble deeds, and close the rowing year,
To give the trophies ably won, are we assembled here.
Now here I'll tell of deeds well done, for city men did stare!
When last upon the Yarra course, was seen the Bairnsdale pair.
Andrew Guerin
December 2024
Sources:
- Tim Hamilton, Bairnsdale rower
- Brian Matthews, 'Lawson, Henry (1867–1922)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lawson-henry-7118/text12279, published first in hardcopy 1986, accessed online 30 December 2024.
- The Victorian Oarsman by John Lang, published by Massina & Co 1919 for race results.