W. T. Goodge, known to his friends as “Billy”, was born in London, England, on 28 September 1862. As a young man he obtained a position on the ship “Cathay”, and made his way out to Australia, arriving in Sydney in 1880.[1]
Shortly after landing, he obtained work at Windagee Station, a Cobb & Co. property in country NSW (south of Walgett). According to W. E. Fitz Henry, Goodge’s first verse was “a six-line stanza giving his unprintable opinion of the manager of Windagee Station, where he was employed as a jackeroo, and the owners, Cobb & Co., was carved with a penknife on the smooth trunk of a bluegum-tree”.[2]
Goodge soon began writing for country newspapers. He wrote poetry for the Dubbo Express, and worked as a journalist for The Lithgow Mercury. He was appointed editor of the Orange Leader (Orange, NSW), and many of his poems were printed in that newspaper (and were often reprinted in other papers). He contributed to Truth and The Bulletin (Sydney), and was known to write material under the pseudonyms of “The Colonel” and “Billy Badge”.[3]
His most famous work is undoubtedly the poem “The Great Australian Adjective”, originally published in The Bulletin in 1897; it used dashes (“——”) to imply the word “bloody” (i.e. the great Australian adjective), which was regarded as a terribly uncouth swear word at the time (although its usage was particularly widespread throughout the populace, especially amongst those not from a “refined” background).[4]
During the Boer War (1899-1902), Goodge wrote a patriotic song, “Sons of New Britannia”, which was published in his “Nutshells” column in the Orange Leader (18 October 1899), using his pseudonym of “The Colonel”. It appears that this song was written somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but that proved no impediment to Nicholas J. Gehde, who set it to music, and it became widely popular, being sung at many patriotic events and concerts.[6]
Goodge wrote another patriotic song, “Call All Hands” (first published on 28 December 1899), which also became very popular; it was published in newspapers all over Australia, as well as in other British Commonwealth countries. The song was set to music by Mr. T. H. Massey, and re-titled as “Pipe All Hands”. It was widely played at patriotic events and received very warmly; for instance, The Daily Telegraph (29 January 1900) reported that, when it was played at a concert in Bathurst, it “created quite a furore, the singer being thrice re-called”. The composition was resurrected during the First World War (1914-1918) when the comedian Ed. E. Ford, billed as “the Australian Sundowner”, used a slightly altered version (entitled “All Hands”) as a recitation in his tour of England, where it was a big hit.[7]
Whilst living in Orange, W. T. Goodge joined the Labor Electoral League, and took part in the local effort to raise funds for strikers at Broken Hill. He also became involved with several local organisations, including the cricket club, the rugby union club (for which he agreed to write a song), the greyhound coursing club, the Church of England, and the Order of Oddfellows. Goodge ran for the position of Alderman for Orange council, in a by-election, but was unsuccessful against the two other candidates, obtaining only 5 votes out of 178.[8]
During his time as editor of the Orange Leader, William Goodge married Ada Powter (a young woman from a long-established Orange family), on 21 January 1892, in the local church. However, his wife contracted typhoid fever and died, aged 22 years, on 17 January 1895 (only a few days short of their third wedding anniversary), leaving Billy with two young children (a baby of nine weeks and a toddler just over two years old). Just a few months later, as an awful addition to his misfortunes, the hand of Death struck yet again, with his baby boy (Julian Gilbert Goodge) dying in September 1895.[9]
Three years after the death of his wife, W. T. Goodge married a second time, to Miriam Wilson, on 15 March 1898.[10]
In 1901 Goodge moved permanently to Sydney, where he worked free-lance, contributing to the Truth newspaper and several country newspapers, as well as writing the column “Bits by Badge”, which was published in The Arrow (from 1905 to 1909).[11]
Whilst in Sydney, he had some ongoing health problems (with gallstones), and his body finally failed him. W. T. Goodge died at the North Shore Hospital (Sydney, NSW), on 28 November 1909, at the age of 47, leaving behind a widow and three children. He was buried in the Gore Hill cemetery (St. Leonards, NSW).[12]
His talent was recognised Australia-wide:
The Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (Dubbo, NSW) said that W. T. Goodge was “a journalist of considerable ability… He had the gift of versification, and though some of his efforts did not transcend to jingle, yet much of it was of a high order of merit, and distinctly bright and witty. As a writer of patriotic songs the late Mr. Goodge was deservedly appreciated during the Boer War, and by his death Australian journalism suffers a loss.”[13]
In the opinion of The Glen Innes Examiner (Glen Innes, NSW), Goodge was “one the most brilliant verse-men in the States”.[14]
The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) said Goodge was “perhaps the best known writer of humorous verse in Australia … his name was known and his work looked for by a large circle of readers.”[15]
The Northam Courier (Northam, WA) stated that he was “one of the best writers of patter-verse that Australia has yet produced”.[16]
Punch (Melbourne, Vic.) wrote “W. T. Goodge was a particularly clever versifier, without pretending to be a poet. He could turn out a neat hit of topical verse ingeniously rhymed with anybody in the game, here or elsewhere.”[17]
A. G. Stephens, in The Register (Adelaide, SA), said “In his prime his was the brightest and most spontaneous pen in the Commonwealth for “topical jingle”. He had a natural sense of rhythm and knack of rhyme that, with his humour, his language, and his bright eye for a point, made him an admirable writer of light verse”.[18]
The Sun (Kalgoorlie, WA) called Goodge “Australia’s champion humorist”.[19]
Truth (Brisbane, Qld.) said he was “the most prolific Australian writer of humorous jingle … His place both as to prose and poetry joker will be hard to fill.”[20]
Truth (Perth, WA) acknowledged his national popularity: “W. T. Goodge … was a man of much versatility in the journalistic world, and his contributions to various papers were known and read with keen appreciation throughout the length and breadth of Australia.”[21]
Several decades after his passing, The Richmond River Herald (Coraki, NSW) described W. T. Goodge as “undoubtedly the greatest country press versifier of his day”.[22]
W. T. Goodge is regarded as being in the top two dozen poets of Australia’s “Balladists” period (1878-1940).[23] His contribution to Australia’s literary scene was significant, and his work deserves to be remembered and appreciated by future generations.
Books by W. T. Goodge:
1899: W. T. Goodge, Hits! Skits! and Jingles!, Sydney: Bulletin Newspaper Company (enlarged second edition, 1904, with illustrations by Norman Lindsay)
1965: W. T. Goodge, The Great Australian Adjective, London: Sheed & Ward (published posthumously; selections from Hits! Skits! and Jingles!, with illustrations by Norman Lindsay)
Selected poetry by W. T. Goodge:
[Arranged by date of publication.]
* = Minor poems (typically 8 lines or less)
“——!”: The Great Australian Adjective [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 11 December 1897]
The Governor’s Xmas Party [25 December 1898]
* Army Nurses [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
* John L. Fegan [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
* The New Test [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
* Premier Lyne [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
* Simply Want to Fight [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
The Bush Missionary [in The Bulletin Reciter, 1901]
The Tugs of Simpsonville [in The Bulletin Reciter, 1901]
The Little Brown Egotist [14 June 1903]
In Memoriam: Victor John Daley [31 December 1905]
The Kookaburra Championship [13 December 1908]
The Dog in the Manger [7 February 1909]
Selected songs by W. T. Goodge:
Sons of New Britannia [by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]
Call All Hands [30 December 1899]
Selected articles by W. T. Goodge:
The sorrows of fame [12 May 1900]
Farrellesque reminiscenses [22 January 1904]
Articles about W. T. Goodge:
New publications [review of “Hits! Skits! and Jingles!” by W. T. Goodge, 11 June 1899]
“Call All Hands” [letter, 21 April 1900]
[Obituary: W. T. Goodge] [The Bulletin, 2 December 1909]
W. T. Goodge [by A. G. Stephens, 11 December 1909]
In Memoriam: W. T. Goodge [poem, 21 December 1909]
References:
[1] Some sources have given the year of W. T. Goodge’s arrival on the “Cathay” as either 1880 or 1882; however, it appears that 1880 is the correct year, as a list of the crew of the “Cathay”, leaving Melbourne for Sydney in December 1880, includes one W. Goodge, aged 18, from London.
“Cathay of Sydney, William Malcolm Robbie, Master, burthen 1884 tons: From the port of Melbourne to Sydney, New South Wales, 3ST DEC. 1880”, Mariners and ships in Australian Waters (name: Goodge, W.; station: boy; age: 18; nation: London; status: crew)
“W. T. Goodge”, Austlit (“Arrived in Australia: 1880”; “After travelling to Australia as a ship-steward Goodge jumped ship in Sydney in 1882”)
W.T. Goodge (1862—1909), Oxford Reference (left his ship in Sydney in 1882)
“Letter by Norman Lindsay to Alec H. Chisholm 1964.09, Perry Middlemiss (see footnote: “W.T. Goodge came to Australia in 1882 aged twenty”)
“W.T. Goodge (1862-1909), Perry Middlemiss (“arrived in Sydney in 1882 after working his passage as a steward”)
[2] W. E. Fitz Henry, “John Webb”, The Bulletin (Sydney), 22 December 1948, p. 2 (col. 2)
[3] “Orange and its neighbourhood”, The Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW), 1 April 1899, pp. 13-19, see section “The newspaper press”, p. 18 (“The Colonel”; the owner of the Orange Leader was Mr. H. J. Brooke)
“The late Mr. W. T. Goodge: A subscription list”, The Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW), 5 December 1909, p. 7 (“Billy Badge”, “The Colonel”)
“W. T. Goodge”, Austlit (“Also writes as: Billy Badge ; Billie Badge”)
[4] ““——!”: The Great Australian Adjective [poem by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 11 December 1897]”, The Institute of Australian Culture, 20 April 2019
The Colonel, “————! (The Great Australian Adjective)”, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 11 December 1897, p. 26 (column 3)
[5] “Argus gleanings”, The Molong Argus (Molong, NSW), 25 March 1898, p. 2 (re. subscriptions being raised for Hits, Skits, and Jingles)
Tartarin, “Notes and notions”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 25 March 1898, p. 4 (re. subscriptions being raised for Hits, Skits, and Jingles)
“Publication received”, The Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (Mudgee, NSW), 16 June 1899, p. 13 (a positive review)
“Hits, Skits, and Jingles”, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 17 June 1899, p. 4 (a mostly positive review)
“[We have received from the publishers]” (untitled article), The Wagga Wagga Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW), 17 June 1899, p. 2 (column 4) (a short positive review)
“Under the gumtree: With a flying paper-knife”, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 24 June 1899, The Red Page (a mostly positive review)
“Literature: “The Colonel’s” Book”, The Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW), 24 June 1899, p. 10 (a mostly positive review; regards it as verse, but not poetry)
“Literature: Books we read”, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 24 June 1899, p. 1458
“Hits, Skits, and Jingles”, The Geraldton Advertiser (Geraldton, WA), 27 June 1899, p. 3 (a mostly positive review; refers to the works as rhyme, but says it is not poetry)
“Hits, Skits, And Jingles: By W. T. Goodge”, Goulburn Evening Penny Post (Goulburn, NSW), 27 June 1899, p. 4 (a positive review)
“Hits, Skits, and Jingles”, The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.), 1 July 1899, p. 19 (a mostly positive review; refers to it as verse and rhyme, but says that, with “one or two inconsiderable exceptions”, it is not poetry)
“New publication: Hits! Skits! and Jingles!”, The Wyalong Advocate and Mining, Agricultural and Pastoral Gazette (West Wyalong, NSW), 25 January 1905, p. 3 (second edition; a positive review)
“Reviews”, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.), 26 January 1905, p. 7 (second edition; a generally positive review)
“Hits, Skits, and Jingles”, Wagga Wagga Express (Wagga Wagga, NSW), 25 February 1905, p. 3 (book re-issued; ; a positive review)
Hits! skits! and jingles! / W.T. Goodge, National Library of Australia (catalogue entry for the 1904 edition)
[6] “Sons of New Britannia [song by “The Colonel” (W. T. Goodge), 18 October 1899]”, The Institute of Australian Culture, 22 April 2019
The Colonel, “Nutshells”, Orange Leader and Millthorpe Messenger (Millthorpe, NSW), 18 October 1899, p. 1
[7] “Call All Hands [song by W. T. Goodge, 30 December 1899]”, The Institute of Australian Culture, 20 April 2019
“Enthusiasm at Bathurst”, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW), 29 January 1900, p. 6 (patriotic song “Pipe All Hands”)
“Pipe all hands”, The Arrow (Sydney, NSW), 10 February 1917, p. 3 (Goodge as the writer of “Bits by Badge”; Ed. E. Ford touring England with Goodge’s song)
“The Voice of the “Anzacs”: “All Hands””, [no publication details], [undated, ca. 1915-1917] (re. Ed. E. Ford)
[8] “Orange peelings”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 2 September 1891, p. 2 (ran for the position of Treasurer of the Labor Electoral League in Orange)
“Orange peelings”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 28 November 1891, p. 2 (Church of England activities)
“The Broken Hill strike”, Evening News (Sydney, NSW), 26 August 1892, p. 4
“Athletics: Cricket Gossip”, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 17 September 1892, p. 661
“Orange peelings”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 17 April 1894, p. 3 (agreed to write a song for the football club)
“The late Mrs. Goodge”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 19 January 1895, p. 3 (funeral of his first wife; Oddfellows member)
“Coursing: The question of amalgamation”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 10 February 1897, p. 2 (Orange Coursing Club)
“Orange Peelings”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 6 April 1897, p. 3 (council election)
“Affairs at Orange”, The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW), 13 April 1897, p. 5 (council by-election results)
“Three Country Representative Teams”, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 10 July 1897, p. 73 (rugby union club)
[9] “The same old story”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 22 January 1892, p. 2 (marriage to his first wife)
“Down with typhoid”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 16 January 1895, p. 2 (illness of his first wife)
“Death of Mrs. W. T. Goodge”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 18 January 1895, p. 2 (death of his first wife)
“Orange”, The Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (Bathurst, NSW), 19 January 1895, p. 3 (death of his first wife)
“The late Mrs. Goodge”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 19 January 1895, p. 3 (funeral of his first wife)
“Orange peelings”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 6 September 1895, p. 2 (death of his son)
Births, Deaths and Marriages search, NSW Government
Marriage record: reg. no. 5930/1892; Groom: Goodge, William Y; Bride: Powter, Ada J; district: Orange.
Death record: Goodge, Ada I; reg. no. 2404/1895; father’s given name/s: Emanuel; mother’s given name/s: Sarah K; district: Orange.
Death record: Goodge, Julian G; reg. no. 9616/1895; father’s given name/s: William T; mother’s given name/s: Ada I; district: Orange.
[10] “Marriage of a journalist”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 16 March 1898, p. 2 (marriage to his second wife)
Births, Deaths and Marriages search, NSW Government
Marriage record: reg. no. 1631/1898; Groom: Goodge, William T; Bride: Wilson, Miriam A; district: Orange.
[11] “[Miscellaneous news items]”, The Cootamundra Herald (Cootamundra, NSW), 1 December 1900, p. 2 (move to Sydney)
“Mr Goodge’s departure”, The Leader (Orange, NSW), 1 August 1901, p. 2 (permanent move to Sydney)
“Passing notes”, The Wyalong Advocate and Mining, Agricultural and Pastoral Gazette (Wyalong, NSW), 17 August 1901, p. 4 (move to Sydney)
A. G. Stephens, “W. T. Goodge”, The Register (Adelaide, SA), 11 December 1909, p. 4 (“for the last seven years he had been a “free-lance” journalist”)
Cecil Poole, “Mixed lollies”, Macleay Argus (Kempsey, NSW), 11 September 1919, p. 2 (“one of the most brilliant free-lances Australia ever had”)
[12] “Funerals”, The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 29 November 1909, p. 12 (funeral notice for William Thomas Goodge)
“Personal”, The National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW), 1 December 1909, p. 2
“The late Mr. W. T. Goodge (“Billy Badge”)”, The Referee (Sydney, NSW), 8 December 1909, p. 12 (long illness prior to death)
“The late W. T. Goodge”, The Leader (Orange, NSW), 1 December 1909, p. 2 (re. “gall stones”; Gore Hill cemetery)
[13] “Death of Mr. W. T. Goodge”, Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (Dubbo, NSW), 1 December 1909, p. 2
[14] “Our wires: Death of W. T. Goodge”, The Glen Innes Examiner (Glen Innes, NSW), 30 November 1909, p. 5
[15] “Personal”, The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.), 4 December 1909, p. 5
See also: “Personal”, The Darling Downs Gazette (Toowomba, Qld.), 1 December 1909, p. 5
[16] “Wireless telegraphy”, The Northam Courier (Northam, WA), 17 December 1909, p. 3
[17] “Prattle about people”, Punch (Melbourne, Vic.), 9 December 1909, p. 889
[18] A. G. Stephens, “W. T. Goodge”, The Register (Adelaide, SA), 11 December 1909, p. 4
[19] “Personagraphs”, The Sun (Kalgoorlie, WA), 9 January 1910, p. 5 (“he was Australia’s champion humorist”)
[20] “[W. T. Goodge]” (untitled article), Truth (Brisbane, Qld.), 5 December 1909, p. 5
[21] “Purely personal”, Truth (Perth, WA), 18 December 1909, p. 4 (City Edition)
[22] “In the gay 90’s: Jack Moses and W. T. Goodge”, The Richmond River Herald and Northern Districts Advertiser (Coraki, NSW), 10 April 1942, p. 6
[23] Frederick Macartney and E. Morris Miller, Australian Literature: A Bibliography to 1938: Extended to 1950, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1956 (revised edition), p. 4 (see table “The Balladists”)
See also:
“W. T. Goodge”, Wikipedia
Updated 21 April 2021
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