[Editor: This article, by Gertrude Lawson, was published in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post (Goulburn, NSW), 25 March 1924.]
Lawson’s ancestry
Grandmother lived in Goulburn
Immortalised in “Black Bonnet”
(By Gertrude Lawson.)
This article has been written exclusively for the “Evening Penny Post” by Gertrude Lawson (Mrs. O’Connor), Henry Lawson’s sister, who is on a visit to Goulburn. It is of intense local interest in view of the references to the poet’s grandmother, who lived in Goulburn for a number of years.
Years ago an idea took root in the public mind that Henry Lawson was the son of very uninteresting people. The “Queensland Capricornian” culled certain facts from current literature and astounded our family by announcing that Henry was the son of a Norwegian sailor and an Australian aboriginal. But his father was not a sailor. Because his elder brothers were all sea captains he, too, was destined for the sea. So as a petty officer he sailed upon his first long sea voyage which landed him in Australia when the migration to the goldfields was at its height. The young son of the Vikings fell to the lure of the Golden Nugget and followed the newly beaten track.
The son of a sailor, of a currency lass, or of a Gipsy appealed to public sentiment, although it fractures fact, and the laws of evolution which certainly produced the genius of Lawson. Mental descent through the maternal line is most marked though it cannot be denied that the Viking father left an imprint which was more evident in Henry’s latter years than in the earlier period.
Henry’s great-grandfather was a clergyman who lost his pulpit through his democratic utterances. After his death his daughter Harriet emigrated to Australia and married a pioneer. She took a keen interest in the literature of her day. Her collection of prose and verse culled from the press of her time is treasured by her son, Joseph Albury, who lived so many years in Goulburn. He lives now at Hornsby and has just retired after 45 years service upon the N.S.W. Railways. His mother lived with him for many years in Goulburn, and here Henry Lawson often visited her. It was from her that Henry’s mother derived her love for literature and through her the democratic tendency which she put to practical use during the suffrage campaign. She recognised Henry’s ability early and encouraged it. It was the two women — Louisa Lawson (Henry’s mother) and Mary Gilmore (the friend of his early manhood) — who steadied him to mount the first rung of the ladder of fame. These women sacrificed a great deal of their ambition so that the young writer would not be hampered in his beginnings.
Henry’s description of his grandmother when in her young years is better than anything I can write. It is as follows:—
“Young Harriet Wynn, pretty, winsome, and demure,
Short and straight with blue eyes and hair like straw.”
Of the grandmother he knew as she was when she lived in Goulburn he sang her praises in verse; and “Black Bonnet” ranks amongst his most appreciated works.
Some passages from the beautiful poem are quoted:—
A day of seeming innocence,
A glorious sun and sky,
And, just above my picket fence,
Black Bonnet passing by.
In knitted gloves and quaint old dress,
Without a spot or smirch,
Her worn face lit with peacefulness,
Old Granny goes to church.
They called it “Service” long ago
When Granny yet was young,
And in the chapel, sweet and low,
As girls her daughters sung.
And when in church she bends her head
(But not as others do)
She sees her loved ones, and her dead,
And hears their voices too.
At home, with dinner waiting there,
She smooths her hair and face,
And puts her bonnet by with care
And dons a cap of lace.
The table minds its p’s and q’s
Lest one perchance be hit
By some rare dart, which is a part
Of her old-fashioned wit.
Her son and son’s wife are asleep;
She puts her apron on—
The quiet house is hers to keep,
With all the youngsters gone.
There’s scarce a sound of dish on dish
Or cup slipped into cup,
When, left alone, as is her wish,
Black Bonnet “washes up!”
Source:
Goulburn Evening Penny Post (Goulburn, NSW), 25 March 1924, p. 3
Editor’s notes:
Gipsy = an alternative spelling of “gypsy” (plural: gipsies)
Golden Nugget = a reference to gold in general
N.S.W. = an abbreviation of New South Wales (a colony in Australia from 1788, then a state in 1901)
p’s and q’s = to mind (be careful of) one’s behaviour, manners, and/or language; an admonishment or warning to act in a polite and respectful manner; to take care with what you are doing; to mind one’s Ps and Qs is a warning that someone should be on their best behaviour (the origin of the phrase is debatable and unclear; it has been suggested that the phrase stems from a warning to students to not confuse the lowercase “p” and “q” letters of the alphabet; however, there are several other origin theories); the phrase may be rendered in lower or upper case (p’s and q’s; Ps and Qs)
See: 1) Kelly Laycock, “Mind Your Ps and Qs”, Law Society of Saskatchewan, 14 January 2015
2) Gary Martin, “The meaning and origin of the expression: Mind your Ps and Qs”, The Phrase Finder
3) Michael Quinion, “Mind Your Ps and Qs”, World Wide Words, 29 February 1996 (updated 2 February 2008)
4) Martin Fone, “What is the origin of (145)?… Mind your Ps and Qs”, Window Through Time, 15 September 2017
5) “P”, Online Etymology Dictionary
6) “Mind your Ps and Qs”, Wikipedia
Service = church service (a religious meeting of Christians; a religious rite or ritual held in a church)
See: “Church service”, Wikipedia
[Editor: Changed “fructures fact” to “fractures fact”.]
Leave a Reply