Henry LawsonPrint Page

The statue commemorates Australian poet and short story writer, Henry Lawson.  It was commissioned five years after Lawson's death by the Henry Lawson Memorial Fund organising committee.  In June, 2007, the statue was loaned to the National Gallery in Canberra for the exhibition George.W.Lambert Retrospective : Heroes & Icons', which ran from 29 June until 16 September, 2007. The statue was reinstalled on 19th September, 2007.

Henry Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period, and is often called Australia's "greatest writer.

In the presence of a large number of people in the Domain last week his Excellency the Governor Sir Philip Game unveiled the memorial statue to Henry Lawson. The Statue, a fine study in bronze of Lawson, accompanied by a 'swaggy' and a sheep dog, was the last work of the late George Lambert. It is situated on a green knoll in a secluded part of the Domain by the road leading to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. It is thought that this is the first statue of an Australian poet to be erected in the Commonwealth.  "Henry Lawson was indeed the voice of Australia, proclaiming far and wide the ideal which in the simple dialect of the bush, is called- 'Mate-iness', said Sir Phillip Game. 

In accepting the statue on behalf of the Domain trustees, Mr. Dunn said that Lawson was typically a defender of the people, equally at home in the city or in the bush. Master Henry Hauptmann, of Sydney High School, recited one of Lawson's pieces, 'Waratah and Wattle.' A good example of the regard in which Lawson was held among his mates of the bush was provided by the presence at the ceremony of Mr. Jim. Graham, the companion of the poet's Leeton days. The expenses of his journey to Sydney were collected by the office staff of the Leeton Irrigation Commission, so that they could be represented at the unveiling.
Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW), 7 August 1931.

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