Jim Grahame
Jim Grahame | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | James William Gordon 23 October 1874 Creswick, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 12 August 1949 (aged 74) Leeton, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other names | Also wrote under the pen-names of Balm Oral, Poor Hawk |
| Occupation(s) | rouseabout, jackeroo, horse breaker, bullock driver, opal miner, drover, station manager, jockey, orchard inspector, poet, writer |
| Spouse | Celia Letitia Gordon (nee McIntyre) (m. 1902) |
| Children | 5 |
James William "Jim" Gordon (23 October 1874 – 12 August 1949[1]), better known by the pen name of Jim Grahame, was an Australian poet who has been called the last of the Australian bush balladists.[2][3]
Gordon left school aged 13 and had numerous odd jobs before he began submitting his poems to newspapers about 1900. He published first under the name Balm Oral, then Poor Hawk, and finally Jim Grahame. His poems were collected in 1940 and 1947 in books titled Call of the Bush and Under Wide Skies respectively.
Grahame was a good friend of the poet Henry Lawson. While he did not reach the same heights of fame or recognition as Lawson, Gordon's contributions to Australian literature were recognised at the national level when he was awarded a Commonwealth Literary pension in 1947.[4][5]
Early life
[edit]James William Gordon was born on 23 October 1874 in Bloody Gully, a mining camp near Creswick, Victoria,[6] the son of John and Jane (née Morgan)[3] Gordon.[5] Gordon's father was Scottish and his mother of Welsh descent.[6] The family lived in Balmoral, Victoria,[7] where Gordon attended school, leaving at 13.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Gordon spent the next twenty years working at a variety of jobs (including jackeroo,[5] horse-breaker, bullock driver, opal miner, jockey, and drover) before he became a station manager on the Darling River in New South Wales.[5]
Later, he was attached to the government field staff as an inspector of orchards at the Yanco Irrigation Area, near Leeton, New South Wales doing his rounds by horse and sulky.[1]
Gordon was also, at one stage, Treasurer, Secretary and President of the Writers and Artists Union.[6]
Poetry
[edit]Gordon began submitting poems to newspapers about 1900. Many sources suggest Gordon's first published work was published in The Worker in 1902.[3][5][6] Certainly his "Ode to the Handy Man" appeared that year in the Hillston Spectator and Lachlan River Advertiser.[jg 1] In 1903, his first verse, titled "Boundary-Riding", appeared in The Bulletin magazine[6][jg 2] It was also reprinted in 1905.[jg 3] All of these appeared under the pen-name "Balm Oral".
Gordon also began to have other written contributions accepted by The Bulletin around this time, under the pen-names "Balm Oral" and "Poor Hawk".[jg 4][jg 5][jg 6][jg 7]
In 1940, Melbourne's Bread and Cheese Club put out a collection of Gordon's poems in a book titled Call of the Bush.[1][5]
At 72, Gordon began to contribute a regular column to the Murrumbidgee Irrigator with the title "By Lane and Highway".[citation needed]
In 1947, as part of an honour night held for his 73rd birthday, the citizens of Leeton published a compilation of his poems in a book titled "Under Wide Skies". The Testimonial Committee tracked down all of Gordon's known poems except the poem "The King is Shorn".[4][8]
Friendship with Henry Lawson
[edit]Gordon had a life-long friendship with the poet Henry Lawson. The pair first met in Bourke, New South Wales in September 1892 when Lawson had been sent there by his publisher to write and to dry out while Gordon moved there on his doctor's recommendation to escape the cold, damp Victorian countryside (where he suffered repeated chest infections).[9]
The pair's first trek together was to Fort Bourke station, where they worked as roustabouts, in late October 1892. On 27 December 1892, they trekked from Bourke to Hungerford and back, a round trip of over 400km, arriving back in Bourke about 6 February 1893.[clarification needed] After this trek, the pair lost contact for over 20 years; but they renewed their friendship in 1916, when they met again in Leeton.[clarification needed]
In 1917, Lawson persuaded Gordon to adopt a different writing name to 'Poor Hawk',[10] which resulted in him adopting the pen name Jim Grahame. Lawson also advised Gordon on ways to get his work published and also how to play one paper against another in order to get better rates for the poems that did make it to print.[9]
Awards and honours
[edit]
Gordon and his family moved to Leeton in 1921. There he came to be known as "Leeton's poet".[11]
In 1947, an honour night was held for Gordon[6] at the local Roxy Theatre in Leeton[3] for his 73rd birthday. This was attended by some 600 people and was also recorded and broadcast[6] by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.[12] Gordon's contributions to Australian literature were recognised at the national level in 1947, when he was awarded a Commonwealth Literary pension,[4][6] presented to him at the honour night. The event was also marked by the presentation to Gordon of a copy of a collection of his works titled Under Wide Skies.[3] The Testimonial Committee responsible for the compiling his poetry was led by Leigh Marchant, a local orchardist, Rotarian and close friend of Gordon's. They succeeded in tracking down all of his known poems to date but one.[4][8]
Two other civic events were held in Gordon's honour in 1949 in his birthplace of Creswick, Victoria[3] and childhood hometown of Hamilton, Victoria.[7]
Personal life
[edit]In 1902, Gordon married Celia McIntyre, the daughter of a wealthy grazier, John McIntyre.[5] She was cut off by her family for marrying beneath her station.[13][independent source needed]
In 1912, the couple and their two older children moved to the Yanco Irrigation Area in New South Wales near Leeton where the couple's other children were born.[5]
Death and legacy
[edit]Gordon died on 12 August 1949 at his home in Leeton;[3][6] he was 74. He was survived by his wife, one son,[3] and three daughters.[6] He was predeceased by one daughter and a son who died in World War II.[6]
After his death, a newly established Leeton sub-division of Gralee and the Gralee School were named after him – combining the names "Grahame" and "Leeton".[citation needed]
Grahame Park, Leeton in Quandong Street was also named for him[14] in 1949.[15] In 1953, Gralee School opened in a section of the park made available by the local council.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Biography of Jim Grahame". www.austlit.edu.au. AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ "'Jim Grahame' Dies at Leeton; Well-known Australian Poet". Narandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser. Vol. 72, no. 65. 19 August 1949. p. 4 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Vale Jim Grahame – Australian Poet (Mr. J. W. Gordon) Passes Away Suddenly". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. 16 August 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 3 June 2025 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c d "To Honour Jim Gordon: Excellent Response to Organiser's Mission". Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. 27 June 1947. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Stewart, Howard (28 November 1947). "From Sydney: Jim Grahame". Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. p. 1. Retrieved 2 June 2025 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Death at Leeton of Poet James Gordon; Wrote as 'Jim Grahame'". Daily Advertiser. Wagga Wagga, Australia. 13 August 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 2 June 2025 – via Trove.
- ^ a b "Australian Poet at Hamilton – Crowded Town Hall Welcomes Jim Grahame". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. 22 April 1949. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b "The King is Shorn". The Bulletin: 20. 4 September 1935 – via Trove.
- ^ a b Bryan, Gregory (2016). Mates: The friendship that sustained Henry Lawson. Chatswood, Australia; London, England; Auckland, New Zealand: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-74257-887-3. OCLC 961698287.
- ^ W. J. (17 June 1939). "Poet of the Bush: 80,000 Miles in a 'Literary Sulky'". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. p. 11. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
Your poetry is too good," said Lawson "for a pen name. Besides, people like to think that one of their favourite poets is a real flesh and blood character with a proper handle to his mug. Cut out the pen name and call yourself 'Jim Grahame'. It's got a good brothy twist in it, and it isn't so far removed from your own name anyway.
- ^ "Civic Dinner to Jim Grahame – Citizens and Visitors Honour the Poet". Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. 2 December 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Wonderful Scenes of Pageantry and Glamorous Music of the Bush; At Gordon Honour Night". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Vol. 32, no. 94. Leeton, New South Wales. 2 December 1947. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Family letter to Phillipa Hollenkamp (Jim's great-grand-daughter) Fri 24 April 2009
- ^ a b "Gralee School official opening". Murrumbidgee Irrigator. 23 June 1953. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Arbour Day for Jim Grahame". The Murrumbidgee Irrigator. Leeton, New South Wales. 2 August 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
Primary sources
[edit]- ^ "Ode to the Handy Man". The Hillston Spectator and Lachlan River Advertiser. NSW, Australia. 25 October 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Boundary-Riding". The Bulletin. Vol. 24, no. 1243. Sydney, Australia: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald. 10 December 1903. p. 34. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Selected Poetry: Boundary-Riding". The Port Augusta Dispatch, Newcastle and Flinders Chronicle. South Australia. 10 February 1905. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Balm Oral about Bent's Trains". The Bulletin. Vol. 25, no. 1267. Sydney, Australia: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald. 26 May 1904. p. 12.
- ^ "Balm Oral writes about how our good land is wasted by the mortgagee". The Bulletin. Vol. 25, no. 1279. Sydney, Australia: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald. 18 August 1904. p. 17.
- ^ "Poor Hawk – The Governor-General came to Bourke". The Bulletin. Vol. 27, no. 1370. Sydney, Australia: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald. 17 May 1906. p. 10. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Poor Hawk – Maoriland pug". The Bulletin. Vol. 27, no. 1374. Sydney, Australia: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald. 14 June 1906. p. 24.
