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'George Gordon McCrae, father of Hugh, was a poet. In exotic isles he packed his portmanteau with double coco-nuts. His friends were like his coco-nuts, tropically rich in idiosyncrasies. Adam Lindsay Gordon, Henry Kendall, Marcus Clarke, John Shillinglaw, 'Orion' Horne - for us they are figures bathed in the lustre of literary fame, but here they talk and drink once again in the flesh, a gallant company of personalities. They lived in Melbourne in the olden days, before the wireless, newspapers, films, and motor cars, like the four wheels of the juggernaut, had flattened us out to a mechanical level. It was the pre-bowser age: men walked, drawing, like Antaeus, strength from the earth they touched. They rollicked in taverns, singing songs.
Here there are character sketches, random episodes, and anecdotes - odd pieces picked out from the mosaic of memory, retesselated, with their design still clear, their colours bright. Some of the episodes are poignant, such as Kendall's letter to George Gordon McCrae upon the death of Gordon. But most of them are amusing, as Marcus Clarke bravely puts his hand into the lion's mouth to leave his cigar there, and Montgomery in his bearskin coat looks as if he might give birth to a possum at any minute!..'(from Forward by T. Inglis Moore (q.v.))
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Untitled
1938
single work
review
— Appears in: The North Queensland Register , 18 June 1938; (p. 57)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography -
New Australian Work
1936
single work
review
— Appears in: All About Books , 13 January vol. 8 no. 1 1936; (p. 4-6)
— Review of Aces and Kings 1935 single work autobiography ; There and Back : The Story of an Australian Soldier, 1915-1935 1935 single work autobiography ; Crucible : An Australian First World War Novel 1935 single work novel ; My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography ; A Nursery in the Nineties 1935 single work autobiography ; Blue Coast Caravan 1935 single work non-fiction -
McCrae's Prose and Verse
1936
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 8 January vol. 57 no. 2917 1936; (p. 2) -
Untitled
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 30 November 1935; (p. 18)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography -
A Batch of Briefs
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 27 November vol. 56 no. 2911 1935; (p. 2)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography
-
New Australian Work
1936
single work
review
— Appears in: All About Books , 13 January vol. 8 no. 1 1936; (p. 4-6)
— Review of Aces and Kings 1935 single work autobiography ; There and Back : The Story of an Australian Soldier, 1915-1935 1935 single work autobiography ; Crucible : An Australian First World War Novel 1935 single work novel ; My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography ; A Nursery in the Nineties 1935 single work autobiography ; Blue Coast Caravan 1935 single work non-fiction -
Untitled
1938
single work
review
— Appears in: The North Queensland Register , 18 June 1938; (p. 57)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography -
Untitled
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 30 November 1935; (p. 18)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography -
A Batch of Briefs
1935
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 27 November vol. 56 no. 2911 1935; (p. 2)
— Review of My Father and My Father's Friends 1935 single work biography -
McCrae's Prose and Verse
1936
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 8 January vol. 57 no. 2917 1936; (p. 2)
- Melbourne, Victoria,