AustLit

Son of a pioneer pastoralist who made a fortune in South Australia and then returned to England, Hayward was educated at Rugby and Oxford in England and practised law in South Africa before migrating to Western Australia in 1894. He then worked for several Western Australian newspapers, namely the Cue Advocate, the Geraldton Express, the Kalgoorlie Sun and the Perth Sunday Times, as a reporter, editor and as a writer of rhymes. In 1900, Hayward married Elizabeth Dunn in Perth. After moving to Sydney and joining The Bulletin in 1922, he continued writing topical verse under his several pen-names until his death in 1950.

Hayward believed that verse was an integral component of good journalism, and his work showed an increasing affection for Australian culture. The Australian Dictionary of Biography asserts that 'After the nostalgia for England of his early work, Hayward's editorials, articles and poems soon supported the populist, patriotic strain in Australian literature and life'.