AustLit
Latest Issues
Contents
-
The Drover's Wife,
single work
short story
First appearing in The Bulletin in 1892, Henry Lawson's short story 'The Drovers Wife' is today regarded as a seminal work in the Australian literary tradition. Noted for it's depiction of the bush as harsh, potentially threatening and both isolated and isolating, the story opens with a simple enough premise: an aggressive--and presumably deadly--snake disrupts the working life of a bushwoman and her young children. Brave but cautious, the woman resolves to protect her children since her husband is, characteristically, away from home and of no help.
As time passes within the story, tension builds, and the snake's symbolic threat takes on layers of meaning as the sleepless heroine recalls previous challenges she faced while her husband was away. A series of flashbacks and recollections propel the story through the single night over which it takes place, and by the time the climax arrives--the confrontation with the snake--readers have learned much about the heroine's strengths and fears, most of the latter involving the loss of children and dark figures who encroach upon her small, vulnerable homestead. To be sure, this "darkness" is highly symbolic, and Lawson's use of imagery invokes Western notions of good and evil as well as gendered and racial stereotypes.
-
The Bush Undertaker,
single work
short story
An old shepherd discovers his mate, Brummy, dead and mummified in the bush. Saddened, he feels compelled to bury him.
-
The Golden Shanty
A Profitable Pub,
single work
short story
humour
(p. 17-28)
Note: With title: A Golden Shanty
- A Visit to Scrubby Gully, single work short story humour (p. 29-37)
-
The Deeply Poetic Account of a Midsummer Night's Idyll
A Midsummer Night's Idyll,
single work
short story
humour
(p. 38-45)
Note: With title: 'The Deeply Poetic Account of a Midsummer Night's Idyll'. Minor variants in text from original version.
- Lieutenant Darrell's Predicament, single work short story (p. 46-62)
-
The Chosen Vessel,
single work
short story
Following a similar thread to Henry Lawson's "The Drover's Wife" (and many believe, a direct response to it), "The Chosen Vessel" follows a young mother left alone in her outback hut who becomes growingly concerned for her own safety following the arrival of a menacing swagmen. The story also follows for a short time a man riding in to town to place his vote and his struggles with religious guilt.
- Billy Skywonkie, single work short story (p. 70-82)
- Piety's Monument, single work short story (p. 83-86)
- Destiny, single work short story fable (p. 87-90)
-
The Methodical Mr Burr of Majuru
The Methodical Mr. Burr,
single work
short story
(p. 91-95)
Note: With title: 'The Methodical Mr Burr of Majuru'
- The Cast-Iron Canvasser, single work short story humour satire science fiction (p. 96-104)
- Wharf Labourers, single work short story (p. 105-108)
-
The Outcasts,
extract
novel
humour
Chapter Five of Saturdee
-
Adventure
Adventure : A Fantasy of the Ranges,
single work
short story
(p. 122-123)
Note: With title: Adventure
- The Bath : An Aquarelle, single work short story (p. 124-127)
- The Duel, single work short story war literature (p. 128-130)
- Mathieson's Wife, single work short story (p. 131-146)
-
The Cooboo,
single work
short story
Set on the wide plains of the Murndoo station, 'The Cooboo' is the story of Rose, a Wongana woman, mother, and stockwoman.
- The Vine-Dweller, single work short story (p. 151-154)