AustLit

This poem borrows from Edgar Allan Poe's poem, 'The Raven', which has the first line : 'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,'.

This poem reflects on recent events in Sydney, where the New South Wales Treasurer had workmen construct a series of doorways in the walls of the Treasury Building, which had hitherto separated the Treasury from the Audit Office - all supposedly to the consternation of the Auditor-General, who had not been consulted on the matter. The symbolism of the renovation was highlighted when the incident was subsequently reported in the press (eg. see the report titled 'An Official Burglar' which appeared in the Brisbane Courier, 4 July, 1864, p.2).