Henry Lawson's well known poem, Freedom on the Wallaby, was written as a comment on the 1891 Australian shearers' strike and published by William Lane in the Worker in Brisbane, May 16, 1891. Henry Lawson, circa 1902 Henry Lawson (17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and poet. ... The 1891 Shearers Strike is one of Australias oldest and most important industrial disputes. ... William Lane (1861-1917) was a pioneer of the Australian labour movement. ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia, with a greater metropolitan population of just under two million. ...

The last two stanzas of the poem were read out by Frederick Brentnall MP on July 15, 1891 in the Queensland Legislative Council during a 'Vote of Thanks' to the armed police who broke up the Barcaldine strike camp. There were calls in the chamber for Lawson's arrest for sedition. Lawson wrote a bitter rejoinder to Brentnall, The Vote of Thanks Debate. The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland, until its abolition in 1922. ... Barcaldine is a small town located in Western Queensland, Australia, approximately 520 kilometres by road west of the city of Rockhampton. ... Australian sedition law is the area of the criminal law of Australia relating to the crime of sedition. ...

The "Rebel flag" referred to in the poem is the Eureka Flag that was first raised at the Eureka Stockade in 1854, above the Shearers' strike camp in 1891 and carried on the first Australian May Day march in Barcaldine on May 1, 1891. The Eureka Flag The Eureka Flag is an Australian flag which has no official status, but which is used by a wide range of groups. ... The original Eureka Flag (Ballarat Fine Art Museum) The Eureka Stockade was a miners revolt in 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the gold-mining region of Ballarat due to many reasons, including heavily priced mining items, the expense of a Miners Licence, and unfair treatment. ... May Day is May 1, and refers to any of several holidays celebrated on this day. ...

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Freedom on the Wallaby

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References

• Union Songs