Captain Dobbin

"Captain Dobbin"
by Kenneth Slessor
First published in	Cuckooz Contrey
Country	Australia
Language	English
Publication date	1932

"Captain Dobbin" (1932) is a poem by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor. ^[1]

It was originally published in the poet's collection Cuckooz Contrey , and was subsequently reprinted in the author's single-author collections and a number of Australian poetry anthologies. ^[1]

The poem "is based partly on a Captain Bayldon, retired sea captain and uncle of Slessor's first wife, Noela". ^[2]

Synopsis

"The poem describes an eccentric old seaman who has enshrined in his cottage by the harbour the treasures of his seafaring days." ^[2]

Critical reception

In his review of the poet's collection Poems in The Bulletin , critic and poet A. D. Hope wrote: "'Captain Dobbin' and 'Five Visions of Captain Cook' are his outstanding successes, in what is very close to the art of Browning, the Browning of Men and Women and the dramatic monologues." ^[3]

The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature called this poem "a fine piece of characterisation with the Slessor penchant for lavish and colorful imagery". ^[2]

A. K. Thompson commented that "The brilliance of some of the descriptions diverts the attention from the subject-matter of the poem to the illustration of the subject-matter. The whole is neglected while the detail compels scrutiny." ^[4]

Publication history

After the poem's initial publication Cuckooz Contrey in 1932 ^[1] it was reprinted as follows:

• One Hundred Poems : 1919-1939 by Kenneth Slessor, Angus and Robertson, 1944 ^[5]
• Poems by Kenneth Slessor, Angus and Robertson, 1957 ^[6]
• The Penguin Book of Australian Verse edited by John Thompson, Kenneth Slessor and R. G. Howarth, Penguin Books, 1958 ^[7]
• The Penguin Book of Australian Verse edited by Harry Heseltine, Penguin Books, 1972 ^[8]
• Australian Verse from 1805 : A Continuum edited by Geoffrey Dutton, Rigby, 1976 ^[9]
• Australian Poems in Perspective : A Collection of Poems and Critical Commentaries edited by P. K. Elkin, University of Queensland Press, 1978 ^[10]
• The Golden Apples of the Sun : Twentieth Century Australian Poetry edited by Chris Wallace-Crabb, Melbourne University Press, 1980 ^[11]
• The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Beatrice Davis, Nelson, 1984 ^[12]
• The Sea Poems of Kenneth Slessor by Kenneth Slessor, Brindabella Press, 1990 ^[13]
• Kenneth Slessor : Poetry, Essays, War Despatches, War Diaries, Journalism, Autobiographical Material and Letters edited by Dennis Haskell, University of Queensland Press, 1991 ^[14]
• Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century edited by Robert Gray and Geoffrey Lehmann, Heinemann, 1991 ^[15]
• Kenneth Slessor : Collected Poems by Kenneth Slessor, Angus and Robertson, 1994 ^[16]
• The Puncher & Wattmann Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Leonard, Puncher & Wattmann, 2009 ^[17]
• Australian Poetry Since 1788 edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, University of NSW Press, 2011 ^[18]

Notes

• You can read the full text of the poem on the All Poetry website. ^[19]

See also

• 1932 in Australian literature
• 1932 in poetry

References

1. "Austlit — "Captain Dobbin" by Kenneth Slessor". Austlit. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
2. The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature edited by Wilde, Hooton and Andrews, 2nd edition, 1986, p142-143. Accessed: 13 January 2026
3. ""Slessor 20 Years After : Why the poems survive"". The Bulletin, 1 June 1963. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
4. UQP Studies in Australian Literature : Kenneth Slessor : Critical Readings edited by Philip Mead, University of Queensland Press, 1997; Chapter 6: "Kenneth Slessor: An Essay in Interpretation"" by A. K. Thompson, p85
5. "One Hundred Poems : 1919-1939 by Kenneth Slessor". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
6. "Poems by Kenneth Slessor". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
7. "The Penguin Book of Australian Verse edited by John Thompson, Kenneth Slessor and R. G. Howarth". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
8. "The Penguin Book of Australian Verse edited by Harry Heseltine". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
9. "Australian Verse from 1805 : A Continuum edited by Geoffrey Dutton". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
10. "Australian Poems in Perspective : A Collection of Poems and Critical Commentaries edited by P. K. Elkin". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
11. "The Golden Apples of the Sun : Twentieth Century Australian Poetry edited by Chris Wallace-Crabb". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
12. "The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Beatrice Davis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
13. "The Sea Poems of Kenneth Slessor by Kenneth Slessor". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
14. "Kenneth Slessor : Poetry, Essays, War Despatches, War Diaries, Journalism, Autobiographical Material and Letters edited by Dennis Haskell". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
15. "Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century edited by Robert Gray and Geoffrey Lehmann". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
16. "Kenneth Slessor : Collected Poems by Kenneth Slessor". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
17. "The Puncher & Wattmann Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Leonard". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
18. "Australian Poetry Since 1788 edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
19. ""Captain Dobbin" by Kenneth Slessor". AllPoetry. Retrieved 13 January 2026.