The Sliprails and the Spur

"The Sliprails and the Spur"
by Henry Lawson
Written	1899
First published in	The Bulletin
Country	Australia
Language	English
Full text
The Sliprails and the Spur at Wikisource

"The Sliprails and the Spur" (1899) is a poem by Australian poet Henry Lawson. ^[1]

It was originally published in The Bulletin on 1 April 1899 ^[2] and subsequently reprinted in several of the author's other collections, other periodicals and a number of Australian poetry anthologies. ^[1]

Critical reception

While reviewing The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens a writer in The Western Mail noted that this poem, among others in the anthology, represents "Australian bush life in a way to delight those who know it by experience, and are a means of interpretation to the city man". ^[3]

In an essay outlining Lawson's career and work, the reviewer "Wayfarer" called this poem a "nugget of pure Australian gold", and asked "Is there in Australian literature a more poignantly beautiful piece than this?" ^[4]

Publication history

After the poem's initial publication in The Bulletin it was reprinted as follows:

• In the Days When the World was Wide and Other Verses by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1900
• An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1907
• The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1909 ^[5]
• Selected Poems of Henry Lawson by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1918 ^[6]
• The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse edited by Walter Murdoch, Oxford University Press, 1924 ^[7]
• Winnowed Verse by Henry Lawson, Angus and Robertson, 1924 ^[8]
• Selections from Australian Poets edited by Bertram Stephens and George Mackaness, Cornstalk Publishing, 1925 ^[9]
• The Australian Women's Mirror, 5 January 1926, p37 ^[10]
• An Australasian Anthology : Australian and New Zealand Poems edited by Percival Serle, R. H. Croll, and Frank Wilmot, Collins, 1927 ^[11]
• New Song in an Old Land edited by Rex Ingamells, 1943 ^[12]
• Out Back and Other Poems by Henry Lawson, W. H. Honey, 1943 ^[13]
• From the Ballads to Brennan edited by T. Inglis Moore, Angus & Robertson, 1964 ^[14]
• Poems of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Ure Smith, 1973 ^[15]
• The World of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone, Hamlyn, 1974 ^[16]
• The Essential Henry Lawson : The Best Works of Australia's Greatest Writer edited Brian Kiernan, Currey O'Neil, 1982 ^[17]
• A Treasury of Colonial Poetry, Currawong, 1982 ^[18]
• A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Leonard Cronin, Lansdowne, 1984 ^[19]
• Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse edited by John Barnes and Brian MacFarlane, Heinemann, 1984 ^[20]
• The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss, Penguin, 1993 ^[21]
• The Oxford Book of Australian Love Poems edited by Jennifer Strauss, Oxford University Press, 1993 ^[22]
• Australian Verse : An Oxford Anthology edited by John Leonard, Oxford University Press, 1998 ^[23]
• The Puncher & Wattmann Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Leonard, Puncher & Wattmann, 2009 ^[24]
• Australian Poetry Since 1788 edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray, University of NSW Press, 2011 ^[25]

See also

• 1899 in Australian literature
• 1899 in poetry

References

1. "Austlit - "The Sliprails and the Spur" by Henry Lawson". Austlit. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
2. ""The Sliprails and the Spur"". The Bulletin, 1 April 1899, p32. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
3. ""The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse"". Western Mail. The Western Mail, 13 November 1909, p65. 13 November 1909. p. 65. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
4. ""Henry Lawson : A Great Australian Poet"". Register. The Register, 19 August 1922, p4. 19 August 1922. p. 4. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
5. "The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
6. "Selected Poems of Henry Lawson by Henry Lawson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
7. "The Oxford Book of Australasian Verse (OUP)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
8. "Winnowed Verse (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
9. "Selections from Australian Poets edited by Bertram Stephens and George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
10. ""The Sliprails and the Spur"". The Australian Women's Mirror, 5 January 1926, p37. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
11. "An Australasian Anthology : Australian and New Zealand Poems edited by Percival Serle, R. H. Croll, and Frank Wilmot". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
12. "New Song in an Old Land (Longmans, Green)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
13. "Out Back and Other Poems by Henry Lawson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
14. "From the Ballads to Brennan (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
15. "Poems of Henry Lawson (Ure Smith)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
16. "The World of Henry Lawson edited by Walter Stone". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
17. "The Essential Henry Lawson edited Brian Kiernan". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
18. "A Treasury of Colonial Poetry (Currawong)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
19. "A Campfire Yarn : Henry Lawson Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Leonard Cronin". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
20. "Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse edited by John Barnes and Brian MacFarlane". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
21. "The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
22. "The Oxford Book of Australian Love Poems edited by Jennifer Strauss (OUP)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
23. "Australian Verse : An Oxford Anthology edited by John Leonard". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
24. "The Puncher & Wattmann Anthology of Australian Poetry edited by John Leonard". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
25. "Australian Poetry Since 1788 edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2025.