John Shaw Neilson

John Shaw Neilson (1872-1942)

Australian poet

Lived at 160 Gordon Street Footscray Victoria, Australia

1927-41



"Only a lover listens,

Only a lover sings,

All else is doubt and bitterness

And the depth of dark things"



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Neilson has many personal links with the Footscray (Victoria) area – he lived in Footscray during the last years of his life and is buried there. The Footscray Public Library has a sculpted image of him and some examples of his handwriting.



The following information has been provided by the John Shaw Neilson Society



John Shaw Neilson has become recognised as a great Australian writer. In 1914, A G Stephens called him "chief of Australian poets", a view echoed by many.



What makes his poetry – and his personality – so attractive and so intriguing is that he instils his poetry with a sense of beauty just beyond man’s reach. His work is mystical, spiritual and romantic against a background of the harsh world of pioneering Australia. His craftmanship, his mastery of poetic forms and metres, and his sense of perfect sound make his verse musical and appealing. Finally, as new poems and letters have been discovered, his emotional range has widened to include humour, political satire and even the macabre.



His personality, gentle and compassionate, covers a wide philosophic terrain. Many poets, artists, and musicians have been influenced by him and have acknowledged this through their works: Dame Mary Gilmore, Douglas Stewart and James Devaney, Charles Blackman, Margaret Sutherland, Richard Keen, Cathie O’Sullivan, Darryl Emmerson, Judith Wright, James McAuley, A D Hope, Hugh Anderson and Les Blake have all been inspired in some way by Neilson.



Neilson’s life



Neilson began his life in the South Australian town of Penola on 22 February 1872. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Victoria. The little hut they lived in has been re-erected in the town of Nhill.



He received very little schooling for he spent most of his time working with his father shearing, wheat cleaning and working on the roads. Although poor, he seemed to enjoy Nhill. He remembers it in a poem:



There is within the town of Nhill

A blest abode, a safe retreat

An intellectual oasis where

Men may refresh their souls

And where no horrid ‘barracker’

Can talk of kicks and goals.



Neilson then farmed at Sea Lake Victoria. This inspired him to write one of his most famous and richest poems, "The Orange Tree".



Then he worked on the Mirboo line road which was difficult and didn’t offer much pay. This was followed by a dangerous job quarrying in Warragul. In Yallourn he worked in a sump hole up to his knees in mud. And still he found the time and energy to write his wonderful thoughtful poems.



The gathering interest in Neilson has culminated in the formation of the John Shaw Neilson Society, dedicated towards spreading and increasing knowledge and love of this fine poet.





Poetry Collections

Heart of Spring 1919

Ballad and Lyrical Poems 1923

New Poems 1927

Collected Poems of John Shaw Neilson 1934, edited by R.H. Croll

Beauty Imposes 1938

Unpublished Poems 1947, edited by James Devaney

Witnesses of Spring: Unpublished Poems by Shaw Neilson 1970, edited by Judith Wright

Green Days and Cherries 1981, edited by Hugh Anderson and Les Blake

Shaw Neilson: Selected Poems 1976, edited by A.R. Chisholm

Shaw Neilson: Selected Poems 1993, edited by Robert Gray