Sydney Elliott Napier (26 December 1870 – 3 May 1940), who wrote as S. Elliott Napier, was an Australian writer
and poet.
Early life
Napier was born in Sydney and educated at
Newington College
, motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge
, location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = A ...
(1882–1885) and Sydney University.
Working life
He began his working life as a
bank clerk
''The Bank Clerk'' is a 1919 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. The film is considered to be lost.
Cast
* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
* Molly Malone
See also
* List of American films of 1919
* Fatty Arbuckle fil ...
with the AJS Bank in
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the Local government in Australia, local government area of Mun ...
. From 1893 he was a
jackeroo in
Manilla, New South Wales
Manilla is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, located on Fossickers Way 45 kilometres northwest of the regional city of Tamworth and 27 kilometres northeast of the historic village Somerton. Manilla is famous for its setting as a fis ...
, until he was
articled
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
to a solicitor in
Tamworth in 1894. After 1899 he worked as a solicitor in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and the
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
.
Armed service
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Napier served with the
41st Battalion of the
AIF as a
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
.
After the end of the war he served on the AIF Courts Martial Staff in
Tidworth
Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...
in England, then returned to Australia in 1921 to work as Legal Officer for the New South Wales War Service Homes Commission.
[''Who's Who in Australia 1938'', International Press Service Association, Sydney, 1938, p 379.]
Journalism
In 1925, Napier joined ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
''. He subsequently became assistant editor of ''
The Sydney Mail
''The Sydney Mail'' was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938.
History
''The Sydney Mail'' was first published on 17 July 1860 by Joh ...
'' and leader-writer of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' where in 1931 he compiled, with P. S. Allen, ''A Century of Journalism: The Sydney Morning Herald and Its Record of Australian Life 1831–1931''. He contributed prose and verse to numerous English and Australian journals and newspapers, and published a collection of essays, ''The Magic Carpet'' in 1932.
Personal life
Napier married Cathrine Armstrong in Sydney in December 1900. They had three sons, Francis Armstrong, Andrew Maxwell, and Colin Elliott.
[ She predeceased him.][
]
Publications
* ''The Sydney Repertory Theatre: its history and significance; a criticism'' ydney: Sydney Repertory Theatre Society, 1927* ''On the Barrier Reef: Notes from a no-ologist's pocket-book'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1928* ''Walks abroad: Being the record of the experiences of two Australians in the wilds of the United Kingdom'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1929* ''Potted biographies'' ydney: Dymocks Book Arcade, 1930* ''The magic carpet and other essays and adventures'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1932* ''On the Barrier Reef: a story of Australia's coral wonderland'' ydney : Angus & Robertson, 1932* ''Walks abroad: Two Australians in the wilds of England, Scotland and Ireland'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1933* ''The book of the Anzac memorial, New South Wales'' ydney, 1934* ''Great lovers'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1934* ''Underneath the bough: a book of verses'' ydney: Penfold, 1937* ''The genesis and growth of solicitors' associations in New South Wales: Together with a brief history of the Incorporated Law Institute of New South Wales'' ydney: Law Book Co., 1937* ''Men and cities: Being the journeyings of a journalist'' ydney: Angus & Robertson, 1938
Poetry
* Salute
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
YOU who have lov'd will remember
The sound of their farewell cheers
Soothing, but never arresting,
The march of your natural fears:
You who have lov'd will remember
The glow of their glad young years,
As you stand to-day to salute them —
In silence, with pride and with tears.
Out of the peace of the dawning
Into a fury of flame,
Up thro' the Valley of Shadow
To the light of the world they came,
And bright on the roll of the nations,
Broad on the banner of fame,
With the opulent blood of their youth-time
They painted Australia's name.
You who have lov'd, remember:
Tho' these whom you lov'd have died,
Tho' the wearying years move onward
And the ways of the world are wide;
Tho' Gallipoli's graves may hold them
And her whispering waters hide,
The years have no power to part you,
Nor the width of the world to divide;
And to-day, as you stand to salute them,
They, too, will be here, at your side!
* All Men Are Free
ALL men are free and equal born
Before the Law!’ So runs the worn
And specious, lying, parrot-cry.
All men are free—to starve or sigh;
But few to feed on Egypt's corn.
There toils the sweated slave, forlorn;
There weeps the babe with hunger torn;
Dear God! Forgive us for the lie—
All men are free!
That man may laugh while this must mourn;
One's heir to honour, one to scorn—
Were they born free? Were you? Was I?
No! Not when born, but when they die
And of their robes—or rags—are shorn,
All men are free!
* France
OH, golden-lilied Queen—immortal France!
Thou heritress of storied name and deed,
As thou hast pluck’d, so oft, from cumb’ring weed
The fragrant flow’rs of Freedom and Romance,
So shalt thou seize to-day the fateful chance
That comes to thee in this thy hour of need,
When once again thy sacred frontiers bleed
Beneath the thrust of the Invader’s lance.
For, with the hour, hath also come again
The pure and splendid spirit of the Maid
To nerve they sons and wipe away thy tears,
Till, sanctified by Sorrow, purged by pain,
Thou shalt arise, unfettered, unafraid,
And walk in honour down the deathless years.
* Russia
IMPLACABLE as are thy arctic floes;
Grim and gigantic as thy mountain height;
Girt with thy pines for spindles and the light
Of pale auroras for thy stars; to those
Who know thee not thou seem’st as one who goes
Unvex’d by Wrong, nor swerves to help the Right,
A grey Lachesis of the Northern night,
Stark as thy steppes and colder than thy snows.
But we—we know thee now, Ally and Friend!
True as thy Baltic Spars and tried by fire,
Thy seeming coldness hides a courage high,
A stern resolve to do, endure and die,
So that the holy cause of thy desire—
Thy cause and ours—shall triumph in the end.
* Mater Dolorosa
JUST as of yore the friendly rain
Patters its old and frank refrain;
Just as of yore the world swings by
The little window where I lie
Watching the shadows wax and wane.
I see, beyond the Aegean main,
His cross upon the grave-scarred plain—
Yet still the dawn-flush climbs the sky,
Just as of yore!
His cross—and mine! They try in vain
With careful phrase to stanch the pain;
They say, ‘A hero's death!’ But I
Long only for his footstep nigh;
Long only for my boy again,
Just as of yore!
Use of Napier's work
At the Sydney Dawn Service in 2014 the poem "Salute" was recited by the Minister for Veterans Affairs, Victor Dominello
Victor Michael Dominello (born 30 July 1967 in Ryde, New South Wales), is an Australian politician who has been the New South Wales
Minister for Customer Service in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019, and in the Perrottet minis ...
. In 2019 the poem was recited by the Premier of New South Wales
The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
, Gladys Berejiklian
Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021.
Berejiklian became a member ...
. Again in 2021 Berejiklian read
Salute, the poem written in 1937 by Napier.Thousands turn out to Anzac Day dawn services
Retrieved 25 April, 2021.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Sydney Elliot
1870 births
1940 deaths
Australian newspaper editors
Australian journalists
Australian poets
Australian military personnel of World War I
Australian male short story writers
Writers from Sydney
People educated at Newington College