''Scots of the Riverina'' is a 1917 Australian bush poem by

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

. It relates the story of a boy who left his home in

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 ...

and is shunned by his family until he dies in

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 ...

Overview

It is set in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the town of

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

. It tells of a boy who leaves home at the start of the

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

to move to the city, an unheard of and unforgivable thing for a

Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

to do in the early 1900s, according to the poet: "They were Scots of the Riverina, and to run from home was a crime." The boy's father, the old "Scot of the Riverina", burns all of his son's letters, removes his son's name from the

Family Bible Family Bible may refer to: * Family Bible (book), a Bible handed down through a family * Family Bible (Willie Nelson album), ''Family Bible'' (Willie Nelson album), 1980 * Family Bible (song), "Family Bible" (song), a song written by Willie Nelson ...

, and vows to never speak of his son again. Eventually the boy goes to war and is killed at

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, and the poem ends with the father writing his son's name back into the bible.

Other versions

* Australian country singer

Lee Kernaghan Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars at ...

interpreted the poem musically on his album

The Outback Club ''The Outback Club'' is the debut studio album by Australian country musician Lee Kernaghan. It won the ARIA Award for Best Country Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Country Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, whi ...

in 1992. * Hugh McDonald recorded it on his 1994 album "Lawson" and it was later recorded by

John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew are an Australian folk group formed in Adelaide in 2005. The band's name is taken from a line in Henry Lawson's poem "Knocking Around". Since it was founded a number of Australian musicians have been involved. ...

on the 2005 album Lawson and also on their next album Behind the Lines.

References

External links

* (multiple versions) 1917 poems Poetry by Henry Lawson Riverina {{1910s-poem-stub