The C. J. Dennis Story
Clarence James Dennis was born in Laura, South Australia on 7 September 1876. During his life he sold over 500,000 copies of his books of poetry, telling an important part of our Australian story in verse. Dennis was famous for his use of the vernacular (slang) spoken by millions of Australians at that time. Using this language Dennis’s verse stories captured the humour, romance, and struggles of everyday life and thus his epithet ‘The Laureate of the Larrikin’. He portrayed working-class Australians with the dignity and virtues more often attributed to a more genteel class, giving voice to our distinctive national character.
His life has been well documented in his many biographies. A. H. Chisolm wrote the first short biography to introduce his Selected Verse of C. J. Dennis in 1950, and this book has been reprinted more than 20 times. Most recently the 2014 biography An Unsentimental Bloke by Philip Butterss provides a thorough and more scholarly reference for his life and work.
His first poem to achieve national recognition was entered in The Bulletin (Sydney) contest for a national song in 1908. The Real Australian Austra-laise won a special prize akin to the people’s choice. This poem was re-published several times in Dennis’s later works and in 1915 it was reprinted by the government as a marching song for the First AIF. Dennis’s reference to the generic great Australian adjective in this poem has ensured the relevance of the poem for all subsequent generations.
Between 1913 and 1924 he published nine books of poetry, telling the stories of working class Australians during and after the Great War. Most famously he wrote The Sentimental Bloke, a love story in fourteen poems, published in Oct 1915 which sold 60,000 copies in the first twelve months, and over 250,000 copies during his lifetime: leaving us with immortal characters, The Bloke, Doreen and Ginger Mick. The Sentimental Bloke and The Moods of Ginger Mick were re-published in 1916 as special editions, Pocketbooks for the Trenches, given to departing Diggers. They sold an astonishing 40,000 copies outselling A. B. Patterson and Will Ogolvie by more than 4 to 1. During this period in 1917 he wrote the satirical Glugs of Gosh, a Lewis Carrol like commentary on Australia’s lazy efforts, selling natural resources only to have to buy back the manufactured products. Sounds familiar? In 1921 he wrote perhaps his most timeless work, A Book for Kids. This more than any other book is responsible for our unprompted awareness of Dennis in the 21st Century. Generations of Australians can still recall iconic children’s poems like Hist, The Traveller, The Ant Explorer, and The Triantiwontigongolope.
Between 1922 and 1938 Dennis wrote for The Herald (Melbourne) (and other publications), contributing over 3,000 poems observing Australian life and commenting on national events. He was acknowledged as an unofficial Australian Poet Laureate, observing and writing on events in Australian life. He wrote poems regularly during this period to commemorate Anzac Day and Remembrance Day and this work helped shape the Australian remembrance of the Great War amongst the returned diggers and the general public. This unrecognised contribution to Australia’s Anzac legacy is the inspiration for this book.
His poetry was also successful in lifting the spirits of Australians during the Great Depression. In 1935 he published The Singing Garden with poems describing the sounds, sights and emotions evoked by his bush home in Toolangi, north of Melbourne. This was a departure from his vernacular prose, to a more traditional format, proving he was also a master of traditional literary language. Dennis died on 22 June 1938 and Australia’s then Prime Minister Joseph Lyons said he was destined to be remembered as the Australian Robbie Burns.
Almost all Australians born between 1870 and 1950 were touched by Dennis’s poetry, remembering his unique literary style and his studies in human nature and Australian culture. Dennis’s place in Australian literary history faded after his death as we embraced a more modernist and international culture. He was briefly restored to public recognition as Australia celebrated his Centenary in 1976 and actor John Derum performed over 300 shows in 80 cities in the 1980’s, celebrating More than a Sentimental Bloke. Now as we celebrate C. J. Dennis’s 150th anniversary in 2026, it is time again to remember his contribution to Australian literary history, our Anzac legacy, and our egalitarian culture. C. J. Dennis showed us that the most admirable dignity and virtues are found in the lives of working class men and women.
The Anzac Legacy of C. J. Dennis
This new collection of Dennis’s poetry commemorates his 150th anniversary by curating the previously unrecognised contribution he has made to Australia’s Anzac legacy. This book is the first collection of Dennis’s Anzac poetry written between 1908 and 1938. The poems are presented in four sections.
The first poem in this collection, written in 1908, is The Austra-laise, mentioned earlier. It became a marching song popular with the diggers on Gallipoli and in France during the Great War. Whilst pre-dating the Anzac’s, this poem provides the first evidence that Dennis had captured the character of the men of the First AIF.
The collection includes seven poems from The Moods of Ginger Mick initially published between June 1915 and September 1916. They describe the motivation and shared values of the men who joined the AIF at the beginning of the war and played a key part in forming the early literary expression of the Anzac spirit.
Section 3 of the collection republishes seven poems from Digger Smith. It was one of Dennis’s most significant wartime works, written as the First World War was ending. Digger Smith helped capture the mood of post-war Australia and the emotional toll the war had on our returned soldiers and their families.
The final and largest selection in the book comprises 44 poems published in The Herald between 1922 and 1938, written each year for Anzac Day and Armistice Day. Presented chronologically, they are a time lapse record, as our Anzac legacy evolved from respect for the men of the AIF to a wider sense of Australian identity and values shared by the whole community. They also capture the aging of the Anzac’s and the passing of their story to a new generation.
Darryl Stuart