SENTIMENTAL BLOKE RESURRECTED

A   C. J. Dennis  trove   in   Darwin. 

A Little Darwin correspondent  in  the  Northern Territory capital  recently  discovered  an  interesting   batch  of books  which  included  the   above  ones  by   the  once  highly  popular  Australian  journalist , poet  , novelist ,    C. J. Dennis , who  wrote  the  1915  verse  novel , The Songs of  a Sentimental Bloke , illustrated by Hal Gye ,  which  sold  60,00  copies  in  the  first  year . 

His subsequent  Ginger Mick  books , dedicated  to The Boys Who Took The  Count - killed  in   WWl -  contained a  title page illustration by Hal Gye  of  Australian soldiers  on  donkeys in  Egypt, the Sphinx and  pyramids in the background.

The books were immensely  popular   in  Australia  and overseas.  In   New  Zealand  Dennis  was  named  the  ANZAC  Laureate .

 

Included  in  one of  the  Darwin  books  was  the above   cutting  from the   Melbourne Argus of June 1938  announcing  his  death, which included  a Canberra  comment  from  Prime  Minister  Lyons, who said  Dennis had  captured a truly Australian spirit . He  predicted he would become the Australian  Robert Burns , the Scottish poet who wrote Auld Lang Syne ,  never  to  be  forgotten  by  future  Australians . 

The Ginger  Mick book on the left , above,  is  a 1916 first edition and contains the  inked in  name : Wentworth Tebbutt, Nov.9th.  From  19  Sydney Rd, Manly ,N.S.W .

A search of war records showed that a Private Wentworth Tebbutt , aged 25 , single,  a butcher, in  1915, had  been in the Second Australian General Hospital Reinforcements. His next of kin was his father, W.B.Tebbutt,of 19 Sydney Road, Manly .

 Noticed in  the  list with Tebbutt   was  Private  Frank White,43, a chemist and optician ,  of Parramatta ,Sydney.  His wife  was  living  at 273, 138th Street, New York.

The other Ginger Mick book, published in 1920, one of  68,000,  carries the name  E. Rowe , Copley Street, Bayswater , a Western Australia address . War records show a William Edgar Rowe , 20 , a clerk, enlisted in Western Australia in  1915. It seems he was  killed in  action on  March 21, 1918.

A brother, Lance Corporal  Reginald  James Rowe , of  the 44th Battalion, was killed in action on October 12,1917.

The Glugs of Gosh  books in the  illustration at the head of this post were published in 1982, left, and 1917, both carrying  the  distinctive  work  of Hal Gye.