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Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 12:56 am
[...]
During his later life, the alcohol-addicted writer [Henry Lawson] was probably Australia’s best-known celebrity. At the same time, he was also a frequent beggar on the streets of Sydney, notably at the Circular Quay ferry turnstiles. He was gaoled at Darlinghurst Gaol for drunkenness and non payment of alimony, and recorded his experience in the haunting poem “One Hundred and Three” - his prison number- which was published in 1908. He refers to the prison as “Starvinghurst Gaol” because of the meagre rations given to the inmates.

At his death he was given a state funeral, attended by the Prime Minister W. M. Hughes and Lawson’s brother-in-law, Jack Lang, the Premier of the State of New South Wales, as well as thousands of citizens.
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