‘Light’ Verses

‘Light’ Verses

adversary, knight, lampoon, lance, Macquarie Lighthouse, NSW Politics, Port Jackson, satire, Sir Henry Parkes, Sir John Robertson, Sydney Harbour, The Bulletin, verse

This poem is an example of the satirical verses published by The Bulletin to ridicule the perceived “opportunistic and self-serving” collaborative association between former political opponents (aka ‘rivals’), Sir Henry Parkes, and Sir John Robertson aka ‘the Knight of Clovelly’ (Louise D'Arcens, Old Songs in the Timeless Land: Medievalism in Australian Literature 1840-1910, Turnhout, Brepols, 2011, pp.147-48). The occasion that warranted lampooning here was the inauguration of the new Macquarie lighthouse (South Head, Port Jackson). The poem’s backdrop is that of two ‘worthy’ knights. Formerly bitter adversaries, they now seem ‘reconciled’ and working together for the common good, albeit at considerable expense to public funding, and to general good will, while stretching the city of Sydney’s patience to the limits.

Anon.

The Bulletin

The Bulletin

13 March 1880 (p. 3)

Public Domain

Journal (Microfilm)

English