‘Rivals’ is an interesting attempt by medievalist writer Victor Daley to transform what must have been a fairly commonplace incident at that time into something more than it seems. The poem describes a young man, Sir Valour, taking leave…
The hero of this poem, as the name Sir Anopheles hints, is a mosquito. The author here humorously stages an encounter between man and mosquito as a drawn-out battle between a recumbent Ogre and an intrepid and undaunted medieval knight. It is clear…
This article from The Australian Women’s Weekly in 1955 posits contemporary Australian society as being at the precipice of a ‘New Renaissance’ in terms of widening access to and public interest in fine art. Pinpointing Ancient…
The Bulletin, which was resolutely “anti-imperialist” in its outlook, published a range of verses, ballads and other “poems in which the Middle Ages were represented as despotic and barbaric” (Louise D’Arcens, Old Songs…
‘Prospect Good’ was the nom de plume of the gold prospector, fossicker, and bush poet, Francis William Ophel. This poem, ‘The Sagamen,’ is filled with vivid imagery drawn in the style of Old Icelandic sagas (Louise…
David McKee Wright draws inspiration from the journeys of the Vikings across the North Sea in this poetic martial ‘ditty’ that brims with national pride:
Australia with her bright hair glowingHas her eye on the furrows of the deep [...]…
This painting by Sydney artist Grace Cossington Smith derives its title,'Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question', from Matthew, Chapter xxii, verse 35. Although better known for her paintings of domestic interiors, this is one of…
Arthur! And the Square Knights of the Round Table was an animated Australian cartoon series written by Melbourne playwright Alex Buzo with Rod Hull, Lyle Martin, John Palmer and M. Robinson. It was produced between 1966 and 1968. Based on Arthurian…