person or book cover
Source: Melbourne Press Club
John Stanley James John Stanley James i(A18317 works by) (a.k.a. Julian Thomas)
Also writes as: Vagabond
Born: Established: 15 Nov 1843 Walsall, Staffordshire,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe, ; Died: Ceased: 10 Sep 1896 Fitzroy, Fitzroy - Collingwood area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

While very little is known about John Stanley James (known throughout his career by the pseudonym 'The Vagabond'), Eric Irvin describes him as 'one of the most prolific and historically interesting of our early writers,' and a man 'completely involved with the social and political history of Australia and the Pacific, and with the major literary and political figures of his day' ('"The Vagabond" as Playwright,' p.120). Indeed, such was his reputation that Garnet Walch wrote his 1876 pantomime, Hey Diddle-diddle the Cat and the Fiddle, around the mysterious journalist, creating a main character called Vagabond, and about whose identity the gods and fairies were eager to know.

What is known about James is that he wrote for many different newspapers and periodicals during his career, including the Argus and Sydney Morning Herald. Among his most important publications were a series of articles and a book (Occident and Orient, 1882) which he wrote as a result of travelling to Japan. Other works of repute included 'The Waif's and Strays of Sydney' (1878), 'The Chinese Question in Queensland,' (1877) and 'Impressions of Cooktown,' (1877). James (again as Vagabond) also wrote at least two dramas - The Nihilists in Melbourne (1882) and No Mercy (1881), both of which were produced by Alfred Dampier.

For works not individually indexed on AustLit, see Notes below.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Additional works:

    In addition to works individually indexed on AustLit, 'Vagabond' also published the following works (which are outside AustLit's scope):

    • Mediums and Their Dupes : A Complete Exposure of the Chicaneries of Professional Mediums, and Explanation of So-called Spiritual Phenomena (Sydney, 1879).
    • South Sea Massacres (Sydney, 1881.) (Available online via the NLA here.)
  • In reporting on the 1876/1877 Melbourne production of Hey Didddle-diddle the Cat and the Fiddle, a South Australian Register critic wrote that '"Vagabond" may now reckon he has achieved the height of fame [being] made the hero of the burlesque.... The happy idea being hit on of setting the gods and fairies on a wild chase to discover who on earth the mysterious Vagabond really is' (1 January 1877, p.7). The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil was less magnanimous, however, suggesting that 'the author of the well-known and popular contributions to the Argus [was] made to continue on the stage the career of uselessness he had commenced elsewhere' (20 January 1877, p.170).
  • Most of what we know about James comes from 'Who was the Vagabond?,' written by John Butler Cooper and published in Life magazine in 1912. Some later research was undertaken by Michael Cannon for the introduction to The Vagabond Papers (1969), a collection of excerpts from James's writing career. Eric Irvin's brief account, 'The Vagabond ad Playwright' (1981) argues, however, that both works are untrustworthy, and that much of Cannon's information is reliant on the now suspect details provided by Cooper (p.106).

Affiliation Notes

  • Australian Colonial Narrative Journalism:

    John Stanley James wrote for a range of papers, but particularly for the Melbourne Argus and the Sydney Morning Herald, under the nom de plume of Julian Thomas.

    He is best known for his undercover work for the Argus in 1876/7 as the Vagabond. During that year, James anonymously entered some of Melbourne’s harshest institutions as an inmate or low-level employee. He wrote 5,000-word pieces in the first person exposing the difficult conditions of life in Pentridge Gaol, Melbourne Hospital, the poor houses and the asylums, until he could no longer keep his identity a secret. His articles were enormously popular with readers. They prompted several enquiries. While his undercover methods were criticised, James was never found to have his facts wrong.

    James was asked to write similar articles for the Sydney Morning Herald, but these weren’t as successful. He later reported extensively from the South Pacific and the Far East, including New Caledonia, the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands, travelling as far as China. His books include the five-volume series Vagabond Papers, Occident and Orient, Cannibals and Convicts, and the play No Mercy.

    When he died twenty years after his work in Melbourne as the Vagabond he was still remembered fondly. Crowds thronged to watch the funeral cortege and a monument was raised on his grave by public subscription.

    Selected Articles:

    Obituaries:

    • “Death of Well-known Journalist”, Obituary, Argus, 5 September, 1896.
    • “Obituary”, Zeehan and Dundas Herald (TAS), 7 September, 1896.
    • A.V.G, “In Memoriam : Julian Thomas, ‘The Vagabond'” The Bulletin, Vol. 17 No. 865,12 September ,1896 periodical issue pg. 9 (poem)

Personal Awards

Last amended 7 Feb 2018 10:59:27
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