The Last of His Tribe single work   poetry   "He crouches, and buries his face on his knees,"
Alternative title: Woonoona : The Last of His Tribe
  • Author:agent Henry Kendall http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/kendall-henry
Issue Details: First known date: 1864... 1864 The Last of His Tribe
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Notes

  • First published in the Sydney Morning Herald in September 1864 with the title 'Woonoona : The Last of His Tribe'. Subsequent publications have the title 'The Last of His Tribe'.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Sydney Morning Herald 30 September 1864 Z1767440 1864 newspaper issue 1864 pg. 8
    Note: With title: 'Woonoona : The Last of His Tribe'
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Leaves from Australian Forests Henry Kendall , Melbourne : George Robertson , 1869 Z241095 1869 selected work poetry Melbourne : George Robertson , 1869 pg. 60-61
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The School paper for Class IV no. 56 June 1902 Z1597029 1902 periodical issue 1902 pg. 75-77
    Note: Photograph included
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Poems of Henry Clarence Kendall Henry Kendall , Melbourne : George Robertson , 1903 Z207811 1903 selected work poetry Melbourne : George Robertson , 1903 pg. 92-93
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The School Paper for Class IV no. 92 September 1905 Z1625610 1905 periodical issue 1905 pg. 125-126
    Note: Incorrectly lists the authors date of birth as 1842. Includes illus. of 'King William Barak, The Last Survivor Of The Yarra Tribe'.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse Bertram Stevens (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1909 Z59189 1909 anthology poetry humour Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1909 pg. 35-36
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon School Paper : Grades V and VI no. 168 August 1912 Z1644643 1912 periodical issue 1912 pg. [97]-98
    Note: With photograph: 'An Aboriginal of the Kimberley District, Western Australia' lent by Mr C. Price Conigrave.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Children's Treasury of Australian Verse Bertram Stevens (editor), George Mackaness (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1913 Z1413998 1913 anthology poetry children's Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1913 pg. 73-74
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Selections from the Australian Poets Bertram Stevens (editor), George Mackaness (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1913 Z521150 1913 anthology poetry Sydney : Cornstalk Publishing , 1925 pg. 90-91
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon School Paper : Grades V and VI no. 326 May 1926 Z1634797 1926 periodical issue 1926 pg. 52-53
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Victorian Reading-Books : Eighth Book Victorian Readers : Eighth Book Melbourne : Victoria Education Department , 1928 Z1428467 1928 anthology poetry prose children's fiction essay Melbourne : Victoria Education Department , 1928 pg. 11-13
    Note: Illustration: 'He dreams of the hunts of yore' by G. C. Benson (q.v.), 10.
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: W. H. Paling , 1937 .
      Extent: 1 close score (4 p.)p.
      Note/s:
      • Paling's edition of part music ; no. 202.
      • For chorus (TTBB) and piano.
      • Musical setting of Kendall's poem.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Australian Abo Call : The Voice of the Aborigines no. 5 August 1938 9095785 1938 newspaper issue 1938 pg. 2
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Victorian Reading-Books : Eighth Book Victorian Readers : Eighth Book Melbourne : Victoria Education Department , 1928 Z1428467 1928 anthology poetry prose children's fiction essay Melbourne : Victoria Education Department , 1940 pg. 10-11
    Note: Illustration: 'He dreams of the hunts of yore' by G. C. Benson (q.v.), 12.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Red Chief : As Told by the Last of his Tribe Ion L. Idriess , Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1953 Z105445 1953 single work autobiography Indigenous story

    Young warrior Red Kangaroo, by his mental and physical prowess, becomes a chief of his tribe - the revered and powerful Red Chief of the Gunnedah district. His story is handed down from generation to generation by its hero's tribe and given by the last survivor, Bungaree, to the white settlers of the district.

    Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1953
    pg. v
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Selected Poems of Henry Kendall Henry Kendall , T. Inglis Moore (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1957 Z407547 1957 selected work poetry Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1957 pg. 179
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Bulletin (Christmas edition) vol. 78 no. 4061 11 December 1957 Z602843 1957 periodical issue 1957 pg. 38-39
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Favourite Australian Poems Ian Mudie (editor), Adelaide : Rigby , 1963 Z337064 1963 anthology poetry humour Adelaide : Rigby , 1963 pg. 18-19
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon From the Ballads to Brennan T. Inglis Moore (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1964 Z407973 1964 anthology poetry Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1964 pg. 79-80
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Poetical Works of Henry Kendall Henry Kendall , Thomas Thornton Reed (editor), Adelaide : Libraries Board of South Australia , 1966 Z571473 1966 selected work poetry This critical edition includes 90 previously uncollected poems and collates manuscripts of the poems and their appearances in periodicals and newspapers during the poet's life-time. There are copious biographical and critical notes, indexes and a bibliography. Adelaide : Libraries Board of South Australia , 1966 pg. 90-91
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Silence into Song : An Anthology of Australian Verse Clifford O'Brien , Adelaide : Rigby , 1968 Z413694 1968 anthology poetry extract Adelaide : Rigby , 1968 pg. 15-16
    Note: Includes annotations
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon This Land : An Anthology of Australian Poetry for Young People M. M. Flynn (editor), J. Groom (editor), Rushcutters Bay : Pergamon Press , 1968 Z1377506 1968 anthology poetry children's A collection of poems which cover a period of Australian history from the Dreamtime to World War Two. Poems about native animals and the Australian landscape and culture are also included. Rushcutters Bay : Pergamon Press , 1968 pg. 8
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Penguin Book of Australian Verse Harry Payne Heseltine (editor), Ringwood Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1972 Z334403 1972 anthology poetry Selection of works by Australian poets from Charles Harpur (1813-1868) to Charles Buckmaster (b. 1951). Ringwood Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1972 pg. 70-71
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Collins Book of Australian Poetry Rodney Hall , Sydney : Collins , 1981 Z542215 1981 anthology poetry Sydney : Collins , 1981 pg. 40-41
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Poetry Speaks Leone Peguero (editor), Richmond : Heinemann Education Australia , 1982 Z1384727 1982 anthology poetry Richmond : Heinemann Education Australia , 1982 pg. 12-13
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse Beatrice Davis , Melbourne : Nelson , 1984 Z315151 1984 anthology poetry biography Melbourne : Nelson , 1984 pg. 32-33
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse John Barnes (editor), Brian McFarlane (editor), Richmond : Heinemann , 1984 Z900285 1984 anthology poetry (taught in 1 units) Richmond : Heinemann , 1984 pg. 26-27
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Two Centuries of Australian Poetry Mark O'Connor (editor), Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1988 Z322247 1988 anthology poetry criticism Contains poems grouped into 18 thematic sections (19 in 2nd. ed.) ; each section has an introduction, notes and suggestions for study activities and further study. Biographical notes on authors and indexes also included. Melbourne : Oxford University Press , 1988 pg. 26
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Selected Poems of Henry Kendall Henry Kendall , T. Inglis Moore (editor), Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1957 Z407547 1957 selected work poetry Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1988 pg. 179
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Cross-Country : A Book of Australian Verse John Barnes (editor), Brian McFarlane (editor), Richmond : Heinemann , 1984 Z900285 1984 anthology poetry (taught in 1 units) Richmond : Heinemann Education Australia , 1988 pg. 26-27
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon A Collection of Australian Bush Verse Castle Hill : Peter Antill-Rose , 1989 Z91384 1989 anthology poetry Castle Hill : Peter Antill-Rose , 1989 pg. 54
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Macmillan Anthology of Australian Literature Ken L. Goodwin (editor), Alan Lawson (editor), South Melbourne : Macmillan , 1990 Z535337 1990 anthology criticism correspondence extract poetry drama biography short story prose humour satire travel

    'Poems, stories, letters and extracts from novels, plays and journals present a great variety of responses to Australia and to the art of writing. Items have been arranged into 12 groupings that reflect different ways of seeing the material of Australian writing. Each section has its own introduction. Problems are explained, theories and contexts for a wider understanding are offered. The book includes biographical guides to all authors and a full chronological table of events in the literary history of Australia.'   (Publication summary)

    South Melbourne : Macmillan , 1990
    pg. 90
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon A Treasury of Bush Verse G. A. Wilkes (editor), North Ryde : Angus and Robertson , 1991 Z61919 1991 anthology poetry humour North Ryde : Angus and Robertson , 1991 pg. 29-30
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Henry Kendall : Poetry, Prose and Selected Correspondence Henry Kendall , Michael Ackland (editor), St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1993 Z85494 1993 selected work prose poetry correspondence St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1993 pg. 38-39
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon An Anthology of Australian Literature Hoju munhak chonjip Ch'oe Chin-yong (editor), Cynthia Van Den Driesen (editor), Seoul : Hansin Munhwasa , 1995 Z994880 1995 anthology poetry short story Seoul : Hansin Munhwasa , 1995 pg. 12-13
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Illustrated Treasury of Australian Verse Beatrice Davis , Melbourne : Nelson , 1984 Z315151 1984 anthology poetry biography Sydney : State Library of New South Wales Press , 1996 pg. 32-33
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Arnold Anthology of Post-Colonial Literatures in English John Thieme (editor), London : Arnold , 1996 Z818232 1996 selected work extract poetry short story London : Arnold , 1996 pg. 157-158
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Aboriginal Stories Aboriginal Stories with Word List A. W. Reed , A. W. Reed , Sydney : Reed New Holland , 1999 10965383 1999 selected work prose Indigenous story

    'Aboriginal Stories presents a collection of myths and legends gathered from various sources, representing the rich and diverse tapestry of beliefs of Aboriginal people throughout Australia. Tales range from creation myths and legends of the sun, moon and stars to legends of animals, birds, rivers, lakes and shores, as well as hero stories. In addition there are lists of Aboriginal words arranged alphabetically - English to Aboriginal and Aboriginal to English - together with a short selection of common phrases and sentences.' (Publication summary)

    Sydney : Reed New Holland , 1999
    pg. 91-92
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Classic Australian Verse Maggie Pinkney (editor), Noble Park : Five Mile Press , 2001 Z864790 2001 anthology poetry Noble Park : Five Mile Press , 2001 pg. 39-40
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Sunlines : An Anthology of Poetry to Celebrate Australia's Harmony in Diversity Anne Fairbairn (editor), Canberra : Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs , 2002 Z948024 2002 anthology poetry Canberra : Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs , 2002 pg. 9-10
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Our Country : Classic Australian Poetry : From the Colonial Ballads to Paterson & Lawson Michael Cook (editor), Seven Hills : Little Hills Press , 2004 Z1266972 2004 anthology poetry Seven Hills : Little Hills Press , 2004 pg. 150-151
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Poetry Library APRIL; APL; The Australian Poetry Resources Internet Library John Tranter , Sydney : 2004- Z1368099 2004- website

    'The Australian Poetry Library (APL) aims to promote a greater appreciation and understanding of Australian poetry by providing access to a wide range of poetic texts as well as to critical and contextual material relating to them, including interviews, photographs and audio/visual recordings.

    This website currently contains over 42,000 poems, representing the work of more than 170 Australian poets. All the poems are fully searchable, and may be accessed and read freely on the World Wide Web. Readers wishing to download and print poems may do so for a small fee, part of which is returned to the poets via CAL, the Copyright Agency Limited. Teachers, students and readers of Australian poetry can also create personalised anthologies, which can be purchased and downloaded. Print on demand versions will be availabe from Sydney University Press in the near future.

    It is hoped that the APL will encourage teachers to use more Australian material in their English classes, as well as making Australian poetry much more available to readers in remote and regional areas and overseas. It will also help Australian poets, not only by developing new audiences for their work but by allowing them to receive payment for material still in copyright, thus solving the major problem associated with making this material accessible on the Internet.

    The Australian Poetry Library is a joint initiative of the University of Sydney and the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL). Begun in 2004 with a prototype site developed by leading Australian poet John Tranter, the project has been funded by a major Linkage Grant from the Australian Research Council (ARC), CAL and the University of Sydney Library. A team of researchers from the University of Sydney, led by Professor Elizabeth Webby and John Tranter, in association with CAL, have developed the Australian Poetry Library as a permanent and wide-ranging Internet archive of Australian poetry resources.' Source: www.poetrylibrary.edu.au (Sighted 30/05/2011).

    Sydney : 2004-
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Two Centuries of Australian Poetry Kathrine Bell (editor), Smithfield : Gary Allen , 2007 Z1472336 2007 anthology poetry Smithfield : Gary Allen , 2007 pg. 28-29
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon An Anthology of Australian Poetry to 1920 John Kinsella (editor), Nedlands : University of Western Australia Library , 2007 Z1908582 2007 anthology poetry column prose Nedlands : University of Western Australia Library , 2007 pg. 187-188
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon 60 Classic Australian Poems for Children Chris Cheng (editor), Sydney : Random House Australia , 2009 Z1656747 2009 anthology poetry children's

    'The 60 poems in this collection appear in their original, or near original, form and are wide-ranging in their subject matter: animals, the countryside, the struggle of bush life, early transport, sport, growing old, being young and having fun with words! But whether they are humorous, serious or playful, they are simply a joy to read!

    No matter if we grew up reciting these classic poems at school, quote from them on important occasions or are meeting them for the first time, there is no doubt that these classic poems embody what it is to be Australian.'

    Source: Publisher's blurb.

    Sydney : Random House Australia , 2009
Alternative title: آخر رجال القبيلة
Transliterated title: Akher rijal al-kabeela
First line of verse: "،يجثم مدفون الرأس في ركبتيه = He crouches, and buries his face on his knees"
Language: English , Arabic
Notes:

Editor's note:

سبق للدكتور عادل عبد الله ترجمة هذه القصيدة التي نشرت في عدد مجلة الآداب الأجنبية رقم٤٩، السنة ١٣ الخاص بالشعر الأسترالي عام ١٩٨٦ في دمشق

Dr Adel Abdullah has previously translated this poem published in 'Al-adab al-ajnabiah'[The Foreign Literature] magazine issue No 49, year 13 special for the Australian poetry in 1986 in Damascus.

Works about this Work

Henry Kendall's 'Aboriginal Man' : Autochthony and Extinction in the Settler Colony Andrew McCann , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Modern Australian Criticism and Theory 2010; (p. 50-60)
'McCann shows how the poet Henry Kendall's dreams of establishing an Australian landscape are haunted at every turn by the indigenous presence...' Source: Modern Australian Criticism and Theory (2010)
"They Couldn't Tell Us How to Farm Their Skin" : White Poems on Black Dispossession Geoff Page , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Interactions : Essays on the Literature and Culture of the Asia-Pacific Region 2000; (p. 171-183)
Analyses poems by white Australian authors about dispossession of their land. In his survey of attitudes and poetic technique, Page examines nineteenth and twentieth century poems and finds a reversal of attitudes over time.
Double Vision : Aspects of Aboriginality in Kendall's Writing Robert J. Dingley , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: Henry Kendall : The Muse of Australia 1992; (p. 405-417)
Sense and Nonsense J. J. Healy , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Literature and the Aborigine in Australia 1770- 1975 1989; (p. 91-112)
The Radiant Dream : Notes on Henry Kendall Adrian Mitchell , 1969 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , October vol. 4 no. 2 1969; (p. 99-114) Henry Kendall : The Muse of Australia 1992; (p. 37-53)
Mitchell looks to Kendall's poetry for a "system of images that amount to a loose poetic philosophy, an attitude of mind that is formulated emotionally rather than logically, but in any case consistently". Mitchell detects an observer who occupies a middle (dream-like) state beside a stream between differents poles such as real/ideal and city/forest. Although the observer seeks but can't find the source of this stream, he gains the ability to believe in poetic vision--the radiant dream. Mitchell argues that all of Kendall's poetry shows a progression towards the acceptance of this ability.
Kendall's Use of 'Uloola' Archibald Meston , 1902 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 11 January vol. 23 no. 1143 1902; (p. 2)
In this letter to the editor, Meston as Queensland Protector of Aborigines affirms against the Rev. J. L. Mathew that Kendall obtained the word, 'Uloola,' used in one of his poems, from Aboriginal languages associated with the Clarence River, a district where he lived for many years.
Something Aboriginal Archibald Meston , 1902 single work essay
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 16 August vol. 23 no. 1174 1902; (p. 31)
Meston objects to Kendall's reference in 'The Last of His Tribe' to 'slings,' which he argues were never used by Aborigines. This is the basis for the main theme of this essay: '[t]he intense conservatism and spirit of isolation of the Australian tribes,' which will lead inevitably to their 'unspeakably pathetic' disappearance. Meston supports his premise by noting that the Aborigines of the tip of Cape York did not adopt bows and arrows from the nearby Straits Islanders, nor generally did Aborigines adopt firearms from white men. The different dialects of Stradbroke, Moreton and Bribie Islands remained separate, as did the three languages spoken on Fraser Island.
y separately published work icon A Key to the Eighth Book of the Victorian Readers : A Treatment of Poems A Senior English Master , A. L. Maher (editor), Melbourne : Ruskin Press , 1934 Z1433233 1934 selected work criticism

Contains critical and teaching notes on all the poems (and extracts of poems) included in The Victorian Reading Books: Eighth Book, as well as biographical summaries of the poets. Topics discussed include the themes, metre, subject-matter, vocabulary and figures of speech.

Henry Kendall's 'Aboriginal Man' : Autochthony and Extinction in the Settler Colony Andrew McCann , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Modern Australian Criticism and Theory 2010; (p. 50-60)
'McCann shows how the poet Henry Kendall's dreams of establishing an Australian landscape are haunted at every turn by the indigenous presence...' Source: Modern Australian Criticism and Theory (2010)
Double Vision : Aspects of Aboriginality in Kendall's Writing Robert J. Dingley , 1992 single work criticism
— Appears in: Henry Kendall : The Muse of Australia 1992; (p. 405-417)
Last amended 31 May 2017 17:27:30
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