(click here for a list of his works)]
Barcroft Boake was born in the family home in Balmain, New South Wales, on 26 March 1866. His parents were Barcroft Capel Boake (a photographer; born in Dublin, Ireland) and Florence Eva Boake (née Clarke; born in Adelaide, South Australia). Barcroft, junior, was the eldest of nine children (several of whom didn’t live past their third year). His siblings were: Adelaide Eva Boake (1867-1944), Florence Violet Boake (1869-1943), Ernestine Maud Boake (1871-1872), Clarice Capel Boake (1873-1873), Wilfred William Boake (1875-1878), Evelyn Jessie Boake (1876-1963), Roy Boake (1877-1877), Ephraim Boake (1879-1895), and Capel Boake (1879-1879).[1]
From his birthplace, in the family home of Vergemont Cottage, Waterview Bay, Balmain, his parents moved to George-street, Sydney, where they lived for two years, and then relocated to Lavender Bay, on the North Shore of Sydney Harbour, which became the family’s residence for ten years.[2]
Young Boake’s education was varied (A. G. Stephens described it as “little more than a fair middle-class education”). When he was eight, he attended a private school run by the Misses Cook at Milson’s Point (Sydney). Then, when Bartie was nine years old, a family friend from Nouméa, New Caledonia, suggested that the young lad go back with him for a while; so young Boake went to Nouméa, where he stayed for two years, during which time he learned to speak French (to a moderate degree).[3]
Bartie returned to Australia, and joined the family in North Willoughby (Sydney), where they had moved during his absence. It was there that his mother died, on 4 November 1879, following her giving birth to twins. His maternal grandmother subsequently took over the running of the family home; the letters of Bertie, when he was older, showed that he had a great affection for her (possibly seeing her as a kind of substitute mother figure).[4]
He went to Sydney Grammar School for a few months, and then studied privately for almost five years, with Edward Blackmore (of Hunter-street, Sydney), who was previously a teacher at Sydney Grammar.[5]
After finishing his education, Boake worked with a Sydney land-surveyor, under whose tutelage he became skilled enough to get a job with the Government Survey Department in 1885, where he spent about a year working as a temporary draughtsman. In July 1886, following his stint of government work, Boake worked for two years as a field-assistant for a surveyor who was based at the Rocklands station (farm), near Adaminaby (NSW).[6]
Boake soon discovered that he was best-suited to the outdoor life and country living, rather than being cooped up in an office or surrounded by city buildings and the suburban sprawl. Henceforth he worked in country jobs, in the fresh air, as much as he could, earning a living variously as an outdoors surveyor, stockman, and drover.[7]
In 1888 he worked as a stockman at the Mullah station, in the Narromine district, where he worked hard and gained some friends. Late one night, on 14 July 1888, as a joke, Boake and a friend hung themselves from a rafter. His friend hung himself using a handkerchief, whilst Boake used a rope. Bartie used his hands to stop himself being strangled, but slipped; his friends thought he was doing a very convincing impression (especially as their vision was impaired due to the darkness of the room), but then they realised that he was actually dying, and got him down; his face was discoloured, and his life was in the balance, but he recovered.[8]
It seems that, like Adam Lindsay Gordon (Boake’s literary idol), Bartie had a depressive or melancholic frame of mind, and was willing to risk his life, probably because he didn’t care overly much whether he lived or died — Gordon risked his life by doing ridiculously dangerous stunts on horses, whilst Boake tempted fate with a rope. He may also have engaged in risky behaviour whilst horse riding as well; in a letter to his father (dated 20 November 1889), he said that “There is pleasure in a mad gallop”. Maybe he was only writing about riding fast, or maybe he was referring to some horse riding of an even more dangerous nature; but the mock hanging was certainly a definite indication that something wasn’t quite right with his frame of mind. The warning signs were there.[9]
Boake wrote a short article about his experience of being hung, “A bad quarter-of-an-hour”, which was found amongst his effects after his death, and subsequently published in The Bulletin on 28 May 1892.[10]
Having become bored with the monotonous work he was doing, he left Mullah station in April 1889. He then went to Queensland and got a job as a drover in June. It was around that time that he read a book of the poetic works of Adam Lindsay Gordon, for whom he expressed a high regard. In his letter of 20 November 1889 he wrote that he had obtained a volume of Gordon’s works, thus giving him “an opportunity of studying his writings in their entirety”; although this wasn’t his first reading of some of Gordon’s works, as he mentioned in the same letter that he had “long been familiar with his most well-known poems”. One of Bartie’s workmates, Mr. L. C. Raymond, later wrote that “Boake was brimming over with Adam Lindsay Gordon; and I have no hesitation in saying that Gordon was the father of his poetry”.[11]
He worked with cattle at Burrenbilla (near Cunnamulla), and drove a mob down to Bathurst, arriving there in March 1890. As arranged, he visited his family in Sydney for a week, then returned to Bathurst to get his pay from his drover boss, only to find out that his boss had gone on a huge alcohol-drinking spree in the meantime, spent all the money, and then fled the area the day before Boake was due to return. Some men have a weakness for alcohol which turns them into low-life ratbags, at least temporarily, and young Bartie paid the price for trusting one such man.[12]
Trying to recoup his losses, Boake returned to the surveying profession. He worked for Mr. W. A. Lipscomb, based in Wagga Wagga (NSW), from May 1890 to December 1891. Lipscomb later said that Boake was capable at surveying, and that his field work notes regarding topography were “the best I ever saw”; but he also mentioned that Bartie was a solitary type, had few friends, and that “his disposition was melancholy — even morose”.[13]
It was during this time that Boake had his first poem published, being “Jack’s Last Muster”, which appeared in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser on 13 December 1890, with its authorship being attributed to “Sursinglr”, which was actually a misprinting of his pseudonymn “Surcingle”. Subsequently, a number of his works were published, mostly in The Bulletin; the early ones appeared with his pen-name of “Surcingle”, with many later ones signed “Barcroft H. Boake” (distinguishing him from his father, Barcroft C. Boake). His most well-known poem, “Where the Dead Men Lie”, was published in the Christmas Number of The Bulletin on 19 December 1891.[14]
Bartie’s father was also a poet; however, it was the opinion of A. G. Stephens that his verses weren’t of very good quality, describing them as “undistinguished rhymes”. The inclination ran in the family, but not the talent.[15]
Near the end of December 1891 Boake went back to the family home in Croydon (Sydney, NSW), but the circumstances he found there were quite depressing: His father was almost bankrupt, having lost a pile of money by speculating on land in Melbourne; his sister’s marriage had failed, and she had moved in with their dad; and his grandmother, whom he greatly loved, had become an invalid, and was bedridden in the same house. Additionally, given his melancholic personality, it wasn’t conducive to his mental health to be back living in the city, when his heart yearned to be out in the country. However, perhaps the icing on the cake was when he received the news that the woman whom he had long fancied was intending to be married (in a letter to one of his sisters, he had written: “I have had rather a knock to-day. I hear that my best girl is going to be married”). To make matters worse, he was unable to find work in Sydney.[16]
It was a shame that he didn’t stay out in the country, as it was clear that it was there where his heart belonged. His letter of 29 December 1888 had given the truth of his feelings: “The less I have to do the more time I have to grumble. Good hard work — physical labour — is the best panacea imaginable for a discontented mind. … I should smother if I were to go back to Sydney again: I should have no heart. … my home is in the bush”. On 2 November 1889 he had written about working in an office: “I might have been jogging along in monotonous respectability as a civil servant; but they don’t live, these men — they only vegetate. We have a pleasure and excitement in our work that they never feel. … There is a charm about this life always in the saddle only those can appreciate who have lived it.” Although he appreciated the benefits of city life, he still wanted to be in the country; this was shown in his letter of 18 November, 1889, when he wrote: “I am enjoying the unaccustomed luxuries of clean sheets and mosquito curtains. It seems quite strange to sleep in a bed once more; but I wish I was on the road again. Lying about doing nothing but smoke does not suit me at all.”[17]
Living in Sydney wasn’t doing young Boake any good. Being jobless, loveless, and hopeless, Bartie’s depression spiralled downwards. Considering his circumstances, it was no surprise (at least, in hindsight) that, on the morning of 2 May 1892, Barcroft Boake wandered off into the bushland at Long Bay (Middle Harbour, Sydney), and hung himself from a tree branch, using his stockwhip to do the deed. His body was found on 10 May 1892 by a man clearing the bush to make way for a proposed sewer. The life of one of Australia’s poetic geniuses was over.[18]
After Boake’s body was taken down, a note was discovered in his pocket, with the message “Dear Father, — Write to Miss McKeahnie. — Your loving son, Bartie”, although the note didn’t say which McKeahnie female he was referring to. It is not known exactly which woman was the great love of his life, the news of whose intended nuptials may have been the final straw for poor Bartie. However, it can be reasonably deduced that the target of his unrequited love was one of the McKeahnie girls, with whom he was closely acquainted. It may well have been Janet McKeahnie, who was married on 17 June 1893, just over a year after Boake’s untimely death (although it is only a matter of speculation, it is possible that her marriage was delayed due to the impact of his suicide).[19]
A. G. Stephens blamed Boake’s suicide on a “weak heart”, a “sensitive brain”, and his constant use of tobacco. However, it seems much more likely that Boake was battling with depression, compounded by some instances of bad luck. In modern times, he would probably be diagnosed as suffering from depression, prescribed some drugs, and be enabled to live out the rest of his life without succumbing to his inner demons.[20]
His death was a real loss, being an enormous waste of a life, and especially a waste of the talent of an up-and-coming poet. He was considered to be uniquely gifted, so the loss was an acute one. A. G. Stephens wrote of Boake, “Of genius, in the severest and most modern sense, Boake had no small share. There is in his best work that fascination, that moving force which the most cultured talent can never command.” Banjo” Paterson wrote of Boake’s death, saying “The death of such a man is a loss to our scanty roll of writers”.[21]
Had Barcroft Boake not committed suicide, but instead continued his work, his poetic genius could have enabled him to reach a literary pinnacle in the annals of the nation. As A. G. Stephens opined, “Boake might easily have won recognition as the foremost poet of Australia”.[22]
Boake’s inclination to melancholia meant that there was always a chance that he would commit suicide; although, in the right circumstances — with a pleasant domestic situation, a nice wife, some good friends, and an enjoyable job — he may have lived until he died of natural causes.
It is a great shame that Barcroft Boake killed himself — not only on a personal level, but also from a literary and cultural perspective. Who knows what works of great literature he may have produced, had he lived? It could be said that his suicide was an act of betrayal against the Australian people, as he deliberately deprived them of the benefits of his work; he ended a life which could have been of enormous cultural sustenance to the Australian nation.
The poetry gathered by A. G. Stephens for Where the Dead Men Lie and Other Poems (1897), a collection of Boake’s work in a book (published posthumously), shows that the young poet had talent. Prior to the appearance of the book, Boake’s published poetry only dated from the end of 1890 to the first few months of 1892, and those works showed promise; if that quality of work is what Boake was able to produce in just a year and a half, starting out as a newly-published poet, then we can only begin to imagine the possibilities of his potential total output, had he lived.
Nonetheless, despite his brief span as a poet, the life and works of Barcroft H. Boake are worth commemorating. His poems are a significant part of the nation’s literary canon, especially “Where the Dead Men Lie” — indeed, that one poem is sufficient cause for Boake to have secured a place in the top rank of Australian poets.
Barcroft Boake is well-deserving of a place amongst Australia’s pantheon of great men and women. May his name, his works, and his tragedy be forever remembered.
Books and other works by Barcroft Boake:
Works of Barcroft Boake
References:
[1] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, in: Barcroft Boake, Where the Dead Men Lie and Other Poems, Sydney (NSW): Angus and Robertson, 1897, pp. 158-159, 162 [p. 159: “their first child, Barcroft Henry Thomas”]
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
“Barcroft Capel Boake family tree”, Ancestry
[2] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 159-160
[3] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 160-161, 168
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[4] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 161-161, 165
[5] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 164-165
“Sydney Grammar School, incorporated 1854” (advertisement), The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 20 July 1858, p. 1, column 4
[6] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 165
[7] Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[8] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 170-172, 189
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[9] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 189
[10] Barcroft H. Boake, “A bad quarter-of-an-hour”, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 28 May 1892, p. 11, column 4
A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 173-176
[11] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 183-184 (Mullah; Queensland), 190 (letter), 193 (Raymond)
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[12] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 183-184
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[13] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 191-192
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[14] Sursinglr [sic: Surcingle], “Jack’s Last Muster”, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 13 December 1890 p. 1314
A. G. Stephens, “Notes to poems”, in: Barcroft Boake, Where the Dead Men Lie and Other Poems, Sydney (NSW): Angus and Robertson, 1897, p. 145 [Stephens noted the spelling error which appeared in The Sydney Mail: “Signed ‘Sursinglr, Wagga Wagga’ — this a misprint of ‘Surcingle.’”]
Surcingle, “The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 19 December 1891, p. 7, column 4
Note: The Bulletin confirmed Barcroft H. Boake’s pseudonym of “Surcingle” on several occasions in its “Correspondence” column (responding to readers’ enquiries):
a) “Correspondence”, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 9 January 1892, p. 17, column 1 [““Jug”: “Surcingle,” the writer of “Kitty M‘Crae,” is the nom de plume of Mr. Bancroft H. Boake.”]
b) “Correspondence, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 28 May 1892, p. 7, column 4 [““H.H.”: The late Mr. B. H. Boake first wrote for The Bulletin under the pen-name “Surcingle.””]
c) “Correspondence”, The Bulletin (Sydney, NSW), 4 June 1892, p. 11, column 4 [““Surly Bob”: No, they are not the same. “The Banjo” is still alive; “Surcingle,” alas, is dead.”]
[15] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 169
[16] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 200-201, 204 (“my best girl is going to be married”)
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, op. cit.
[17] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 182-183 (29 December 1888 letter), 187 (2nd November 1889 letter)
[18] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 205 (Boake’s body found)
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
[19] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 205 (suicide note)
Hugh Capel, “Address to the Cooma Monaro Historical Society”, Barcroft Henry Boake: Australian Bush Poet [McKeahnie girls; suicide note]
“Country news: Rosedale”, The Manaro Mercury and Cooma & Bombala Advertiser (Cooma, NSW), 17 June 1893, p. 8
[20] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 205
[21] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., pp. 156-157
A. B. Paterson, “ Barcroft Henry Boake”, The Corryong Courier (Corryong, Vic.), 4 November 1897, p. 3
[22] A. G. Stephens, “Barcroft Boake: A memoir”, op. cit., p. 157
Further reading:
Cecil Hadgraft, “Barcroft Henry Boake (1866–1892)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
Hugh Capel, “Biographical details”, Barcroft Henry Boake: Australian Bush Poet
“Barcroft Boake (poet)”, Wikipedia
Image source:
“Barcroft Boake. Date [1892?]”, State Library of Victoria [“Half-length, to right, moustache, seated at a table with paper and ink in front of him, pipe in his left hand.”]
Updated 23 May 2024
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