Steelman and Smith

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Steelman and Smith are two fictional characters appearing in a series of short stories by Australian writer Henry Lawson.[1]

Background[edit]

In 1893, Henry Lawson travelled to New Zealand, where he initially spent three months unemployed in Wellington, sleeping in a sewerage pipe.[2] He then became a telegraph linesman on New Zealand's South Island, working in a team that was laying a cable between Picton and Dunedin.[2][3] Lawson later described these times as among the happiest of his life.[3] These experiences have been credited with inspiring his Steelman and Smith stories.[2][3] It is reputed that the Steelman character was modelled on a "commercial traveller" that Lawson met during this period.[4] Smith was partly a self-portrait, based, according to Lawson, on "the weaker side of myself."[4]

Description[edit]

Steelman and Smith are con-artists living in New Zealand,[5] described in one story as "professional wanderers."[6] Steelman "survives on the sharpness of his wits", while Smith is his "dim-witted and naive offsider."[4] Steelman is usually successful in his ruses, with the exception of the story "The Geological Spieler."[4]

Legacy[edit]

According to the Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, the Steelman character "is the focus for some of Lawson's best yarns and tall stories [but] lacks the complexity of other recurring characters in Lawson's fiction such as Jack Mitchell and Dave Regan."[4] Dorothy Hewett described the pair as "outsiders journeying on a discovery of themselves and society."[2]

The Steelman and Smith stories were adapted into "Steelman and Smith", an episode of the television series Lawson's Mates, which aired on ABC TV on 2 February 1980.[7] The episode was adapted by Cliff Green and featured Steve Bisley.[8][9] In February 1944, radio station 2GB adapted "Steelman's Pupil" into a radio drama narrated by Lloyd Berrell, along with several other Lawson stories.[10]

Bibliography[edit]

Story First published Collection Notes Ref.
"Steelman" The Bulletin (January 19, 1895)[11] While the Billy Boils (1896) only features Steelman [1]
"Steelman's Pupil" The Bulletin (December 14, 1895)[11] While the Billy Boils (1896) [2]
"The Geological Spieler" While the Billy Boils (1896) [3]
"An Oversight of Steelman’s" The Bulletin (September 18, 1897)[12] On the Track (1900) [4]
"How Steelman told his Story" The Bulletin (February 25, 1899)[13] On the Track (1900) [5]
"A Gentleman Sharper and Steelman Sharper" Over the Sliprails (1900) [6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ John Docker (2 September 1991). The Nervous Nineties: Australian Cultural Life in the 1890s. Oxford University Press. pp. 129–130. ISBN 978-0-19-553247-0.
  2. ^ a b c d Hewett, Dorothy (1967). "The journey of Henry Lawson". Australian Left Review. 1 (7): 28–34.
  3. ^ a b c Kiernan, Brian (1997). "'From Mudgee Hills to London Town': A Critical Biography of Henry Lawson". Sydney Studies in Society and Culture. 17: 72–128.
  4. ^ a b c d e Wilde, William H.; Hooton, Joy; Andrews, Barry (1991). "Steelman". The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. p. 647. ISBN 0195532732.
  5. ^ Spurr, Barry; Cameron, Lloyd (2000). "Selected Stories by Henry Lawson". Standard English. Pascal Press. p. 120. ISBN 9781741250688.
  6. ^ Lawson, Henry (1900). "An Oversight of Steelman's". On the Track. Angus and Robertson.
  7. ^ "Steelman and Smith". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  8. ^ Reis, Brian (1997). Australian Film: A Bibliography. Mansell. p. 250.
  9. ^ Keating, Chris; Moran, Albert (2007). The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780810868564.
  10. ^ "Henry Lawson stories adapted for radio". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. February 12, 1944. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Lawson, Henry (2013). Eggert, Paul (ed.). While the Billy Boils: The Original Newspaper Versions. Sydney, Australia: Sydney University Press. ISBN 9781743320112.
  12. ^ "An Oversight of Steelman's". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  13. ^ "How Steelman Told His Story". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
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