Gum-tree exile : Randolph Bedford in Italy

Abstract

London has for most of Australian history served as a magnet for the gifted and aspirational. This feeling was particularly strong and optimistic at the turn of the last century, when Melba was Queen of the Opera. Many followed her example in travelling north: musicians and theatricals, but also artists, writers, and journalists. Of those who felt this siren call, very few would actually succeed. Henry Lawson would become the most famous example of this failure, with his sojourn in England something from which he would never recover, personally and artistically (Tasker & Sussex 2007)