E. J. Brady Explained

E. J. Brady
Birth Name:	Edwin James Brady
Birth Date:	7 August 1869
Birth Place:	Carcoar, New South Wales, Australia
Death Place:	Pambula, New South Wales, Australia
Other Names:	Nedi Woolli
Occupation:	Poet, journalist

Edwin James Brady (7 August 1869 – 22 July 1952) was an Australian journalist and poet.^[1]

Personal life

From Irish parents, Brady was born at Carcoar, New South Wales, and was educated both in the United States^[2] and Sydney, Australia. Among his school friends were Christopher Brennan and Roderic Quinn.^[3]

He worked as a wharf clerk, a farmer, and journalist, and edited both rural and city newspapers.

His political leanings were as a confirmed socialist, and secretary of the first Socialist League of Australia, in Sydney, 1890.^{[4] [5] [6]} It was suggested that Brady and fellow poet Henry Lawson contemplated with becoming 'New Australians' at the 1893 New Australia settlement in Paraguay, away from the influences of capitalism.^[7]

Career

Brady was a friend with poets Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963), Roderic Quinn (1867–1949)), Banjo Paterson (1864–1941) and Henry Lawson (1867–1922). Several of those individuals were also members of the Bohemian group, the Dawn and Dusk Club,^[8] with Brady being the last.^[9] In 1910, Brady took Lawson on a poets' retreat, restoring Lawson's health.^{[10] [11]}

He was the editor of the Australian Workman, Sydney's first trade union newspaper, in 1891-92. The Bulletin and the Sunday Times were the repositories for many of his poems and prose.^[12] In 1899, equipped with a notebook, gun, and camera, Brady drove a wagon from Sydney to Townsville (although intending to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria) and back, recording the lives of the settlers.^[13]

Working at Grafton's Daily Examiner in New South Wales, Brady wrote under the pen-name Nedi Woolli.^[14] The first name was an extension of Quinn's name for Brady, and the last name being an indigenous name relating to the Yamba area; with Quinn normally calling him Ned. He later took over The Grip newspaper, but 'it went 'straight on the rocks' '.

Brady later established a writers' and artists' colony at Mallacoota, Victoria in 1909,^[15] and he continued to live there until his death.

He chronicled an eventful journey down the Murray River in a small motor boat from Albury to the coast in 1911 in River Rovers.^[16]

A passionate nationalist, he achieved his greatest fame with his book Australia Unlimited, a bestseller from its appearance in 1918, which urged dramatic increases in the national population. In 1926, a book entitled Industrial Australia was being written about the history and growth of industry within the country.^[17] His last work Two Frontiers was published in 1945. He also sought to write the biography of The Bulletin co-founder J. F. 'Archie' Archibald.^[18] Publishers refused to print the biography.

Lines from his poem Far and Wide have been used in the Melbourne tourism advertisement running on ESPN2 and Tennis Channel during the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Australian Open.^[19]

I'll call you to the beaches,

And you shall bide with me

Along the river reaches

And by the open sea.^[20]

Later life

Brady, given as tall and debonair, in 1890 married Marion Cecilia Walsh; and in June 1895,^[21] married Annie Creo Dooley née Stanley, in June 1895. Aged 72,^[22] he married Florence Jane Bourke in 1942 in Victoria, and had a daughter.

After retiring, he continued living in a tent home in Mallacoota.

Aged 82, Brady died in 1952 at the Pambula Public Hospital of a heart condition.^[23] He was survived by his third wife, and six children from his first marriage.

Bibliography

Poetry

• The Ways of Many Waters, 1899
• The Earthen Floor, Grip Newspaper Company, 1902
• Bushland Ballads, 1910
• Bells and Hobbles, 1911
• The House of the Winds, 1919
• Wardens of the Seas, Endeavour Press, Sydney, 1933^[24]
• They Shall Be Remembered: A poem dedicated to the heroes of Second World War, also called Australia Remembers: Pte. C. J. Williams, Stubbs Publishing, 1946

Prose

• Sydney Harbour, Builder Printing Works, 1903
• Sydney: The Commercial Capital of the Commonwealth, Builder Printing Works, 1904
• Picturesque Port Phillip, George Robertson & Co, 1911
• The King's Caravan: Across Australia in a Wagon, Edward Arnold, 1911
• The River Rovers, George Robertson & Co, 1911
• Tom Pagdin pirate, NSW Bookstall, 1911 — illustrated by Lionel Lindsay
• Australia Unlimited, 1918 — of one thousand quarto pages in size, a picturesque description of Australia's life and resources, selling of 10 000 copies, and costing £2/2/– each. It took six years to research and write
• The Land of the Sun, Edward Arnold, 1924
• The Overlander: Prince's Highway, Ramsay Publishing, 1926
• Doctor Mannix: Archbishop of Melbourne, Library of National Biography, 1934
• Two Frontiers, Frank Johnson, 1944 — biography of Edward John Brady (1830–1914)
• Dreams and Realities, co-authored with Leslie Rubenstein, York Press, 1944

Manuscript Archives

• Guide to the Papers of E. J. Brady at National Library of Australia
• Edwin James Brady papers, 1892-1951, State Library of New South Wales A 3173 'Australia unlimited, why and how I wrote it. A 3174 'Murray River Irrigation. Clippings, articles, notes, correspondence' and maps, 1908-1950. A 3175 'Personalia': letters, notes, portraits and printed material about and by Brady's ancestors and relations, with personal notes and photographs, 1892-1951. A 3176/1-A 3176/2 'Utopias Ltd: William Lane's settlement in Paraguay, New Italy Mission and Madagascar, Ralahine, Civat-Hein and the Mallacoota Community farm.
• Edwin James Brady papers, 1899-1922 at State Library of New South Wales. A 1586 Australian artists' biographies, 1911, A 1726 Letters from Australian writers and others, 1899-1922, B 762 King's caravan : diary, 1899-1900, C 318 Verses, 1909-1911.

Further reading

• Coasts of Dream – a biography of E. J. Brady by Sarah Mirams, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2018,

External links

• Edwin James Brady from the Old Poetry Archive
• Australian Dictionary of Biography entry

Notes and References

1. Webb. John B.. Brady, Edwin James (1869–1952). brady-edwin-james-5335. 1 August 2018. 1979.
2. News: Mr. E. J. BRADY. . . 759 . Victoria, Australia . 18 January 1900 . 1 August 2018 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
3. Stone . Walter . Roderic Quinn (1869-1949) . Biblionews . October 1949 . 2 . 11.
4. News: E. J. Brady dies–great Australian poet . . 23,450 . Victoria, Australia . 22 July 1952 . 27 March 2022 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
5. News: Australian Socialism . Barrier Daily Truth . XXXIII . 9986 . New South Wales, Australia . 20 June 1941 . 27 March 2022 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
6. News: E. J. Brady, rebel writer, fighter for Socialism . . 751 . New South Wales, Australia . 30 July 1952 . 27 March 2022 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: Our colony . . XLVIII . 9,449 . Western Australia . 8 October 1932 . 27 March 2022 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: Death of a literary pioneer . The Dandenong Journal . 91 . 33 . Victoria, Australia . 20 August 1952 . 27 March 2022 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
9. News: Books of the Day . . 27103 . Victoria, Australia . 28 February 1942 . 27 March 2022 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
10. News: Poets at Mallacoota . . LXXV . 19,763 . South Australia . 16 March 1910 . 27 March 2022 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
11. News: Henry LAWSON . . 48 . New South Wales, Australia . 28 July 1923 . 27 March 2022 . 14 . National Library of Australia.
12. News: E. J. BRADY's poems . . 17,792 . New South Wales, Australia . 21 October 1933 . 1 August 2018 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
13. News: Passing of E. J. BRADY Last Of The Bush Balladist . Worker . 63 . 3393 . Queensland, Australia . 28 July 1952 . 27 March 2022 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
14. News: More about E. J. BRADY . . 7148 . New South Wales, Australia . 4 March 1953 . 1 August 2018 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
15. News: Poets at Mallacoota. . . LXXV . 19,763 . South Australia . 16 March 1910 . 1 August 2018 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
16. Book: Brady . E.J. . River Rovers . 1911 . George Robertson & Co . Melbourne . First.
17. News: Industrial Australia . . 4825 . New South Wales, Australia . 24 April 1926 . 1 August 2018 . 4 (Last race football) . National Library of Australia.
18. News: E. J. BRADY as biographer . . XXV . 52 . New South Wales, Australia . 26 February 1944 . 1 August 2018 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
19. Web site: McFARLANE . Hannah . Australian Poetry Library goes global . Sydney Publishing: Important, interesting, Australian books based on high quality research . University of Sydney . 1 August 2018 . 4 August 2016.
20. News: Our Illustrations. . . 2392 . Queensland, Australia . 20 January 1912 . 1 August 2018 . 29 . National Library of Australia.
21. News: Family notices . . 2302 . New South Wales, Australia . 22 June 1895 . 27 March 2022 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
22. News: On the record . . New South Wales, Australia . 28 July 1952 . 27 March 2022 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
23. News: Edwin James BRADY dies in N.S.W. . . CLXXII . 25,456 . Tasmania, Australia . 23 July 1952 . 1 August 2018 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
24. News: Federation . . Queensland, Australia . 28 October 1933 . 27 March 2022 . 6 (Latest final cables) . National Library of Australia.