George Essex Evans
Encyclopedia
Biography
Evans was born in London on 18 June 1863. Both his parents were Welsh. Evans's father, John Evans, Q.C., died in 1864 when Evans was only a few months old. John Evans, who was the Treasurer of the Inner TempleInner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
and a member of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, left his family a fortune of 60 000 pounds. The fortune did not last very long. Consequently, Evans was raised and educated by his mother Mary Ann (nee Owen), who was one of the Bowens of Llwynwair, an old Welsh family. Mary Ann was an educated woman, fluent in both Latin and Greek. The family lived in Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...
in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
where Evans attended Haverfordwest Grammar School and then the St. James Collegiate School of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
.
Evans was partly deaf and although he was an excellent athlete, his tutors thought him 'dull'. Unfortunately his hearing impediment prevented him going into the armed forces.
In 1881, when Evans was 17, the siblings J.B.O. (John Bowen Owen), Blanche Gough and Beatrice emigrated to Queensland, Australia, travelling first class on a journey around the Cape of Good Hope that lasted sixty-five days. Upon arrival in Queensland, the brothers bought some land in the Darling Downs with the intention of farming. Evans, however, was badly injured in a horse riding accident, when he was thrown against a tree, and was unable to do any physical work. He was able to take part in athletic pursuits, competing in wrestling, running, swimming, and football (in which he represented Queensland).
Evans suffered from increasing deafness as he grew older, and this may be the reason why he was thought to be a secretive, quiet man. Initially he earned a living by working as a teacher at a private school, but eventually became an Agricultural Editor of The Queenslander
The Queenslander
The Queenslander was the weekly summary and literary edition of the 'Brisbane Courier' , since the 1850s the leading journal in the colony later federal state of Queensland...
. Essex Evans also wrote travel books for the Government Tourist and Intelligence Bureau. He entered the public service in 1888 and eventually became District Registrar of births, deaths and marriages first for Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
and then later for Toowoomba.
In 1899, Evans married Blanche Hopkins, the young widow of E. B. Hopkins of Goondiwindi, the daughter of the late Rev. William Eglinton and sister of former Native Police Officer, Second-Class Sub-Inspector Ernest Eglinton. The wedding was described as a very secret affair. A letter from Evans to Dr. Black, whom he sought to perform the service, asks for a quiet ceremony with little fuss in Drayton. They were married on November 6, 1899.
Evans and Blanche had two sons, the younger one, Owen Meylett Eglinton Essex Evans died at five and a half years of Ileo Colitis Acuta (a form of diarrhoea) As a result of his marriage, Evans also had two step daughters Misses Lorna and Beryl Hopkins.
They built their home they called "Glenbar" on the Tollbar Road on the eastern slope of the Toowoomba range and Evans's sister continued to live with him.
Evans founded the Austral Society
Austral Society
The Austral Society was founded in 1903 due to the influence of The Toowoomba poet George Essex Evans to promote Australian Arts and Culture. The Society ceased in 1911....
in Toowoomba in 1903 to promote music, art, literature, science and industry.
Evans was described as a reserved man, and at times rather moody and impulsive. However, he was also described as a kind person and loyal friend. He had a strong sense of honour and self respect; traits which made him a model husband and father.
Evans was described as having a tremendous memory, particularly for poetic verse of which he was able to recite a prodigious amount. Few of his contemporaries were able to match his breadth of knowledge of English, American and Australian poetry.
Works
Evans's works were highly regarded during his career and for a time following his death. He was publicly praised by many acknowledged critics and political figures including William ArcherWilliam Archer
William Archer may refer to:* William S. Archer , U.S. Senator and Representative from Virginia* William Archer Irish naturalist and microscopist especially interested in Protozoa and Desmids...
, Sir Samuel Griffith, Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
and Sir Henry Parkes.
His first volume of poetry, The Repentance of Magdalene Despar, was published in 1891. Between 1892 and 1897 Evans was associated with John Tighe Ryan in the production of the periodical, The Antipodean
The Antipodean
The Antipodean was an annual Australian illustrated literary periodical first published in 1892. It was edited by George Essex Evans in 1892, 1893 and 1897, with co-editors John Tighe Ryan and Banjo Paterson...
which appeared three times. In 1898 another collection of poetry, Loraine and other Verses, was published and in 1901 Evans won a prize of fifty guineas for his "Ode for Commonwealth Day". Although this ode was praised by the then Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, it was criticised by his peers as trite.
The Secret Key and other Verses which included part of the Loraine volume, was published in 1906. He won a reputation in his own state of Queensland as the author of patriotic verse, as in "Cymru", and his bush ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s, such as "The Women of the West," were popular.
His work was also noticed by the Queensland State Government and following the success of The Garden of Queensland, Evans was promoted to the Chief Secretary's department to advertise and "sell" Queensland at the Franco-British Exhibition in Paris in May 1908.
Evans also wrote and produced some theatrical works for the Brisbane Theatre including Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
a pantomime and Musical Whist. During the last two years of his life he wrote prolifically about the resources of his state for the Queensland government.
Evan's has over 200 published poems attributed to his name. His work frequently appeared in Australian newspapers and he wrote in many other literary forms including short stories, essays, various humorous works and a novella.
Death
Essex Evans was a great advocate for the construction of a new road northward across the AustraliaGreat Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
and after falling ill in 1909 he became the first passenger to be transported over it when taken to hospital. The men working on the road were so overcome with sorrow for the poet who had worked hard to bring about the new road that they relieved the ambulance men of their duty.
Evans died from complications arising from gall bladder surgery in 1909 at forty-six years of age and the news of his death was first delivered on the stage of the Austral Hall during the largest Austral Festival celebrations ever held. Evans's death prompted an emergency meeting of the Austral Association Committee who, knowing that of all the titles Evans held he was most proud of 'Founder of the Austral Association,' decided that the festival must continue. A series of emotional tributes to his impact on advancing the cause of Australian Music, Art and Literature followed.
His funeral was held on the 11th of November 1909 at the St. James Church and he was eulogized by Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
with whom he shared a long correspondence in Federal Parliament as 'Australia's Poet.'
In a speech that was wired to the poet's widow after his death, Australian Prime Minister Deakin
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
shared his sentiments stating that he was "Deeply grieved at sudden and unexpected death of your greatly-gifted husband. Australia will mourn the loss of her national poet whose patriotic songs stirred her people profoundly in the arduous campaign for union."
A memorial of Essex Evans was raised in Webb Park, Toowoomba. Inscribed on the statue are several verses from his poems, including the following excerpt from his poem 'Toowoomba'
Dark purple, chased with sudden gloom and glory,
Like waves in wild unrest.
Low-wooded billows and steep summits hoary,
Ridge, slope and mountain crest,
Cease at her feet with faces turned to greet her,
Enthroned, apart, serene,
Above her vassal hills whose voices greet her
The Mountain Queen.
Legacy
An edition of his Collected Verse was published in 1928. An annual pilgrimage to his memorial site has been carried out by the Toowoomba Ladies Literary Society since 1929 and a collection of Essex Evans's artefacts and archiveArchive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s can be found at the Toowoomba City Library. The Toowoomba Ladies Literary Society have also established a plaque at the site of Essex Evans's home to commemorate his memory. The Fryer Library at The University of Queensland also holds his papers.
Poetry Collections
- The Repentance of Magdalene Despar and Other Poems, 1891
- Loraine and other Verses, 1898
- The Sword of Pain, 1905
- The Secret Key and Other Verses, 1906
- The Collected Verse of G. Essex Evans, 1928
Other Reading
- George Essex Evans: Patriotic Poet of Australia - Volume 1 - His Life and Family. Bill Johnston. Maleny Qld. 2006.