The Australian born poet Henry Kendall was born in 1839.1 Never physically robust, he seems to have inherited from his parents an unhealthy liking for alcohol.2
In the years following his marriage in 1868, he found it near impossible to support his growing family by his writing alone, and accepted work at the Camden Haven timber business owned by his friends William and Joseph Fagan.3
By the late 1870s, he was a highly regarded poet, but was still lacking in funds, so, in 1881 he accepted an appointment as Inspector of State Forests based at Cundletown, near Taree.4
It was during his time in Cundletown that his youngest child, Orara, was born in June 1881.5
Henry’s work was arduous and his liking for alcohol undiminished. On one occasion his wife Charlotte left baby Orara in the care of others to enable a visit to Sydney to support her husband. It was during her absence that baby Orara died on 25 January 1882.6
Over the years, the unusual name “Orara” has created some confusion as to the baby’s gender.7 He is buried in Dawson River Cemetery, a plaque having been installed on his grave in 1965 by the Cundletown Progress Association.
Author: Penny Teerman
References:
1 Australian Dictionary of Biography – Kendall, Thomas Henry (1839-1882)
2 Henry Kendall: the man and the myths by Michael Ackland, Melbourne University Press 1995
3 Australian Dictionary of Biography – Kendall Thomas Henry (1839-1882)
4 The Struggle Against Isolation: A History of the Manning Valley by John Ramsland, Library of Australian History 1987
5 Australian Cemeteries Index
6 Henry Kendall: the man and the myths by Michael Ackland, Melbourne University Press 1995
7 The Labor Daily (Sydney) Saturday 12 March 1938 P6. (NB: “Orara” is the name of a river in Northern NSW)
