The Union Buries Its Dead

Introduction

"The Union Buries Its Dead" is a well-known sketch story by iconic Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was originally published in Truth on 16 April 1893 with the title: "The Union Buries Its Dead : A Bushman's Funeral. A Sketch from Life".[1]

The story takes place in Bourke, and concerns the burial of an anonymous union labourer, who had drowned the previous day "while trying to swim some horses across a billabong of the Darling." The narrator, possibly Lawson himself, examines the level of respect the Bushfolk have for the dead, supplementing the story with his trademark dry, sardonic humour.


This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.