William Henry Ogilvie

, beside the B6396 Ogilvie was born at Holefield, near Kelso, Borders, Scotland on 21 August 1869 to George Ogilvie and Agnes Christie, the second child of eight. George farmed the lands of the Earl of Dalkeith on the Buccleuch Estates. Agnes, an orphan of the Indian Mutiny at Cawnpore, was a gifted pianist. Of the eight children – Zoe (b. 1867), George (b. 1872), Winifred (b. 1873), Tom (b. 1875), Eric (b. 1876), Kate (b. 1879), and Gladys (b. 1884) – William was the only one to marry. American ranch life however held no attraction to that of Australian properties. Australia also remembered Ogilvie through continued correspondence over his later years, including school children wishing him a happy 70th birthday. In 1918 he first leased then bought the Presbyterian church manse 'Kirklea' at Ashkirk, Selkirkshire, Scotland. At the start of World War II Ogilvie, aged 71, undertook ARP warden duties in Selkirk. He continued to live in Kirklea until his death at 93 years of age in 1963, followed by his wife Madge in 1965. ==Influences==

The poet actively acknowledged the influences of Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870): :Our Lindsay Gordon! From the north-most cape :South to the Otway he is loved and known. :The boughs that shadow and the dusts that drape :His horse and horseman— are they not our own? :And every bronzed, burnt bushman in the east, :And every digger In the western mines, :From him has learned one lilting page at least, :And loved it for the heart between the lines. It was suggested 'Glenrowan' was named for the town of Glenrowan, Victoria where he passed through on his way to Gunningbland station, near Parkes, New South Wales in 1894 as a roustabout. Ogilvie however had been using that pen name by April 1893. 'Swinglebar' is the name associated with a wooden bar between draught horses and a wagon that keeps the chains separate. He also wrote in Australia under the names of 'Free Lance' and 'Fourth Mate', and in Scotland with 'Freebooter'. Events in Eastern Australia also brought 'the Lucky Country' an impact on the quality of life in the last decade of the 1800s: • the 1891 Australian shearers' strike (with issues still persisting into 1894, even on Belalie, a property where Ogilvie worked), • the Australian banking crisis of 1893 (where bank notes from collapsed banks became worthless), and • the Federation Drought (from 1896 to 1902). Due to the droughts, properties such as Belalie underwent destocking in 1899. Ogilvie captured the essence of droughts in his words, contained within The outlaw (To round the cattle on drafting-camps on drought-bound western runs), The pack horse (But drought had stolen my strength away), The team bullock (Grim Drought had bound the Western land), and particularly ''Back o' Bourke'' (That's where the fires of hell burn through). At the time of 1898 each of Australia's balladeers wrote of a different phase of their own lives: 'Lawson the swagman, Dyson the miner, Daley the poet, Paterson the humorist... And now Ogilvie... the horseman'. In the same year, it was also suggested that Daley was 'Ogilvie's only living rival', but does not explain the absence of references to Lawson and Paterson. Similarly some outside influences can be seen in some of Ogilvie's work: that of John Greenleaf Whittier in Memory town, Rudyard Kipling in Black sheep, and perhaps a little of Henry Lawson. A collection of Will Ogilvie's poetry was published in Saddle for a throne (1952), 'Dedicated to comrades of camp-fire and muster'; the book contains a foreword by R. M. Williams, who met him in the late 1940s and who was instrumental in publishing the works. Cited as a 'triumvirate of renown – the horsemen poets', he held the pedestal with Adam Lindsay Gordon and R. B. Cunninghame Graham. During World War I, Ogilvie contributed verses for the London Punch magazine. In World War II, his poem The Australian was reprinted, the only article ever republished by the magazine (by 1970). He exercised his prerogative to both use the same title for different poems, and adjust existing poems. • Adam Lindsay Gordon (poem) • 'Ah! sad, proud Gordon! Crossing swords with Care, And touching hands so many times with Death' (Hearts of gold, 1903). • 'Our Lindsay Gordon! From the north-most cape, South to the Otway he is loved and known.' (1919 newspaper) • 'Two things stand like stone,' he said— 'Courage and Kindness. Gallant Dead!' (Galloping shoes, 1922) • Australia (poem) • 'I have gathered verse-gold from her glory, Spell-bound in her emerald chains; I have stolen her heart for a story' (1899 newspaper) • 'She has hidden each footprint of mine' (The collected sporting verse of Will H. Ogilvie, 1932) • 'Arrayed against the Triple Powers' (From sunset to dawn, 1946) He occasionally assigned another title to an existing poem, such as The ploughman (in Hearts of gold (1903)) and The ploughman poet (1925, in an Australian newspaper). By 1950 the poet was still warmly described as 'one of Australia's greatest and most loved poets', and 'one of the last of the great poets of the 1900 era'. Australian artist Hugh Sawrey (1919–1999) was also inspired by Paterson and Ogilvie, especially the affinity to horses and experiencing the droving life. ==Australian period==

After schooling, Ogilvie was sent to Australia in 1889 as a 'testing ground' by his father, returning to Scotland after a decade. based on Robert Scott's daughter Lynette, and a grey horse 'Loyal Heart' he bought from the local pound. The acclaimed poem was first penned on the stock route between Forbes and Bogan Gate in the NSW Parkes area before being refined on the walls of his bedroom at Maaoupe station. Separately later on it was identified the horse had been stolen from Australian outback pioneer Patsy Durack (1834–1898). Nostalgically Ogilvie wrote Back to the border of his time at Belalie station: :But sling me a saddle on some good horse :Bred on Belalie or Lila Springs, :With the Warrego mud in his mane, of course, :And the grass-feed green on his snaffle rings. :Over Bourke bridge at the break of day :Let me north where the red tracks run, :And blindfold yet I could find my way :Through Enngonia to Barringun. The thoughts were repeated in Comrades and After the horses, referring to Belalie's R-S-bar cattle brand. Many poems were submitted under the pen name 'Glenrowan' to the South Australian The Border Watch newspaper, including A draft from Tringadee, The dapple greys, Dark lamps, The filling of the swamps, How the chestnut horse came home, Kings of the earth, and Unsung heroes. After a period, it is reported that Ogilvie rode overland back to the Bourke area, and then onto the Forbes area of the Colony of New South Wales as 'drover, horse-breaker, rouseabout, and gentleman at large'. also near Parkes, New South Wales. It was at Nelungaloo he met and became the friend of Harry 'Breaker' Morant, even writing ''Ode to 'The Breaker' in bandages following a horse-riding accident. This period also saw Morant and Ogilvie become good friends all-round with Western Champion'' newspaper editor Gordon Tidy. With Morant's death by firing squad during the Second Boer War in South Africa in 1902, Ogilvie penned Harry Morant: :Harry Morant was a friend I had ::In the years long passed away, :A chivalrous, wild and reckless lad, ::A knight born out of his day, :He loved a girl, and he loved a horse, ::And he never let down a friend, :And reckless he was, but he rode his course ::With courage up to the end, :"Breaker Morant" was the name he earned, ::For no bucking horse could throw :This Englishman who had lived and learned ::As much as the bushmen know. :"The Breaker" is sleeping in some far place ::Where the Boer War heroes lie, :And we'll meet no more in a steeplechase– ::Harry Morant and I. Ogilvie's other poems about 'The Breaker' included When The Breaker is booked for the south, ''H. Morant 'Breaker' leaves with S.A. Contingent, 'Glenrowan' to 'The Breaker' '', Tidy wrote Morant's obituary. Ogilvie and Tidy maintained a strong friendship during their lives. The poem For the honor of Old England and the glory of the game (1897) of an actual polo competition in the Parkes, New South Wales area, involving Morant and Ogilvie was not the same as Banjo Paterson's The Geebung Polo Club which was written four years earlier although surmised by some later writers. It appears one of Ogilvie's last Australian stations was Brindinyabba, New South Wales, near his first station of Belalie, between Enngonia and Hungerford, Queensland. His understanding of conservation was demonstrated circa 1900 when he berated another labourer for clearing mulga trees by saying 'Still killing Australia?'. Ogilvie pointed out the value of the plant, this at a time of the Federation Drought. One poem about New South Wales bushranger Ben Hall (1837–1865), The death of Ben Hall, has been suggested to be written not by Ogilvie. Collected from Australian newspapers of the preceding five years, a selection of poems within the book entitled Fair girls and gray horses was published by The Bulletin in November 1898 and was well received as 'the most charming book of Australian verse that has yet appeared'. Subsequent editions contained varying numbers of poems, and in different orders (for example the 1905 edition at fourteen thousand impressions had 95 poems and a photograph of a young Will sitting with his arms crossed, while the 1930 edition of nineteen thousand impressions had 84 poems and a photograph of Will standing beside his dog). Scottish-Australian book sellers, Angus & Robertson commenced operation in 1886 in Sydney. This Scottish background influenced the books offered for sale, together with the Robertson's experiences of hardship and humanity led to supporting writers, and manuscripts of bush life. Bush ballads particularly were understood by the Australian public. Kipling also encouraged the company to foster Australian poetry through ballads too, the words becoming part of the cultural identity. With this foundation, Ogilvie became an Angus & Robertson author. Ogilvie was castigated for embellishing the mythology of the Australian outback and life: :In his later days, Will. Ogilvie has been responsible for some very exquisite verse. His early efforts were too effusive in their praise of our bush and its beauty, and this fact does not please many. That we can let pass, because he was fascinated by the country and bush life as he found it in the New South Wales and Queensland life he lived; so much so that he has not always exercised due restraint in his poetic outbursts. To those who claim to know this verse of Henry Lawson comes as the voice of truth, sure and firm after the Scotchman's fine prettiness: I think Ogilvie's mistake was that he emphasised the charm of the bush in place of the lure. The bush is a fierce, hungry mistress, who is too passionate in her moods for the word "charm" to be anything but a misplaced one. Nevertheless, W. H. Ogilvie is enchanting at his best moments. His ringing verse at times reminds us of the ringing echos of the galloping hoofs of the horses this man knew and loved so well. It was accepted he wrote about the Australian bush with romanticism. :The camp fire gleams resistance ::To every twinkling star; :The horse bells in the dlstance ::Are jangling faint and far: :Through gum boughs lorn and lonely ::The passing breezes sigh; :In all the world are only ::My star-crowned love and I. Despite all this, the poem was the one for which he sought not to be remembered. Thinking it more suited to the traditional music halls, Will H. Ogilvie desired something more serious. Some of his work included songs which were set to music, such as Bells along Macquarie in the 1901 Commonwealth Annual, and The barefoot maid with music by Donald Crichton. May 1900 saw a ten guinea competition prize awarded to Sydney composer George Ernest Vincent (–1932) for the best musical setting for Hearts of gold. It was unknown if the phrase 'back of Bourke' was in common use at the time or popularised by Ogilvie in his poem ''At the back o' Bourke''. By late January 1901, on his imminent return to Scotland after eleven years, he had progressed from being labelled as coming to the colonies for experience, to one of the colonists ('though only a ten-year colonist'), His farewell bohemian banquet at the Hotel Australia, Sydney, was hosted by also-notable poets Louise Mack and Victor Daley, and included the participation of colleagues Banjo Paterson and Roderic Quinn. ==Scottish period==

After returning from Australia in 1901 aboard the SS Persic, and again in 1908 after two years away in the United States of America, Ogilvie settled into the role of 'Border poet' based in the south near the Scottish–English border. ''Whaup o' the rede was composed in 1908, and was a long poem said to be in the way of Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). With his unshakeable love for the area, already declared in Bowmont Water, far away written while he was in Australia, in 1909 came The land we love'': road via Harden Glen. Rural life was captured in many of his Border poems. Opinion articles were sent to Australia including about sheep and sheep dog. Ogilvie showed he more than just a poet but an astute observer and technical knowledge in these areas, reflected in the poem To a champion dead about 'Old Kep', a world-famous champion Scotch collie. He corresponded with renown Australian kelpie authority Tony Parsons on the breed. Later photographs of Will usually featured one of his dogs. By 1961, some sixteen volumes of verse, two large collected editions, and numerous magazine and other contributions had been published. Since his death, more of his poems are being re-discovered in old newspaper archives, and in past correspondence with acquaintances. Ogilvie's most commonly recited poems are A Scotch night, Bowmont Water, Ho for the blades of Harden, The barefoot maid, The comfort of the Hills, The land we love, The Raiders, and The road to Roberton. ==Similar names==

During Will H. Ogilvie's life, there was also an unrelated but similarly named poet, Edinburgh architect and illustrator William Ogilvie (1891–1939). The latter poet published The witch and other verses (1923; 8 pages) and ''My mither's aunt and other verses'' (1926; 8 pages), by Porpoise Press, Edinburgh. Will H. Ogilvie should also not be confused with an Australian soldier, Trooper William Hedley Blair Ogilvie, who was also erroneously listed as William Henry Ogilvie, as probably a clerical error due to a name association. Trooper Ogilvie (13 April 1880 – 12 December 1901), of Parkside, South Australia, one of the six children of Walter Ogilvie and Annie Passfield (1846–), joined the Fourth Imperial Bushmen Contingent, and died from fever during the Second Boer War. ==Legacy==

'Poets Trek', part of the Festival of a Thousand Stories, is held annually in September for over twenty years, in Bourke, New South Wales as a two-day literary tour. Led by a group of local poets and enthusiasts, the trek goes through some of the mulga plains and paddocks trod by Lawson, Morant, Ogilvie, and Paterson. Several poems were set to music during Ogilvie's lifetime, including by famed English composer Graham Peel with 1920 'The challenge'. Slim Dusty's 1980 The man who steadies the lead song compilation acknowledged two of Will's works – the self-titled album and The pearl of them all. Ogilvie's verse was also put to music by bush poet Gary Fogarty, of Millmerran, Queensland, with thirteen poems on The Tartan Saddlecloth in 2005. Scotland's Hawick-based 'folk-and-roll' band Scocha set several of Will's poems to music, and continued by the restructured and renamed group as 'Harden Blades'. In 1959, Hazel de Berg, who interviewed many people within Australia including author May Gibbs and journalist Kenneth Cook, audio-recorded Ogilvie reciting sixteen of his poems. Poems included 'The bushmen', 'From the Gulf', 'The men who blazed the track', 'Opals', 'A leaf from Macquarie', and 'Kelpies'. The preserved recording is held by the National Library of Australia. A portrait of Will is in the collection (#1646) of the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Toowoomba, Queensland. The oil-on-canvas portrait measuring 46 cm high and 35.5 cm wide by Mary Lindsay-Oliver was donated to Bolton by Madge Ogilvie following the death of her husband in July 1963. The associated Bolton Reading Room in the Lionel Lindsay Gallery and Library also holds several of Ogilvie's publications. Transport operator and philanthropist Bill Bolton MBE (1905–1973), an admirer of Australian pioneer values, and who had corresponded with Ogilvie over time, established the gallery and library in 1959. The nearby Cobb & Co Museum, featuring all of Bolton's horse-drawn wagons and stage coaches, also have Ogilvie's treasured stockwhip and other items. A memorial committee was set up Scotland in 1991 to raise funds to promote the name of Ogilvie and his works. The Will H. Ogilvie Memorial Trust had a large programme of events planned for 2019 with the 150th birthday of the poet. On Saturday 20 July 2019 the 'Will H. Ogilvie Way' was opened at the start of the B6352 road south of Kelso, Scottish Borders. The road leads to Holefield Farm, Ogilvie's birthplace. More material on Ogilvie's life and contributions are also contained within the: • Geoffrey Cains Collection of Australian manuscripts (MS 15500), State Library of Victoria, Melbourne. After fifty years of significant private collecting, it was acquired in 2014 by the library; and • John Meredith Papers, National Library of Australia, Canberra. Meredith (1920–2001) wrote the book ''Breaker's mate: Will Ogilvie in Australia'' (1996) exploring, critiquing and providing an interpretation of Ogilvie's work. This also includes the unpublished manuscript 'Scottish jackaroo'. Cairns , Australia. A cairn to the poet was erected in 1993 between the villages of Ashkirk and Roberton in Scotland (GPS ), and there are also memorials to him in Australia. Upon the cairn of reclaimed stone was a bronze sculpture of an open book by Hawick sculptor Bill Landles. Unveiled in August 1993, the bronze was prised from the surface and stolen in August 2016 and still unrecovered by July 2017, feared stolen for scrap metal. The original mould was not retained but a three-dimensional image scan was obtained from the identical cairn in Australia allowing the replacement of a smaller bronze, unveiled on 17 August 2019, albeit in the new setting of Harden (GPS ). • Kelso, Scottish Borders, where the Will H. Ogilvie Stone is opposite Holefield Farm at Lempitlaw, on Friday 19 July 2019; • Longreach, Queensland, at the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame; and • Penola, South Australia, a National Trust roadside cairn adjacent to the old shearers quarters at the former Maaoupe station, unveiled on 8 June 1995. This was on the leftside of Maaoupe Road near the Glenroy-Maaoupe Road intersection, 13.8 km from Penola. At a later date the cairn was moved to the other side of the road beside the CFA shed for visitor safety (GPS ). A bust of Ogilvie by sculptor Judith Rolevink was unveiled on Sunday 2 December 2018, forming part of Poet's Corner in Penola, South Australia, together with Shaw Neilson. Ogilvie is beside his inspirator, Adam Lindsay Gordon. Penola also has a footpath plaque to Ogilvie. ==Bibliography==