Work on paper - watercolour, John C. Paul, Adam Lindsay Gordon cottage c. 1870, 1973

Historical information

The famous Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833-1870) lodged for seventeen months in this cottage, located at 10 Lewis Street, Brighton. He and his wife Margaret lived here from 1869 until Gordon took his life on the Brighton foreshore in June 1970.
Adam Gordon Lindsay was the first Australian poet to gain considerable recognition overseas and has been credited for beginning a national school of Australian poetry. His poetry reflected his love of the bush, a sense of humour, but also his battle with depression. In addition to being a poet, Lindsay was also a skilled horseman, police officer and politician.
In 1946, the cottage at 10 Lewis Street was demolished. Local poet Mr Cyril Good, an ardent admirer of Adam Lindsay Gordon, purchased the bricks from the cottage which he carefully numbered and stored for a number of decades, in the hope that it would one day be re-erected in Gordon’s honour.

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