Romanticism, aboriginality and national identity: The poetry and prose of Mary Gilmore

Abstract

This article examines the role of Aborigines in Mary Gilmore's development of an Australian national identity based on the interrelations between natural environment, prominent historical figures, pre‐industrial narratives and motifs associated with the settler frontier, Anzac and a distinctive literature and art. She romanticised the early settlers and held ideas inspired by Christianity. Gilmore called for the appropriation of Aboriginal culture because of its unique qualities. This was an urgent task because Aboriginal culture, like the Aboriginal people, was doomed to disappear.