O'ER THE TOMB.

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17748, 17 March 1927, Page 3

O'ER THE TOMB.

□ AiSIES, CFSASS, AND IVY. WHERE Ti-iOKAS BRACiCEN LIES. AUTHOR OF ' NOT GNDERSTOODV ( ' ' Even ing Star, Dunedin .) T'lie daisics grow wildly, ihe grass iind weeda spread n over the lovv wall, and ivy mantlcs the abutment. O'er his tomb tlie trophy is raised, but the little plot is uncared fov. Time effaces mauv tlimgs. His liame lives on, but his resting-piscss is iorgotteu. Tiiomas Bracken liec under tlie daisies, grass, and ivy hy the northern hedgerow in the Northern Cemetevy. A ncbfe and proud monument rises above the neighbouiing stones. Or.. the granite tablet theso wordo appear : — Saered tn The Memory of THOMAS BRACKEN, Poet, Journalist, Lcgislaroi . Born in Ireland, 1843. Died at Dunedin 185^. Not Understood i Hcw many breasts are aching For lack of sympathy! AliJ day by day, How many cheerless, lonely hearts are breaking ! How many noble spirits pass away Not Understood i Ohj God i thaS men would se& z, little ciearer, Or judge less harsbly where tli&y car.not see. Oh, GodJ that men would draw a little r.earer To one another, the.y'd be ncnrer 'i'bee, 4 r.d Understood. -.-Tbomas Rracken. Bracken is sleeping alonc whero but f?.w have trod. Though not > Sleeping alone in the wild, wild busli. Where th© wattles stoop, And their ringleta drooo, liis body lies on the hillside overlooking Dnnedin, "the staiely City 'of the Hills, Superb Edina of the South," in which he laboured, a pioneer, foi the j people of th© future, and died a pennii less man in the liospital thirly-nine | years ago this month. Born in Ireland, Thomas Bracken migrated to Yictoria at the age of twelve years, and, after experiencing the ups and downs of colonial life and | the excitement of ihe rush days of the i Bendigo goldfields, he crossed to Otago j several years later. "A lovely maiden j seated in a grotto by the shore" was i'bis description of Dunedin', and his first i impressions remain in his ".Dunedin from tbo Bay" — O never till this breasi grows cold Can I forget that liour, As, standing on the vessel's deck, I* watched the golden shower Of yellow beams that darfced From the sinking king of day, And batlied in a mellow fiocd. Dunedin from the Bay. When the king of day disappears now Dunedin is a glorious diadem upon the breast of night, though' still retaining its "richest crown of purest green that virgin ever wore," for the city prograsses as its pioneers fade away. It was in Dunedin that Bracken made his home, and shortly aft^rwai'ds he ©nfcered iournalism. In the first year or two of its existence he was connectod with a weekly paper,. the "Saturday Advertiser," which he conducted with marked ability, and in which he liad Ihe Hoii. Jolm Bathgate as his financial partner. He was a legislator, too. In I88i he was elected to represent Dunetlin Central in the House of Representatives, but lost his seat at the election of 1884. Three years later he was again returned t'o the House. But as the anthor ot several collections of verse he was . best known. His name spread beyond New Zealand. "This may be said: Thomas^ Bracken need not be ashamed of his efforts. When his poem of our literature n» written his poem will not be /orgotten," wrote Sir Robert Stont in 1898 in a preface to Bracken's / 'Musings in Maoriland,'^ a volume including his poems, which faithfulv expressed th> distinctive character of New Zealand, apd, ag literature, were a' reflex of th© head in which they had their hirth. Of the lahours of Thomas BracKen Sir George Grey made his eulogyv "From the poetry of these first aingers will also be culled put images and descriptions which will long endure_ as household sayings ' and apt similes amongst that new race whose artistic tastes they are helping climate and ■ Nature to create and mahitahi in this country," wrote the Knight of Kawau. "Let us hope, then,, that the fortunate writers who occupy the vantage ground of being the first in this new field so rich in all elements which produce and foster poetry may call into existence a truly national literature, and that they may continue to show themselves capable of fitt'ingly describing the • beauties and wonders which meet us on every side, from the Bluff to the North Cape, with its mystic Reinga. In the meantime, let Mr Bracken be welcomed as one of those pioneer poets of New Zealand who have already established such claims on our gratitude and regard." Several collections of verse were also published by Bracken. They were 'Beyond the Tomb and Other Poems,' 'Pulpit Lectures,' 'Flowers of the Freelands,' 'Paddy Murphy's Budget,' 'The New Zealand Tourist/ and 'Lays of the Land of Maori and Moa.' On February 16, 1898, Thomas Bracken died in the Dunedin Hospital from goitre, a man with many friends, but with nothing to leave his family beyond his name and poetry. People say that "New Zealand's national poet" is buried in ths Papanui Cemetery, Christchurch ; but he lies on the hill .by the trees above the harbour and the city. As you walk through the entrance gates to the Northern Cemetery look straiglit ahead, and, by a solitary palm, a tall monument' of grey, surmounted by a marble' iaurel-wreathed urn. shows you where he lies.