Bernard Patrick O'Dowd (1866-1953) began his working life as a teacher in Ballarat. There, a journalist introduced him to the work of Walt Whitman and encouraged him to submit some of his verse to a local newspaper. O'Dowd completed an arts degree at Melbourne University and then worked for the Victorian public service, all the while developing an interest in literary and political clubs and associations. His first book of verse, Dawnward? was published in 1903; it would be followed by several others. His best known poem, 'The Bush', was published in 1912. A 'public poet', frequently delivering lectures and readings and composing verse for public occasions, he was also involved in a number of radical and alternative organisations including the Theosophical Society and the Victorian Socialist Party, and assisted with the editing of left-wing newsletters including The Socialist. He died in Melbourne, survived by his estranged first wife, Evangeline, and their five sons.
