Henry Lawson wrote several poems in 1906 about Manly, including ‘The Cliffs’, ‘The Stranded Ship’- about the Vincennes, a barque that went aground at North Steyne - and ‘The Bards Who Lived at Manly’ which illustrates this period of his life. This 19 verse poem is reproduced on this plaque and illustrates that nothing really changes.

And we were glad at Manly, All unaware of “swells”, Of doctors and of nurses, And private hospitals; With little fear of bailiffs, And great contempt for greed — The bards who lived at Manly, They were a healthy breed.

Oh! moonlit nights at Manly, When all the world was fair! In shirts and turned-up trousers We larked like big boys there. Oh! glorious autumn mornings — The gold and green and blue — We “stripped” as well as any, And swam as strongly too.