Anything That Burns You

by Terese Svoboda

  p. 14 Fifteen years by 1880: “List of Government Immigrants.” Press [Canterbury, NZ] 5 Apr. 1862. See also Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906, and The Seaview Asylum Casebook, 1886-1906, Hokitika Museum. (The Seaview Asylum, in Hokitika, was the name of the mental institution in which McFarlane died.)

  p. 14 “He impersonated Macbeth”: Ridge, Diary, 2 May 1940.

  p. 15 Proud Irish family: Ridge, Guggenheim application. 1935.

  p. 15 “Like a touch on my heart”: Ridge, Diary, 2 May 1940.

  p. 15 “Waters trebling”: ibid.

  p. 15 “Staring at the log fire”: ibid.

  p. 15 “Making her [own] sweeten”: ibid.

  p. 16 “The whistling water”: ibid.

  p. 16 “Stepfather’s gaze” ibid.

  p. 16 “I did not answer” ibid.

  p. 16 Harness poetic power: I am indebted to Simon Turkel for this insight.

  p. 16 “I am a poet”: Ridge, Diary, 2 May 1940.

  Chapter 2 — Ambition in New Zealand

  p. 17 Education at St. Joseph’s: Sproat to Engles, 1977. St. Joseph’s was the only parochial school in Kanieri at the time. Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906.

  p. 17 “In a convent school”: Ridge to Content, 18 June 1935.

  p. 17 “Tone is much superior”: Sisters of Mercy 1978, 25.

  p. 17 Schoolwork on slates: Ridge to Content, n.d.

  p. 17 “Could not cook a mutton chop”: Sisters of Mercy 1978, 27–28.

  p. 18 “The rich and the poor”: New Zealand Parliament.

  p. 18 “Partially civilized”: “Richard Seddon becomes Premier” 2012.

  p. 18 “London and the Digging”: May 1967, 296.

  p. 18 “Australasian colonies as examples”: Coleman 1987, xi.

  p. 18 “Seddon did not support women’s suffrage”: “Seddon, Richard John” in McLintock 1966.

  p. 18 Afraid of women for Prohibition: “Votes for Women.” elections.org.nz.

  p. 19 “Hit the end wall with a thud”: “Women’s Suffrage Petition.” Archives New Zealand, 2013.

  p. 19 “The issue passed”: “New Zealand Women and the Vote” 2013.

  p. 19 First National Council of Women: “Wilhemina Bain” 2014.

  p. 19 Demands of the council: “Women and the Vote” 2014.

  p. 19 “On Zealanda”: Ridge 1892.

  p. 19 Newspapers carried poems: Harvey 2003.

  p. 20 “Dawning of national pride”: Talbott-Tubbs 1899, 5.

  p. 20 “Who serve an art more great”: McCormick 1940.

  p. 20 “Best Literary and Artistic Talent”: Talbott-Tubbs 1899.

  p. 20 Featuring Ridge’s poems: Ridge 1902.

  p. 20 “Signs of prematurity”: McCormick 1940, 124.

  p. 20 Who stayed late had become despondent: May 1967, 296.

  p. 20 Physical hardships and drink: May 1967, 291. The medical superintendent of the Hokitika hospital claimed that insanity on the goldfields was largely the result of delirium tremens, or alcohol withdrawal. See also Coleborne 2009.

  p. 20 Admitted to Seaview: Seaview Casebook, 221-222.

  p. 20 “Shrewd blue glance”: Ridge, Diary, 2 May 1940.

  p. 20-21 “The Insane”: Ridge Jan. 1906.

  p. 21 Good food, rest, recreation: Brunton 2012.

  p. 21 “Never failing supply of ozone”: “Visit to the Seaview Asylum.” West Coast Times 6 Apr. 1905.

  p. 21 Chess, billiards, music: ibid.

  p. 21 Janet Frame: janetframe.org.nz/biography.

  p. 21 Still contemplating suicide: “Seaview.” Grey River Argus 15 Feb. 1895, 2.

  p. 21 Ridge married Webster: New Zealand BDM, “Marriages in the District of Hokitika,” 1895.

  p. 21 Occupation “painter”: ibid.

  p. 21 Webster’s photo, “record plain facts”: Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906, 26–27.

  p. 21 Same goldfield as Ridge’s stepfather: “Rimu District Miners Prospecting Association.” West Coast Times 7 July 1893.

  p. 21 A share of a mine and a nearby pub: Alison Clarke, correspondence with M. Leggott, Apr. 2006.

  p. 21 “Precious rubies”: Bell 1906, 77.

  p. 21 Largest chunk of gold: “NZ’s Heaviest Ever Gold Nugget” 2014.

  p. 22 No longer a tent town: Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906.

  p. 22 Yellow birds: May 1967, 152.

  p. 22 Wollstonecraft in Hokitika: Susan Asplin, personal communication. 18 Aug. 2013.

  p. 23 “On a fork of grassed earth”: Ridge 1920, 47.

  p. 23 Photo of Webster’s claim: Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1906, 27.

  p. 23 “Strong enough to kill a person”: Walrond 2012.

  p. 23 Desolate tree stumps: ibid.

  p. 23 Visitors in their Victoriana: Untitled photograph #1451, Hokitika Museum Photography Collection, Hokitika.

  p. 23 Wettest places on earth: National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) 2011.

  p. 24 Paul Webster born: New Zealand BDM, 1896.

  p. 24 Paul Webster dead: ibid.

  p. 24 Dead children poetry: Gubar 2005.

  p. 24 “The Magic Island” and “The Three Little Children”: Ridge 1905.

  p. 24 “The Returned Hero”: The Bulletin 30 June 1904, 36.

  p. 24 Regular horse races: “Hokitika Easter Races.” West Coast Times 27 Apr. 1878, 2. See also Mincham 2008, 79.

  p. 24 Psychological effects of high infant mortality: Engholm 2014.

  p. 25 Hyde’s attempted suicide: M. Leggott, personal communication. 3 Sept. 2014.

  p. 25 Price of gold fell: Nathan 2012.

  p. 25 Kanieri Forks entertainments: West Coast Times 21 Aug. 1885, 2; 5 Nov. 1898, 2.

  p. 25 “I’ve Written to Brown”: Williams 1867.

  p. 25 Remembered as an actress: Alison Clarke, unpublished notes. 2006.

  p. 25 “We sma’ hoors”: West Coast Times 18 Apr. 1898, 2.

  p. 25 Keith Webster born: New Zealand BDM, 1900.

  p. 25 Ridge’s mother: According to the record of Emma McFarlane’s 1907 death in the New South Wales BDM, “The deceased lady formerly resided at Kaniri Forks for many years.”

  p. 26 “At Sundown”: Ridge Sept. 1903.

  Chapter 3 — “The Smoking Fuse”

  p. 27 “Plowed a lonely furrow”: “MacKay, Jessie” in Robinson 1998.

  p. 27 “Thin, grey, fragile woman” and the nationalist movement: “MacKay, Jessie” in McLintock 1966.

  p. 27 “The weaker side”: Cowan 1937.

  p. 27 “The editor”: “MacKay, Jessie” in Roberts 1993.

  p. 27 Otago Witness: paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.

  p. 27 Never married, little fame, “under-recognised”: Roberts 1993.

  p. 27 “Everyone had been blind before”: Cresswell 1948.

  p. 28 She called off a marriage: Whiteford 2005.

  p. 28 “Big, black Essex motor car”: “Bethell, Mary Ursula” in Orange 1998.

  p. 28 “Religious certainty and everyday experience”: ibid.

  p. 28 Evelyn Hayes: Charman 1998.

  p. 28 As in exile: Whiteford 2008.

  p. 28 “Dodged to and fro”: Bethell 2005, xxii.

  p. 28 Inspired The Piano: Radner et al. 2009, 284.

  p. 28 Moved twenty-nine times: “Mander, Jane” in Robinson 1998.

  p. 28 “Brain-benumbing…” “Mander, Mary Jane” in Orange 1998.

  p. 28 “Pupil-teacher”: Robinson 1998.

  p. 28 Newspaper work: “Mander, Mary Jane” in McLintock 1966.

  p. 28 Future Premier, travel to America, fell ill: ibid.

  p. 28 Women forbade their daughters, Mander persisted: Robinson 1998.

  p. 29 Noted among the literati: “Sheriff Ends Julia’s Bookshop in Village.” New York Evening Post 8 Aug. 1925.

  p. 29 Return and death: Orange 1998.

  p. 29 “Too enthusiastic”: McLintock 1966.

  p. 29 “Philistia itself”: McCormick 1940, 134.

  p. 29 “But at eighteen…”: Cather 1988/1936.

&nbs
p; p. 29 “Leap into the eyes”: Mansfield 1954/1916, 65.

  p. 29 “Katherine the Great”: “Mansfield, Katherine” in Robinson 1998.

  p. 29 Never returned: “Death of Katherine Mansfield” (2014).

  p. 29 Turned to mystic, dung: Fromm 1988. The breath of oxen was a traditional cure for consumption. See J.D. Rolleston’s “The Folklore of Pulmonary Tuberculosis,” Tubercle 1941, 55.

  p. 29 “A Bush Track, Kanieri River”: artvalue.com.

  p. 29 Joseph Wharton Hughes: Platts 1980.

  p. 30 Butler: “Butler, Margaret Mary” in Orange 1998.

  p. 30 Gave up sculpting: “Margaret Butler” 2014.

  p. 30 Edith Bendall: Laurie 2003.

  p. 30 Return to Europe 1901: “Hodgkins, Frances Mary” in Orange 1993.

  p. 30 One of England’s leading artists: ibid.

  p. 30 Teichelmann: McKerrow 2006.

  p. 30 “A sense of intimacy”: McKerrow 2007.

  p. 30 Moved to Hokitika: ibid.

  p. 30 MacFarlane’s position as an educator: “Westland Board of Education.” West Coast Times. 13 Feb. 1890, 2.

  p. 30 Witnesses at her wedding: New Zealand BDM, 1895.

  p. 30 Monroe would publish Ridge: Curdy 2013.

  p. 31 “A Farewell”: Monroe 1899.

  p. 31 Other signers: Grey River Argus 12 Nov. 1901, 27 Feb. 1902, and 29 Jan. 1903. Also The New Zealand Tablet 2 Oct. 1902.

  p. 31 “The Trial of Ruth”: Ridge May 1903.

  p. 32 Left for Sydney: Leggott 2006.

  p. 32 Husband’s reluctant consent: Sproat to Engles, 1977.

  p. 32 Husband’s company touted: West Coast Times 6 Apr. 1901: 2.

  p. 32 Boarded ship: New South Wales. Shipping Master’s Office. Passenger Arrivals for the S.S. Mokoia. Ref X286. Microfilm no. 2015.

  Chapter 4 — The Arts in Australia

  p. 33 “Australian by sympathy & association”: Rose Webster [Lola Ridge] to A.G. Stephens. 27 Jan. 1904.

  p. 33 “One of the largest cities”: “Sydney’s History” 2014.

  p. 33 Electric trams on wooden streets: Lambert, n. d..

  p. 33 Her Majesty’s theater reopened: Richards, n. d..

  p. 33 “Masterpiece of Cyclonic Art”: “Battle of Gettysburg.” Hawkesbury Herald 31 Oct. 1902, trove.nla.gov.au.

  p. 33 Movies and operas playing: Sydney Morning Herald 11 Nov. 1903: 2.

  p. 33 “No better teacher in Paris”: “History,” julianashtonartschool.com.au.

  p. 33 Ned Kelly Day: Leggott 2006, with thanks to Michele Leggott for calling this coincidence to my attention.

  p. 33 “Jerilderie Letter”: A transcript of the letter is available via nma.gov.au.

  p. 33 One heist dressed as cops: “Ned Kelly Timeline” 2011.

  p. 33 “Articulated a struggle between rich and poor”: qtd. in Pettersson 2012.

  p. 34 Omitting her married name: Schnalle 2013 and Rose Webster [Lola Ridge] to A.G. Stephens. 27 Jan. 1904.

  p. 34 Ridge’s prior names: Leggott 2006 and the unpublished notes of Alison Clarke.

  p. 34 Christened Rose Emily Ridge: Irishgenealogy.ie.

  p. 34 Stone against coverture: DuBois 1998, 88.

  p. 34 A generation of name-shifters: Crosby: Hamalian 37; Willela: Gilbert and Gubar, 241; H.D. and Bryher: Gilbert and Gubar 242; and Loy: Kouidis, 132.

  p. 34 Trinity still examines music candidates in Australia: trinitycollege.com.

  p. 35 Passed four exams: Ridge to Louise Adams Floyd, 21 Jan. 1930.

  p. 35 Lived at 193 West St.: Sproat 1978.

  p. 35 Bullock teams, most houses only two years old: North Shore Historical Society pamphlet.

  p. 35 “In New Zealand there is no Bohemia”: Morton, Frank, Triad Oct. 1908. 121.

  p. 35 “A writer or artist should be a bohemian”: Moore 2012, 194

  p. 35 Under the influence of Ashton and Stephens: Ridge (using the name Rose Webster) gave “North Sydney” as her address in her 27 Jan. 1904 letter to A.G. Stephens, the center of bohemian Australia.

  p. 35 Queen Victoria’s son: Moore 2012.

  p. 35 Ashton the chairman: Moore 2012 and julianashtonartschool.com.au.

  p. 35 Plein air techniques: “The Founding of the Sydney Art School,” julianashtonartschool.com.au.

  p. 35 White-haired Ashton: julianashtonartschool.com.au, under the heading “Julian Ashton and students Bradleys Head Mosman 1895.”

  p. 35 Son of an American, grandson of a count: “Ashton, Julian Rossi” in Nairn 1979.

  p. 35 St. Bernard: ibid.

  p. 35 “The artist must be content…”: Astbury 1987.

  p. 35 “Women artists…” qtd. in W. Moore “Art andArtists.” Brisbane Courier 21 May 1927: 23.

  p. 35 Penchant for live models: “The Founding,” julianashtonartschool.com.au.

  p. 35 With male model in briefs: http://quantumjoss.tumblr.com/post/26596704714.

  p. 36 Female models: King 1907, referenced in Moore 1927. The photograph is available electronically via dictionaryofsydney.org, under the heading “A smorgasbord of delights.”

  p. 36 “Her flesh glistening”: Taylor 1918.

  p. 36 Beseeching nude: Ridge. Autograph book.

  p. 36 She modelled nude: Berke 2010.

  p. 36 Regarding Ridge’s artistic output: Ridge’s executor, Elaine Sproat, revealed in a letter to Michele Leggott (2012) that she found eight drawings from the Australasian period, including a self-portrait, as well as five later works. None of these have been made available for viewing.

  p. 36 All pictures strictly naturalistic: Lola Ridge Papers. “Drawings.”

  p. 36 Ashton denigrated modernism: McQueen 1979, 21.

  p. 36 Winckler: “Ruby Winckler,” Design and Art Australia Online and “Winckler, Ruby,” Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures, State Library of New South Wales Online.

  p. 36 Henry George Julius: “Harry Julius,” Design and Art Australia Online.

  p. 36 Art in Australia: ibid.

  p. 36 “Kings Cross Bohemian and drunk”: White 1941, 20.

  p. 36 Mick Paul: “Paul, Mick,” National Library of Australia, trove.nla.gov.au.

  p. 36 Howard Ashton: “Ashton, Julian Rossi” in Nairn 1979.

  p. 37 “Painted with a strong virility”: Topliss 1996.

  p. 37 Founding member: “Nelle Marion Rodd,” Design and Art Australia Online.

  p. 37 A thousand submissions a week: Moore 2012.

  p. 37 “Ridge’s practice is as good…”: Leggott 2013.

  p. 37 “Rolling stones down the floor”: Phelan 1991, 59-60.

  p. 37 80,000 subscribers: Moore 2012.

  p. 37 It also paid: Schnalle 2013.

  p. 37 “First call on almost every Australasian writer”: Kirkpatrick 1992.

  p. 37 Sometimes between 1902 and 1905: Leggott 2013.

  p. 37 Editor of a series of books: “Stephens, Alfred George” in Ritchie 1990. Stephens would eventually publish 40 volumes.

  p. 37 “Strongest single force”: ibid.

  p. 37 Purple ink with a confident hand: ibid.

  p. 38 Fond of Louise Mack: According to Phelan (1991), “he [Stephens] was mad about her” (89).

  p. 38 “A great deal of Irish charm”: Phelan 1991, 92.

  p. 38 “I hate your stories…”: Mack 1993/1896, 35.

  p. 38 Stephens and Ashton socialized: Kirkpatrick 1992, 46-47.

  p. 38 Attended Mack’s farewell party: Phelan 1991, 101.

  p. 38 “Tame and uninspiring”: Stephens 1900.

  p. 38 She deleted Maoriland: Leggott. 2013.

  p. 38 Two lists of Australian writers: “Autobiographies of 231 Australian and New Zealand Authors and Artists,” housed in the Mitchell Collection at the State Library of New South Wales.

  p. 38 “Lola was too junior”: Leggott 2013, 74.

  p. 38 Lost much of his power: “Stephens, Alfred George” in Ritchie 1990.

  p. 38 A copy was archived at the Mitchell: Guttmann 1971, 158 and Leggott 2013, 8.

  p.
39 A typescript with Penfold…lost again: Leggott 2013, 7, 43, 75.

  p. 39 “Waltzing Matilda”: “National Anthem” 2011.

  p. 39 Bush ballads: “Bush Songs and Music,” australia.gov.au.

  p. 39 Class conflict a common theme: Moore 2007, 210.

  p. 39 Over a hundred magazines established: Moore 2012.

  p. 39 Paul gave up art for politics: “Emily Letitia Paul,” Design and Art Australia Online, 2007.

  p. 40 O’Dowd became an activist: “O’Dowd, Bernard Patrick” in Serle 1988.

  p. 40 “Poetry of purpose”: O’Dowd 1909. An electronic copy of the essay is available via marxists.org.

  p. 40 “Criticised the press, the Church and the State”: “Pitt, Marie Elizabeth Josephine” in Serle 1988.

  p. 40 “Community of marionettes”: Pitt 1911. qtd. in Vickery 2007, 63.

  p. 40 Pitt grew up in the bush: Vickery and Dever 2007.

  p. 40 “Contributed his talents to progressive reform…”: Scates 1997.

  p. 40 “Social art” yields recognition: Moore 2012.

  p. 40 Lawson quarreled with his mother: Vickery 2007, 23.

  p. 40 Brought out his first book of poems: Dalziell 2004, 121, and “Lawson, Louisa” in Nairn 1986.

  p. 40 Eroticism by flower: P. Bennett 2003, 168.

  p. 40 Editors removed stanzas: Leggott 2013, 12.

  p. 40 “Romantic agony”: ibid.

  p. 41 “The small boy Jude”: Ridge to Marshall, 19 Nov. 1937.

  p. 42 Returned to New Zealand, 1905: Leggott 2006.

  p. 42 “Mrs. Peter Webster…”: “Topics of the Day.” West Coast Times 20 Jan. 1905.

  p. 42 Sellers signed her book: Ridge, Autograph book.

  p. 43 Husband threatened to kill her: Bernand-Wehner, correspondence with Michele Leggott, Apr. 2011, and Sproat to Engles, 1977.

  p. 43 Ashton’s wife spoke against marriage: “Ashton, Julian Rossi” in Nairn 1979.

  p. 43 Marriage contract: Magarey 2001, 24.

  p. 43 Mack abandoned her husband for Europe: “Mack, Marie Louise” in Nairn, 1986.

  p. 43 Webster hauled into court, guilty and fined: “Magistrates Court Hokitika,” West Coast Times 3 June 1905: 4.

  p. 43 House auctioned off: “Sale of Residential Property at Kanieri.” West Coast Times 11 May 1905.

  p. 43 Webster died in 1946: Hokitika Guardian 10 June 1946, and New South Wales BDM.

  p. 43 No second wife, one of thirteen siblings: Unpublished notes of A. Clarke.