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John Shaw Neilson (1872-1942) was an Australian poet whose work was notable for its originality, spiritual questioning, and emphasis on nature.
Early Religious Conflicts
John Shaw Neilson was born in Penola, Australia, in 1872, to an impoverished bush family. He was the first child of seven, and his family called him Jock. Because he had a speech impediment, his family kept him out of school, but he received some education at home. His father, a farmer, and his uncle wrote poetry and encouraged him to read and write. Neilson read the work of English Romantic authors, as well as some of the Victorians and was familiar with songs from England, Ireland, Scotland, and America, as well as the ballads of the Australian bush.
Because he did not go to school, Neilson had plenty of time to experience the freedom and beauty of the Australian bush country. In Jock: A Life Story of John Shaw Neilson, Cliff Hanna wrote that Neilson spent his days wandering through the landscape around Penola, taking in "the green pastures, trees, swamps, animals and birds [that were] his schoolmates."
However, Neilson's enjoyment of nature was blunted by his family's strict religious beliefs.
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