R. J. (Bob) Cassidy (1880–1948) was an Australian poet who was born in

Coolac Coolac is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Gundagai Council. At the , Coolac had a population of 244. History The name ''Coolac'' is derived from the local Aboriginal name for a plant which was abundant in th ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Working life

After contributing poems and prose to a number of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

newspapers Cassidy joined the staff of ''

The Australian Worker ''The Australian Worker'' was a newspaper produced in Sydney, New South Wales for the Australian Workers' Union. It was published from 1890 to 1950. History The newspaper had its origin in ''The Hummer'', "Official organ of the Associated Ri ...

'' in 1908. He later left that paper for the '' Barrier Truth'' in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

, before finally returning to ''The Australian Worker'' in 1908. He wrote for the paper under his own name and under that of his major pseudonym, "Gilrooney".The Passing of R. J. Cassidy
''

'' 29 September 1948 page 3 Cassidy was one of the founding members of New South Wales Artists' and Writers' Association, which later joined forces with the

Australian Journalists' Association The Australian Journalists Association (AJA) was an Australian trade union for journalists from 1910–1992. In 1913 the Australian Journalists' Association merged with the Australian Writers' and Artists' Union. This union had been formed in 19 ...

in 1909. Cassidy died on 26 September 1948 at his home in

Bondi Junction Bondi Junction is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Local government in Australia, local governm ...

and was buried in the Catholic section of

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

. His wife died in 1952.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Chandler of Corralinga'' (1912)

Collections

*''The Land of the Starry Cross and Other Verses'' (1911) — poetry * ''The Gypsy Road and Other Fancies'' (1919) — poetry and short stories

References

20th-century Australian writers Australian poets Burials at Waverley Cemetery 1880 births 1948 deaths {{Australia-writer-stub