A CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF EDWIN JAMES BRADY - Mallacoota ...

There is too, a supernatural element about the sea, as all sailors know. It may be the
witch wife weaving the white wool of the fog, drifting it over the sea to ensnare the
poor mariner, or the reward given for kindness expressed, which enables a sailor to
touch the eyes of a Finnish shipmate “where the death-films spread” and behold the
whole scope of human endeavour on the sea, from the first “fire-scooped bole”
through triremes, beaked Punic barges, “mat-sailed junks” up to the latest battleship. 1
Or it may be evidenced through the ghosts which guard the buried treasure of old
pirates, ghosts which make seamen unwilling to approach certain areas, such as
Coffin Key. 2 At times this supernatural element merges naturally into the historical
perspective which the sea provides. “A Ballad of the Flag”, “The Seven Sisters”,
“Sea Thought” and “The Beach” all convey this historical sense against which
modern problems and events shrink into more manageable proportions. This is more
than a mere reminiscence of past glories but is a characteristic mental attitude
engendered by the very nature of the sea, by its power and infinitude.
So important is the sea to man, that he has no choice but to come to terms with it. His
relationship may be an impartial one, purely passive, hostile or amorous, but it must
be achieved in some form and in some measure. There is a need for incessant
watchfulness as “Wardens of the Seas” makes plain, but it is doubtful if the
relationship can ever be really secure, as “Crossing In” points out. Even the bravest
and most knowledgeable captain must be ever mindful of the wreck of those who
have gone before:
Brave little man! He earns right well
His children’s food and clothes –
For God, He makes bar-harbours, and
‘Tis only God who knows. 3
Neither is it the active seaman alone who establishes this relationship with the sea.
The old grey-beard dreaming on the shores of Twofold Bay sees again the dark hulls
of “greasy whalers” and watches the west winds drive “Like drunken shepherds, their
helpless herded flocks / Of white-capped waves in anger on hungry shoreward
rocks”. 4 Likewise the grizzled skipper in his villa on the shores of Sydney Harbour
gets his vicarious pleasure from visualising the far ports from which incoming ships
arrive and even the habitual drunkard is sobered at the thought of his return to his
mistress, the sea.
Above all, the sea offers a challenge to man, a challenge taken up in full measure by
the Swede from the Gippsland lakes, proud of his indomitable tradition (“Three waves
will drown a Dago, but / Three hundred leave a Swede”). 5 He took pride in accepting
the fury of the sea and he won through by sheer courage, for courage and love are the
only forces which can conquer the sea, as the story of Fletcher’s love also makes
clear. 6
Through all these verses about the sea and seamen, stevedores and ships, there appear
the traditional rhythms and chanties of the sea with their characteristic refrains and
working choruses. “Where have you been all the day, Billy Boy?” is answered in
variations of the original theme, reflecting the common hardships and evocative of the
vitality and gusto of the men themselves:
1 “The Ways of Many Waters”.
2 “Coffin Key, The Bulletin, 12.3.1925.
3 “Crossing In” Wardens of the Seas
4 “Twofold Bay”, Wardens of the Seas.
5 “The Swede”, The Bulletin, 27.4.1922
6 “The Cutter, ‘Wongrabelle’”, The House of the Winds.
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