The Anzac Legacy of C J Dennis

‘I picked it up as an attractive and unusual opportunity, but read it cover to cover, smiling and laughing at CJ Dennis’ humour and insight, and from time to time, slowing down to absorb the pathos and sadness that is part of the Anzac legacy.’ — General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC

150 years on, the voice that captured a generation returns to tell the Anzac story in full.

In 2026, the 150th anniversary of C J Dennis marks a major moment of rediscovery. Australia’s most popular poet, Dennis sold over 700,000 books and published more than 4,000 poems, creating enduring characters such as The Sentimental Bloke, Doreen and Ginger Mick, giving voice to Australians shaped by war and its aftermath.

Less widely recognised is his role in shaping Australia’s culture of remembrance.

He wrote of the war in The Moods of Ginger Mick, of its aftermath in Digger Smith, and from 1922 to 1938 marked Anzac Day and Armistice Day each year in the Melbourne Herald, recording how the Anzac story was remembered as the men of the AIF aged and a new generation inherited their story.

This is the first collection to bring together his Anzac poetry from 1908 to 1938, including classic verse alongside 44 Anzac Day and Armistice Day poems never before collected in one volume, these works have not been republished since their original appearance in the Melbourne Herald.

Presented chronologically, the collection offers a rare record of how the Anzac legacy evolved from the immediacy of war to a broader sense of Australian identity. It captures the spirit and sacrifice of those who served, and the passing of their story into national memory.

Featuring a foreword by General Sir Peter Cosgrove, The Anzac Legacy of C J Dennis affirms Dennis as a defining voice in Australia’s Anzac story.

‘A powerful and deeply human record of the Anzac story, captured as it was lived and remembered.’

‘Across three decades, Dennis recorded not just a war, but how a nation came to remember it.’

About the Author

C J Dennis (1876-1938), Australia's 'Laureate of the Larrikin', was the nation's most popular poet of his time. He created enduring characters such as The Sentimental Bloke, Doreen and Ginger Mick, and sold more than 700,000 books while publishing over 4,000 poems.

Beyond his celebrated vernacular verse, Dennis played an important role in shaping Australia's culture of remembrance after the Great War. He wrote of the conflict in The Moods of Ginger Mick, of its aftermath in Digger Smith, and from 1922 to 1938 contributed annually to the Melbourne Herald with poems marking Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

These works, written as the men of the AIF aged and a new generation inherited their story, form a significant and long-overlooked part of Australia's Anzac tradition.