Manly culture

Saw this long thing today on the Corso, written in 1906 by an Australian worker that wrote “on the side” and ended up begging in the streets. Yes, culture is an expensive thing to create and maintain for individuals or societies. Anti-intellectualism then and today makes this a long but very contemporary read:
The Bards who Lived at Manly, Henry Lawson

The camp of high-class spielers,
Who sneered in summer dress,
And doo-dah dilettante,
And scornful “venuses”—
House agents, and storekeepers,
All eager they to “bleed”—
The bards who tackled Manly,
Were plucky bards indeed!

With shops that feared to trust them,
And pubs that looked askance;
And prigs who read their verses,
But gave them not a glance;—
When all were vain and selfish,
And editors were hard—
The bard that stuck to Manly
Was sure a mighty bard.

What mattered floors were barren,
And windows curtainless >>>>