The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke

==Notes==

==Notes==

Dennis stated that his Sentimental Bloke character was inspired by a [[larrikin]] horse trainer he had briefly known in 1909. In 2025, independent researcher Gary Fearon identified the likely real-life model for the character as William Edward Mitchell, a horse trainer who enlisted in the [[First Australian Imperial Force|AIF]] soon after the outbreak of [[World War I]] and was killed in action in 1917.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fearon |first1=Gary |last2=Butterss |first2=Philip |date=June 2025 |title=The original sentimental bloke |url= |journal=[[Victorian Historical Journal]] |volume=96 |issue=1 |publisher=[[Royal Historical Society of Victoria]] |pages=191–211 |doi= |access-date=}}</ref>

Dennis stated that his Sentimental Bloke character was inspired by a [[larrikin]] horse trainer he had briefly known in 1909. In 2025, independent researcher Gary Fearon identified the likely real-life model for the character as William Edward Mitchell, a horse trainer who enlisted in the [[First Australian Imperial Force|AIF]] soon after the outbreak of [[World War I]] and was killed in action in 1917.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fearon |first1=Gary |last2=Butterss |first2=Philip |date=June 2025 |title=The original sentimental bloke |url=https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/the-original-sentimental-bloke/ |journal=[[Victorian Historical Journal]] |volume=96 |issue=1 |publisher=[[Royal Historical Society of Victoria]] |pages=191–211 |doi= |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Daley |first=Paul |date=29 May 2025 |title=The not-so sentimental bloke: who was the man behind CJ Dennis’s beloved Australian character? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/29/cj-dennis-who-was-the-sentimental-bloke-bill |work=[[Guardian Australia|The Guardian]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

The book is dedicated "To Mr and Mrs J.G. Roberts". John Garibaldi Roberts was a book-loving public servant working with the Melbourne Tramways Company when he was introduced to C. J. Dennis by [[R. H. Croll]] in 1906. He was later to provide much material and emotional support to Dennis during the writing of this work.<ref>{{cite book |last=Butterss |first=Philip |author-link= |date=2014 |title=An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of C. J. Dennis |url= |location= |publisher=Wakefield Press |pages=49–51 |isbn=9781743052877}}</ref> Dennis later took to calling them "Dad" and "Mum".<ref>{{cite book |last=Butterss |first=Philip |author-link= |date=2014 |title=An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of C. J. Dennis |url= |location= |publisher=Wakefield Press |page=53 |isbn=9781743052877}}</ref>

The book is dedicated "To Mr and Mrs J.G. Roberts". John Garibaldi Roberts was a book-loving public servant working with the Melbourne Tramways Company when he was introduced to C. J. Dennis by [[R. H. Croll]] in 1906. He was later to provide much material and emotional support to Dennis during the writing of this work.<ref>{{cite book |last=Butterss |first=Philip |author-link= |date=2014 |title=An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of C. J. Dennis |url= |location= |publisher=Wakefield Press |pages=49–51 |isbn=9781743052877}}</ref> Dennis later took to calling them "Dad" and "Mum".<ref>{{cite book |last=Butterss |first=Philip |author-link= |date=2014 |title=An Unsentimental Bloke: The Life and Work of C. J. Dennis |url= |location= |publisher=Wakefield Press |page=53 |isbn=9781743052877}}</ref>