Henry Lawson wrote about the ordinary Australians he grew up with in 'the bush' and later lived among in the city. His work shows great sympathy for those who struggle to survive.Although most of his adult life was spent in the city Lawson is best known for his poems and short stories about the bush. His vivid and realistic descriptions of rural life with its hardships and occasional humour are based on his boyhood in the Mudgee region of central New South Wales and on nine months spent in the drought-stricken 'Outback' around Bourke when he was twenty-five years old.