An imagined complete large black young retriever with a friendly open mouth and heavy tail.
The illustration selects a quiet, uninjured character study with no dangerous object. Exact coat length, eye colour, body proportions and resting pose are reconstructed; no modern pedigree or real dog portrait is claimed.
Overview
Tommy belongs with the prospectors Dave Regan, Jim Bently and Andy Page, who are working a shaft near Stony Creek. Lawson describes him as a large black young retriever, really an overgrown puppy, with a heavy wagging tail and a broad, red-mouthed, slobbering grin. His retrieving is affectionate but indiscriminate: camp rubbish returns after disposal, and he even tries to bring swimmers back to shore by taking their hands in his mouth. The men love his good nature while recognizing how troublesome his attempts to help can be. When Andy prepares a powerful charge for Dave’s fishing scheme, Tommy watches with interest and later picks up the finished object. Its fuse catches fire as he comes near the campfire, leaving the men to confront a danger that the dog understands only as another opportunity for play.
Their flight encourages him. He follows Andy, then Dave and Jim, delighted by what seems to be a shared frolic. Dave briefly takes and throws the charge away, but Tommy retrieves it again; Jim’s attempts to escape up a sapling and into a hole do not immediately end the pursuit. Tommy follows Dave to the roadside hotel and makes friendly approaches to the people who scatter before him. A hostile yellow dog finally bites him, causing him to drop the charge and run into the bush before it explodes. The explosion kills the yellow dog and scatters others, while Tommy later greets Dave with the same exuberant affection and trots back to camp. Andy secures him and resumes cooking. Tommy’s survival and continuing good humour complete the comic misunderstanding; he is not presented as deliberately rescuing the party or understanding the explosive danger.
First appearances & development
Henry Lawson’s authored English bush fiction in Joe Wilson and His Mates. The retained electronic body has an undated print source; a separate institutional search witness associates the collection with 1901. The directly inaccessible article was not read, and no exact first-edition text is claimed.
Canon & continuity
The complete twenty-seven-paragraph tale establishes Tommy’s description, habitual retrieving, mistaken play, hotel chase, dropped charge and return. The composed account summarizes the event without reproducing the source’s practical construction detail.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
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Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary authored English fiction; exact print edition unidentifiedComplete selected story and retained collection front matterResearch access: 2026-10-18
- Institutional bibliographic search evidence; article not readState Library of NSW search witness only; direct access heldResearch access: 2026-10-18
Image credits
AI-generatedAn imagined complete large black young retriever with a friendly open mouth and heavy tail.
The illustration selects a quiet, uninjured character study with no dangerous object. Exact coat length, eye colour, body proportions and resting pose are reconstructed; no modern pedigree or real dog portrait is claimed.
