Claire Chen

’10 Mary Street’ is a reflective poem by Peter Skrzynecki that revolves around his childhood home. It progresses through the notion of immigrants finding a sense of belonging through place, and developing a new home, as well as detailing the significance of this home in Peter Skrzynecki’s upbringing. Throughout the poem, a sense of inevitable loss of innocence and foreshadowing of the demolishing effects of industrialization is also present.

Skrzynecki and his parents found a sense of belonging in their house on Mary Street. It aided in their assimilation into their new country’s lifestyle, and allowed the rebirth and regeneration of a new livelihood. This is alluded to in the poem through the extensive description of plantation; in the beginning, the enjambment of “My parents watered/Plants” places emphasis on vegetation and cultivation, which symbolizes regrowth and new life. This symbol is extended further with the simile “Tended roses and camellias/Like adopted children”, which allows readers to associate the parents’ nurturing attitudes to that of adoptive parents, hinting at not only their protectiveness towards their homeland and heritage (as ‘roses and camellias’ are typically Northern Hemisphere originated plants), but also their enthusiasm and willingness to ‘adopt’ a new lifestyle. Closer to the end,’10 Mary Street’ portrays the progression of the Skrzynecki family’s journey towards assimilation through the personification “We became citizens of the soil/That was feeding us.” This phrase, wherein the Australian land is given properties of compassion, fertility and generosity, showcases Skrzynecki’s feelings of reverence towards their new country, which has provided them with a livelihood, and conveys their acceptance into the new community.

Despite not being an upscale house in an exemplary area, Skrzynecki reveals the significance of his home on 10 Mary Street. It holds the cherished childhood memories that has shaped the poet, so much so that Skrzynecki cannot fathom his upbringing occurring in a different house, as the home on 10 Mary Street has grown to be intrinsically part of his identity. The cyclical nature of this poem reinforces this concept: “For nineteen years” begins the poem and resurfaces in the fourth stanza. This repeated phrase is always followed by memories of his childhood – the significance of the first stanza is the contrast between the simile “shut the house/ Like a well-oiled lock” and “rusty bucket”, “too-narrow bridge” and “the factory that was always burning down.” The disparity between the efficiency of an “oiled lock” and the run-down nature of his neighbourhood reinforces the value the house has to its inhabitants despite its surroundings, almost as if Skrzynecki’s house is not prone to the rusting occurring around it. The memories associated in stanza four raises the idea of cultural retention in the face of immigration: “Kept pre-war Europe alive/ with photographs and letters.” This delineates that traditions of his homeland have been transferred into Skrzynecki’s new home, bringing with it an irreplaceable significance that is forever linked to his home on Mary Street.

Industrialisation and its effects on demolishment are foreshadowed throughout the poem. The cyclical appearance of the poem can be noticed through the complete framing of the ‘key’ motif in the beginning, and at the very end. “Hid the key/Under a rusty bucket” seems to be mundane in meaning, but when paired with the ending words of “Inheritors of a key/ That’ll open no house/ When this one is pulled down”, we are able to discern the nostalgic and reverent feelings the poet has towards this home as he compares his old memories to the future, after his cherished childhood home is abolished. No time to finish 3rd para oops

‘10 Mary Street’ composed by Peter Skrzynecki poses the notions that place and home can instill a sense of belonging and aid in integration. Memories created in homes are irreplaceable, exemplified through Skrzynecki’s portrayal of his childhood home on the verge of demolishment.