Born in Australia , Charles Harpur (1813-1866) was the first important Australian poet and wrote the first sonnet sequence ever published in Australia. In addition, The Bushrangers was the first play by a native-born Australian both to be performed and published in book form in Australia.

Called "one of the best" of Australia's early poets by Judith Wright in Authority and Influence: Australian Literary Criticism 1950-2000, Charles Harpur's work has been largely neglected by both Australian literary critics and those outside Australia. As Wright pointed out, most of his work exists only in manuscript form, in many different versions, and no reliable or comprehensive collection of his work has yet been published. However, Wright wrote, "Harpur's claim to be regarded as the first poets of his country is better founded than has yet been allowed, and. . . he is also a better poet than many of those who followed him...