He was a social reformer whose main political idea was "the single tax", a way of levying an impost on land owned by the rich to help the poor. It was an idea that led, in those pre-income-tax days, to the founding of Henry George Societies around the world (there was one in Sydney in the early 1900s).

That Taylor and Stoughton Cooley were acquainted is indicated on the inside front-cover of The Sequel, where there is an advertisement for another book Taylor had written (Town Planning for Australia). At the foot of this ad was a quote from a review of the book published in Stoughton Cooley's journal, The Public.

"...a valuable book..." it said of Taylor's work.

The "puff" for another of GA Taylor's books, Town Planning for Australia. It was on the frontispiece to The Sequel. Note in particular the "review" of the book at the bottom, and its citation - "The Public" U.S.A. The assistant editor of that journal was Stoughton Cooley.

 

The Cooley clan in America, to which Stoughton Cooley belonged, turned out to be, not Irish, but of Puritan origin. They came over to New England almost with the Pilgrim Fathers. There is, to this day, a very active Cooley Society in America.

There is no direct evidence that Lawrence got the name Cooley from Taylor's association with Stoughton Cooley, but the inference is almost inescapable.

Taylor left Australia on another of his overseas trips the Saturday before Lawrence arrived in Sydney - leaving, no doubt, a journalistic gap on Scott and Rosenthal's King and Empire journal. ("I hope you are going to write something for us, Mr Somers.")

It may be significant when Lawrence first uses the name "Cooley" in Kangaroo. It is at the start of chapter 6, "Kangaroo", when Callcott informs Somers that he has told "Kangaroo" about him.

"Who's Kangaroo?" "He's the First," replied Jack slowly… "What's his name?" "Cooley--Ben--Benjamin Cooley."

 

 

 

This exchange comes after Lawrence's two-day stay at Jack Scott's flat at 112 Wycombe Road on the Thursday and Friday before they went down to Thirroul (where Scott, I believe, told Lawrence about the secret army behind the King and Empire Alliance).

It may have been during that two-day stay at 112 Wycombe Road that Lawrence first came across the name "Cooley", perhaps in a copy of The Sequel which Scott had in his bookshelf, or in conversation with Scott.