In his article ‘D . H . Lawrence’s Kangaroo: Fantasy, Fact or Fiction?’ (Meanjin Quarterly, 2/1965), John Alexander seems to have missed an incident, or series of incidents, which may throw light on the politics of the novel. These took place in Sydney a year before Lawrence wrote Kangaroo at Thirroul, about thirty miles south of Sydney. 

On Sunday, 1 May, 1921, a Labor meeting was held at the Sydney Town Hall under Trades Hall auspices. It purported to be a sort of memorial meeting to Percy Brookfield, a popular Labor figure, who had recently died. Some speakers introduced irrelevant abuse of returned soldiers. A counter-demonstration was organised in the Domain on the following Sunday amid great excitement. Newspaper editorials and correspondence kept the controversy alive. On Friday, 6 May, a ‘great patriotic demonstration’ was held in the Town Hall, and the next day the Sydney Morning Herald published long reports. The climax of public clamour occurred on Sunday, 8 May, when a crowd estimated at around 100,000 rioted in the Domain, broke up all meetings and stopped short of violence only because of the presence of a strong police squad.