Who was Banjo Paterson?
Banjo Paterson was an Australian poet and journalist, born in 1864, who wrote the words of Waltzing Matilda and famous bush ballads such as The Man from Snowy River and Clancy of the Overflow.
Andrew Barton Paterson grew up in rural New South Wales and became a solicitor in Sydney. He wrote under the pen name The Banjo, taken from a racehorse his family owned, and his poems appeared in The Bulletin magazine.
His collection The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, published in 1895, was a huge bestseller, and his poems celebrated the bush, horses, drovers and the outback.
Waltzing Matilda
Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895 while staying at Dagworth Station in Queensland. It tells of a swagman who steals a sheep and drowns himself in a billabong rather than be captured. Set to music by Christina Macpherson, it became Australia's unofficial national song.
Paterson also worked as a war correspondent in the Boer War and served in the First World War. He had a friendly rivalry with Henry Lawson, debating in verse whether bush life was romantic or harsh.
His portrait appears on the Australian ten-dollar note. He died in 1941, and his poems are still recited and taught in schools.
Did You Know?
The Man from Snowy River was adapted into a popular 1982 film starring Tom Burlinson.