Waltzing Matilda Lyrics- Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson
Australian National Song Written at Dagworth Station, Winton, QLD
Feb 4, 2009
The much-loved Australian song ‘Waltzing Matilda’ (or ‘Waltzing Mathilda’ as it is often mistakenly spelled) was written in 1895 by ‘Banjo’ Paterson, while a house guest at Dagworth Station (large sheep farm). He very likely based the verse on events arising from an armed battle with shearers at Dagworth Station some 14 weeks earlier.
A Potted Biography of ‘Banjo’ Patterson
Andrew Barton Paterson (1864-1941), as the Australian Dictionary of Biography states succinctly, was a poet, solicitor, journalist, war correspondent and soldier. He was born on 17 February 1864 near Orange, New South Wales, moved to Sydney aged 10, and became a solicitor (lawyer) at 22.
He was first published in the Bulletin newspaper in February 1885, and took the penname of ‘The Banjo’, naming himself after, of all things, a family-owned racehorse. He became a great favourite with Australian readers, especially on the production of his epic poem ‘The Man from Snowy River’.
Paterson’s War Service
As a writer, Paterson was by no means divorced from the real world. He was appointed as war correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald in the South Africa War and was in the thick of the fighting. He attracted the attention of Reuters and was proud to be employed by them.
Not much later, he enlisted in the First World War, rapidly gained the rank of Captain and was later promoted to Major. Nevertheless, as this article is specifically about the composition of Australia’s great national song, it is now necessary to wind the clock back some twenty years before the Great War.
The Origin of Waltzing Matilda
The Matilda Centre in the North Queensland town of Winton writes proudly of Winton’s involvement in the saga. The centre records that, in 1895, ‘Banjo’ Paterson and his fiancée Sarah Riley visited friends, the MacPhersons’s, who owned Dagworth Station.
Paterson, aged 31, a city boy with an amazing talent for capturing the bush ethos and with an avid audience for his work, was intrigued by the different circumstances in the Queensland bush, and was regaled by Bob MacPherson with wild stories of the recent shearers’ strike, which had led to bad blood between squatters (wealthy landholders) and itinerant shearers.
Historian, Dr Ross Fitzgerald states that Patterson was on the very spot “14 weeks after an armed battle at Dagworth woolshed in September 1894.” In what Fitzgerald calls the 'Battle of Dagworth', 140 lambs were burnt to death when the shearing shed was fired by striking shearers; there had been a gun battle between owners and shearers.
One of the strikers, Samuel 'French' Hoffmeister died, supposedly by committing suicide, beside a billabong near Dagworth Station. What Paterson’s reporter instincts made of this is unknown – the squatters in question were, after all, his hosts.
MacPherson told ‘Banjo’ another tale of a squatter and troopers tracking a swagman who had just killed a sheep. On discovery, the man had jumped into the water, in an attempt to swim away, but had been pulled down by his heavy clothes and boots and had drowned.
Writing the Lyrics for Waltzing Matilda
This was rich fare for a creative mind, especially when Paterson picked up the local slang – Waltzing Matilda’ for carrying a swag of belongings, and ‘leading a waterbag’ for carrying a water container on the end of a stick over the shoulder (as if leading a horse on a rein). Paterson ‘s use of the local idiom has mystified many listeners. Suite101 has an explanation of the Australian slang terms used.
In the usual creative burst of home-grown bush entertainment, Paterson put some lyrics to a tune, Craigielee, that Christina MacPherson had performed for the group of friends, and Waltzing Matilda was born. It was first publicly performed at the North Gregory Hotel on 6 April 1895. An audio Waltzing Matilda download of the original words and melody may be obtained from the National Library website.
It is tempting to believe that Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda as an ironic socialist comment on the harsh treatment metered out to itinerant workers. However, his original words do not have the defiant sting heard in today’s popular version. That corruption of the original is the result of a marketing ploy by Inglis Teas – but that’s another story.
Historians Peter and Shiela Forrest suggest Paterson was more likely flirting with Christina MacPherson by combining musical forces. Strangely, Paterson became a squatter himself later in life when he bought Coodra Vale, a 40,000 acre station near Wee Jasper in southern New South Wales.
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