Bush ballad
Videos
The bush ballad, bush song, or bush poem is a style of poetry and folk music that depicts the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. The typical bush ballad employs a straightforward rhym
Cover of Old Bush Songs (1905), Banjo Paterson's seminal collection of bush ballads.
First page of "The Dying Stockman," a bush ballad published in Banjo Paterson's 1905 collection The Old Bush Songs
Adam Gordon
Henry Lawson
Waltzing Matilda
Videos
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
Bush ballad
…chorus: "Illawarra, Mittagong, Parramatta, Wollongong. If you wish to become an ourang-outang, Then go to the bush of Australia." The lyrics for "Waltzing Matilda", often regarded as Australia's unofficial national anthem, were also composed by Paterson in 1895. This strain of Australian country music, with lyrics…
Original manuscript, transcribed by Christina Macpherson, c. 1895
Combo Waterhole, thought to be the location that inspired the story of "Waltzing Matilda"
Fortified temporary shearing shed at Dagworth Station following the 1894 arson of the main shed. The three troopers at left may be those referred to in "Waltzing Matilda", while the squatter was Bob Macpherson, fourth from right.
Photograph of a swagman, c. 1901, holding a billy and carrying a swag on his back