Waltzing Matilda
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"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".
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
Billycan
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A billycan is an Australian term for a lightweight cooking pot in the form of a metal bucket commonly used for boiling water, making tea/coffee or cooking over a campfire or to carry water. It is comm
Waltzing Matilda
…originally been repurposed from a work of light verse by Charles Godfrey Leland. The song narrates the story of a swagman (itinerant worker) boiling a billy at a bush camp and capturing a stray jumbuck (sheep) to eat. When the jumbuck's owner, a squatter (grazier), and three troopers (mounted policemen…
A traditional billycan on a campfire