A Banjo Paterson Collection sample

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A Banjo Paterson Collection

Narrated by Denis Daly

Andrew Barton 'Banjo" Paterson (1864 - 1941) may be considered the unofficial poet laureate of Australia. After training as a solicitor he began contributing verse to the Sydney "Bulletin" under the pseudonym of "The Banjo", taken from the name of a horse. His first collection, "The Man from Snowy River", was published in 1895. Two further collections followed: Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses in 1902 and Saltbush Bill, JP. and Other Verses in 1917.

Paterson's verse reflects the times in which it was written. His Australia was one which "rode on the sheep's back," with vast stock stations, populated by rugged drovers, hard-living shearers, and unsympathetic and unscrupulous squatters (owners of rural properties). He frequently draws a rather idealized contrast between the winsome freedom of the wanderer in the bush and the harassed city dweller, chained to unwilling service at a desk in an office. The subjects of many of his poems are related to horses and horse racing, in both of which the poet had a lifelong interest.