A. B. Paterson

Collected Prose (Dodo Press) A. B. Paterson

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson (1864-1941) was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas. Paterson's more notable poems include: Waltzing Matilda, and Clancy of the Overflow. In 1885, Paterson began submitting and having his poetry published in the Sydney edition of The Bulletin under the pseudonym of "The Banjo", the name of a favourite horse. He, like The Bulletin, was an ardent nationalist, and in 1889 published a pamphlet, Australia for the Australians which told of his disdain for cheap labour and his admiration of hard work and the nationalist spirit. He also was a journalist, lawyer, jockey, soldier and a farmer. In 1890, The Banjo wrote The Man from Snowy River, a poem which caught the heart of the nation. Paterson's poems mostly presented a highly romantic view of rural Australia. He, like the majority of Australians, was city-based and was a practising lawyer. His work is often compared to the prose of Henry Lawson.