Recently, some of Roys friends have been studying Banjo Paterson's poetry at school. Banjo Paterson is one of Australia's most famous and most loved poets. He wrote many poems which have become important parts of Australia's folklore, including Waltzing Matilda, which is today almost a National Anthem! Children always seem to enjoy his poetry, yet often know very little about the man who wrote it. Roy thinks this is a shame, and decided it would be the perfect time to show his friends the place where this famous poet was born.
Athough there is not a lot left of the house where Banjo Paterson was born, there is a memorial along the Ophir Road, not far from Orange (NSW) which shows you where the house once stood. You will need to keep an eye out for a fenced area and a white pillar, because it is easy to 'overshoot' the memorial in the car - Roy and I had to turn around and go back ourselves! The obelisk was unveiled in the 'Banjo Paterson Memorial Park' in 1947, with Banjo's widow looking on.
Banjo Paterson was born in 1864, close to where the memorial stands today, at Narrambla Station which belonged to his Great Uncle, Thomas Lord, who owned the Templer Flour Mill which was once in the area the obelisk overlooks. Of course, when he was born he wasn't called Banjo. His parents, Andrew and Rose named him Andrew Barton Paterson, and in his childhood he was actually known as Barty. He grew up in the country, first in the Orange area, and then at Illalong in the Yass district, where his family moved when he was 7. Illalong was on the main road between Sydney and Melbourne at the time and so the poet would have grown up watching Cobb and Co Coaches, horses, people heading for the gold fields, gold escorts and drovers travelling up and down the road. These sights would later be recaptured in his poetry. At first, Banjo was educated at home by a Governess, but when he was able to ride a pony he started attending Binalong Bush School. When he was 10 he was sent to Sydney Grammar School, where he got to know city life. He finished school when he was 16 and tried to get a Scholarship to attend Sydney University but failed. Instead he took the articles of Clerkship with Herbert Salwey and qualified as a Solicitor in 1886.
While he was studying law, Paterson began to write poetry. His first poem, 'El Mahdi to the Australian Troops', was published in the newspaper 'The Bulletin' in 1885. The Bulletin continued to publish his poems for many years. This was the time when he became known as 'Banjo', with his poems being published in The Bulletin under the penname 'The Banjo', a name he had taken from one of the racehorses his family owned. He was a very popular poet with the public, so popular in fact that in 1895 Angus and Robertson published a collection of his poems, 'The Man From Snowy River and Other Verses', taking the name from one of the poems he published in 1890 which had become a great success. It was also in 1895 that he wrote 'Waltzing Matilda' while staying with friends at the Dagworth Station in Queensland. If you would like to learn more about Banjo Paterson, click here.
