For more information on Banjo Paterson, please go to our 90 minute documentary of the History of Waltzing Matilda which is included in our Documentaries and Video Footage Topic area.
Listed below are the 17 different Banjo Paterson poems. Clicking on any link will take you directly to that poem.
BANJO PATERSON LIST OF POEMS
A Bush Christening
An Answer to Various Bards
Been There Before
Black Swans (Paterson Poem)
Clancy of the Overflow
Come-by-Chance
Hay and Hell and Booligal
In Defence of the Bush
It's Grand
Mulga Bill's Bicycle
Song of the Artesian Water
The City of Dreadful Thirst
The Geebung Polo Club
The Man from Ironbark
The Man from Snowy River
The Old Australian Ways
The Road to Hogan's Gap
Back to BANJO PATERSON LIST OF POEMS
A Bush Christening
On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,
And men of religion are scanty,
On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost,
One Michael Magee had a shanty.
Now this Mike was the dad of a ten year old lad,
Plump, healthy, and stoutly conditioned;
He was strong as the best, but poor Mike had no rest
For the youngster had never been christened.
And his wife used to cry, 'If the darlin' should die
Saint Peter would not recognise him.'
But by luck he survived till a preacher arrived,
Who agreed straightaway to baptise him.
Now the artful young rogue, while they held their collogue,
With his ear to the keyhole was listenin',
And he muttered in fright, while his features turned white,
'What the divil and all is this christenin'?'
He was none of your dolts, he had seen them brand colts,
And it seemed to his small