Andrew banjo Paterson

What he did
Andrew Barton Paterson is possibly Australia's most popular poet, with his compositions including Waltzing Matilda, The Man from Snowy River, Clancy of the Overflow, and The Geebung Polo Club. He used the pseudonym of "The Banjo" for his magazine writings (an alias derived from the name of a racehorse the family owned), and had a deep affection for horses, being a natural horseman, and, not surprisingly, many of his works have a "horse theme". Paterson was caught up in colonial Australia's commitment to the unfortunate Boer War, becoming a war correspondent. Before his death in 1941, he had provided a timeless literary legacy of Australia's unique culture

What are some interesting facts about banjo Patersons childhood or early life?
Barty, as he was known to his family and friends, enjoyed a bush boyhood. When he was 7
the family moved to Illalong in the Yass district. Here, near the main route between Sydney and Melbourne, the exciting traffic of bullock teams, Cobb & Co. coaches, drovers with their mobs of stock, and gold escorts became familiar sights. At picnic race meetings and polo matches, he saw in action accomplished horsemen from the Murrumbidgee and Snowy Mountains country which generated his lifelong enthusiasm for horses and horsemanship and eventually the writing of his famous equestrian ballads. Andrew Barton Paterson was born on the 17th February 1864 at

Narambla, New South Wales. He was the son of a Scottish immigrant from Lanarkshire, who had arrived in Australia in the early 1850s.

Why did banjo Paterson take this path in his life?

Paterson let a very interesting life. His interests included being a crocodile
hunter, pearl diver, and amateur sportsman. His interests in politics led him to leave his law studies and become a war correspondent where he covered the Boer War and the Chinese Boxer Rebellion. He continued to travel the world learning first hand about politics.

poems

They mustered us with a royal din In wearisome weeks of drought Ere ever the half of the crops were in Or the half of the sheds cut out 'Twas down with saddle and spurs and whip The swagman dropped his swag And we hurried us off to an outbound ship To fight for the English flag The English flag.. it is ours in sooth We stand by it wrong or right But deep in our hearts is the honest truth We fought for the sake of a fight And the English flag may flutter and wave Where the World-wide Oceans toss But the flag the Australian dies to save Is the flag of the Southern Cross