Up jumped the swagman, leapt into the billabong,

"You'll never catch me alive," said he,

And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong,

"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me".

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda

Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me

And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled,

"Who'll come a-waltzing, Matilda, with me?"

What does Waltzing Matilda mean?

The phrase Waltzing Matilda is believed to have originated with German immigrants who settled in Australia.

Waltzing is derived from the German term auf der walz which meant to travel while learning a trade. Young apprentices in those days travelled the country working under a master craftsman earning their living as they went - sleeping where they could.

Matilda has Teutonic origins and means Mighty Battle Maiden. It is believed to have been given to female camp followers who accompanied soldiers during the Thirty Year wars in Europe. This came to mean "to be kept warm at night" and later to mean the great army coats or blankets that soldiers wrapped themselves with. These were rolled into a swag tossed over their shoulder while marching.

So the phrase Waltzing Matilda came to mean: to travel from place to place in search of work with all one's belongings on one's back wrapped in a blanket or cloth. This is what Swagmen did in outback Australia.

How Did the Song Originate?

Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson [1864-1941] was a solicitor (lawyer) by profession and lived and worked in Sydney, Australia.

In 1895 Banjo and his fiancee, Sarah Riley, visited the Dagworth Homestead a station in outback Queensland. This station was owned by the family of one of Sarah's school friends: Christina Macpherson. While at the station Banjo heard Christina play a tune called the "Craigeelee" on an autoharp. Banjo liked the "whimsicality and dreaminess" of the tune and thought it would be nice to set some words to it.

During his stay Bob Macpherson took Banjo around the station where they stopped at the Combo Waterhole where they found the skin of a newly killed sheep. Obviously someone had made a meal of it. Bob Macpherson may also have told Banjo of the sheep shearers strike of September 1894 when shearers had set fire to the Dagworth woolshed killing over a hundred sheep. Macpherson and three policeman had given chase and one of them, a man named Hoffmeister, shot and killed himself rather than be captured.

So it appears that Banjo linked up all these events to conjure up "Waltzing Matilda. Christina wrote up the score. It was first sung publicly at a banquet for the Premier of Queensland and was an instant hit. The song was then picked up by the "Billy Tea" company to advertise their product. Paterson sold the rights to Waltzing Matilda and "some other pieces" to Angus & Robertson Publishers for "five quid".

By World War 1 it was Australia's favorite song and has been ever since.

Some great poems by Banjo Patterson:

• Mulga's Bill's Bicycle Kids and adults alike will love it.
• The Man from Snowy River acclaimed as Australia's greatest poem.

Clancy of The Overflow a city folk's yearning for the wide open spaces

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria in Australia. It is the second largest city in Australia.

It was voted the worlds' most livable city in 1994.

And the least polluted for a city of its size.

THE CITY

Melbourne is renowned for its parks, fickle weather, clanging trams, upside-down river, football and its cosmopolitan outlook. It is also the financial capital of Australia.

It is a relatively safe city with a very low crime rate.

About 3.2 million people live in the greater Melbourne area.

The people of Melbourne came from all over the world.

YARRA RIVER

The Yarra River flows right by the city. It is sometimes called "the river that flows upside down" because of its muddy colour. The reason for this colour is because mud particles stay suspended in the water and don't settle to the bottom like in most rivers. It is a very clean river (now).