Poet Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda

Andrew "Banjo" Paterson

It is the birthday of Australian journalist and bush poet Andrew "Banjo" Paterson (1864), who wrote a poem, The Man from Snowy River (1890), that inspired a 1982 movie, and Waltzing Matilda (1895), that inspired a nation. Paterson began writing poetry when he worked as a clerk for a law firm and submitting them to The Bulletin, a weekly magazine. Later he covered the Second Boer War and the Boxer Rebellion for The Sydney Morning Herald. He served as an ambulance driver during World War I. Paterson's poetry was collected into several volumes. Waltzing Matilda is considered the unofficial national anthem of Australia.