---
node: au_banjo_paterson
type: person
slug: banjo_paterson
title: "Banjo Paterson"
lead: "The national poet who wrote of life in the Australian bush and penned the unofficial anthem Waltzing Matilda."
published: 2026-07-15
updated: 2026-07-15
image_file: banjo_paterson.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrew_Barton_(Banjo)_Paterson.jpg"
image_author: "Falk Studio"
image_license: "Public domain"
---

## Who they were

Raised on a New South Wales station, Paterson worked as a solicitor while publishing poems about life in the bush, the inland country.

## What they did

His Waltzing Matilda (1895) and The Man from Snowy River were widely sung and recited and became emblems of Australian identity. He also worked as a war correspondent.

## Legacy

Waltzing Matilda is still cherished as an unofficial national song. Paterson is remembered as Australia's national poet.