Waltzing Matilda: The Secret History of Australia’s Favourite Song

Travel Guide

The Australian outback is largely located in the Northern Territory

The story behind “Waltzing Matilda”

In 1894 there was a sheep shearers strike  which became violent. A woolshed at the Dagworth Homestead was set fire killing over a hundred sheep. Bob Macpherson, the owner of the farm gave chase along with three policemen to one of the arsonists whose name was Hoffmeister.

Hoffmeister did  not want to be captured so he shot and killed himself at the Combo Waterhole. A few months later, Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson was visiting the Dagworth Homestead and saw the Combo Waterhole where they found a dead sheep. It’s thought that he was also told the story about the barn.

One evening, Macpherson’s daughter, Christina was playing a tune on a zitther she’s heard somewhere before and it was called the “the Craigielee March.” While she was playing, Banjo came up with the lyrics of “Waltzing Matilda.”

“Waltzing Matilda” tells the story of a swagman in the outback.

A swagman is a man that drifts from one job to another, from one place to another and carries not much more than a blanket rolled up which is also known as a Matilda.

It’s called a Matilda as during the Thirty Years War in Europe, soldiers and others would wrap themselves up in blankets and they took on this woman’s name which also took on the meaning of ‘to keep warm at night”

The song was then bought by the Billy Tea Company and used to advertise their product. However, it’s the historical importance that really makes many Australians believe that it should be their national anthem.  The song was created at a time of great social unrest and a struggle between rich landowners and those who worked on the land.