James Barr was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 composer who composed the tune which inspired the tune now used for the unofficial Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n anthem "Waltzing Matilda

Waltzing Matilda

"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....

."

Born in Tarbolton

Tarbolton

Tarbolton is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland.- Meaning of place-name :Tarbolton has been suggested as having one of three meanings:...

 in South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

, Barr taught music and worked for a publisher in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Barr set several poems by his friend Robert Tannahill

Robert Tannahill

‎Robert Tannahill was a Scottish poet. Known as the 'Weaver Poet', his music and poetry is contemporaneous with that of Robert Burns.He was born at Castle Street in Paisley on 3 June 1774, the fourth son in a family of seven...

 to music.

According to Christina Macpherson

Christina Macpherson

Christina Rutherford Macpherson is credited with having re-played a tune she'd heard circa 1895 which the Australian poet A.B. Patterson then set to words....

, "Waltzing Matilda" was created in the sitting room of Dagworth Station

Dagworth Station

Dagworth Station is a cattle station located north-west of Winton in central west Queensland in Australia. It was established between 1879 and 1884. In 1894 the station's shearing shed was burned down along with 7 others in the district as part of a protest by shearers over wages. Samuel...

 in January 1895 with the help of a young solicitor and poet, "Banjo" Paterson. Tannahill wrote the words in 1805 and in 1818 Barr set them to music, possibly based on the melody of "Go to the Devil and Shake Yourself."

Barr emigrated for Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1832, where he worked as a farmer until 1855. He died in Kilbarchan

Kilbarchan

Kilbarchan is a village and civil parish in central Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The village's name means "cell of St. Barchan". It is known for its former weaving industry.- History :...

 in Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

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