The Man From Snowy River
Encyclopedia
"The Man from Snowy River" is a poem by Australia
n bush poet
Banjo Paterson
. It was first published in The Bulletin
, an Australian news magazine, on 26th April 1890.
The poem tells the story of a horseback pursuit to recapture the colt of a prizewinning racehorse that escaped from its paddock and is living wild with the brumbies
(wild horses) of the mountain ranges. Eventually the brumbies descend a seemingly impassably steep slope, at which point the assembled riders give up the pursuit, except the young hero, who spurs his pony down the "terrible descent" to catch the mob.
Two characters mentioned in the early part of the poem are featured in previous Paterson poems; "Clancy of the Overflow
" and Harrison from "Old Pardon, Son of Reprieve".
, north-west of Canberra
in New South Wales. Paterson had helped round up brumbies
as a child and later owned property in this region.
The Snowy River
, from where "the Man" comes, has its headwaters in the Snowy Mountains
, the highest section of the Great Dividing Range
near the easternmost part of the border between New South Wales
and Victoria
. The ride does not take in the Snowy River, because within the poem, Clancy describes to the other men the country that "the man from Snowy River" comes from.
Corryong, a small town on the western side of the range, claims stockman Jack Riley (1841–1914) as the inspiration for the character, and like many other towns in the region uses the image of the character as part of the marketing to tourists. Riley was a hermit stockman employed by John Pearce of Greg Greg Station at Corryong to run cattle at "Tom Groggin" 60km upriver from Khancoban, New South Wales
. Paterson is said (by Corryong legend) to have met Riley on at least two occasions.
There is a possibility that another exceptional and fearless rider, Charlie McKeahnie
, might have been the inspiration for the poem. In 1885, when McKeahnie was only 17 years of age, he performed a dangerous riding feat in the Snowy River region. Historian Neville Locker supports this theory, adding that a prior poem had been written about McKeahnie by bush poet Barcroft Boake
and that the story had been recounted by a Mrs Hassle to a crowd that included Paterson. Locker also offers as evidence a letter by McKeahnie's sister that discusses the ride and Paterson's hearing of the ride. McKeahnie was killed in a riding accident near Bredbo in 1895 and is buried in the Old Adaminaby cemetery, on the shores of Lake Eucumbene
.
was developing a distinct identity as a nation
. Though Australia was still a set of independent colonies under the final authority of Britain
, and had not yet trod the path of nation
hood, there was a distinct feeling that Australians needed to be united and become as one. Poems likeany Australians at the time who read The Bulletin magazine of Sydney, that they shared a unique land and that the characters and heroes who inhabited this land had so much in common. Australians from all walks of life, be they from the country or the city ( see Clancy of the Overflow), looked to the bush for their mythology
and heroic characters. They saw in the Man from Snowy River a hero
whose bravery, adaptability and risk-taking could epitomise a new nation in the south. This new nation emerged as the Commonwealth of Australia
in 1901.
http://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/bio_ab_banjo_paterson.html. The full text of the poem is printed several times in microprint as one of the note's security devices.
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 bush poet
Bush poet
Bush poets were Australian poets who wrote about Australian rural life during colonial times and about the Australian bush. Many colonial bush poets were illiterate and performed their poems from memory instead of writing them. Bush poetry evolved from the jokes and stories shared by early settlers...
Banjo Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
. It was first published in The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
, an Australian news magazine, on 26th April 1890.
The poem tells the story of a horseback pursuit to recapture the colt of a prizewinning racehorse that escaped from its paddock and is living wild with the brumbies
Brumby
A Brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region in south-eastern Australia. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland...
(wild horses) of the mountain ranges. Eventually the brumbies descend a seemingly impassably steep slope, at which point the assembled riders give up the pursuit, except the young hero, who spurs his pony down the "terrible descent" to catch the mob.
Two characters mentioned in the early part of the poem are featured in previous Paterson poems; "Clancy of the Overflow
Clancy of the Overflow
"Clancy of The Overflow" is a poem by Banjo Paterson, first published in The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine, on 21 December 1889. The poem is typical of Paterson, offering a romantic view of rural life, and is one of his best-known works.-History:...
" and Harrison from "Old Pardon, Son of Reprieve".
Location of the poem
It is recorded in the selected works of "Banjo" Paterson that the location of the ride fictionalised in the poem was in the region of today's Burrinjuck DamBurrinjuck Dam
Burrinjuck Dam is a high, concrete gravity dam on the Murrumbidgee River approximately 60 km from Yass, New South Wales, Australia. The Yass and Goodradigbee Rivers flow into the dam. The dam divides the upper and lower catchment of the Murrumbidgee and is the headwater storage for the...
, north-west of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in New South Wales. Paterson had helped round up brumbies
Brumby
A Brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region in south-eastern Australia. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland...
as a child and later owned property in this region.
The Snowy River
Snowy River
The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the Snowy River National Park in Victoria and emptying into...
, from where "the Man" comes, has its headwaters in the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
, the highest section of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
near the easternmost part of the border between New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. The ride does not take in the Snowy River, because within the poem, Clancy describes to the other men the country that "the man from Snowy River" comes from.
"The Man"
Khancoban, New South Wales
Khancoban is a small town in Tumbarumba Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The town is located from the state capital, Sydney and from the state border with Victoria, in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, near the upper reaches of the Murray River...
. Paterson is said (by Corryong legend) to have met Riley on at least two occasions.
There is a possibility that another exceptional and fearless rider, Charlie McKeahnie
Charlie McKeahnie
Charles Lachlan "Charlie Mac" McKeahnie was an Australian horseman born in Gudgenby, ACT to Alexander and Mary McKeahnie into a family of five sisters...
, might have been the inspiration for the poem. In 1885, when McKeahnie was only 17 years of age, he performed a dangerous riding feat in the Snowy River region. Historian Neville Locker supports this theory, adding that a prior poem had been written about McKeahnie by bush poet Barcroft Boake
Barcroft Boake
Barcroft Henry Thomas Boake was an Australian poet.Born in Sydney, Boake worked as a surveyor and a boundary rider, but is best remembered for his poetry, a volume of which was published five years after his death....
and that the story had been recounted by a Mrs Hassle to a crowd that included Paterson. Locker also offers as evidence a letter by McKeahnie's sister that discusses the ride and Paterson's hearing of the ride. McKeahnie was killed in a riding accident near Bredbo in 1895 and is buried in the Old Adaminaby cemetery, on the shores of Lake Eucumbene
Lake Eucumbene
Lake Eucumbene is a man-made lake on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains of Southern New South Wales in Australia. The lake was created by the damming of the river as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The dam was built between 1956 and 1958....
.
The historical context of the poem
The poem was written at a time in the 1880s and 1890s when AustraliaAustralia
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...
was developing a distinct identity as a nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
. Though Australia was still a set of independent colonies under the final authority of Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, and had not yet trod the path of nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
hood, there was a distinct feeling that Australians needed to be united and become as one. Poems likeany Australians at the time who read The Bulletin magazine of Sydney, that they shared a unique land and that the characters and heroes who inhabited this land had so much in common. Australians from all walks of life, be they from the country or the city ( see Clancy of the Overflow), looked to the bush for their mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and heroic characters. They saw in the Man from Snowy River a hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
whose bravery, adaptability and risk-taking could epitomise a new nation in the south. This new nation emerged as the Commonwealth of 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...
in 1901.
Currency commemoration and tribute
A. B. "Banjo" Paterson and "The Man From Snowy River" poem are commemorated on the Australian 10 dollar notehttp://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/bio_ab_banjo_paterson.html. The full text of the poem is printed several times in microprint as one of the note's security devices.
Recordings of the poem
- Slim DustySlim DustyDavid Gordon "Slim Dusty " Kirkpatrick AO, MBE was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and producer, with a career spanning nearly eight decades. He was known to record songs in the legacy of Australian poets Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson that represented the Australian Bush...
recorded the poem with new music, to call attention to the "old bush ballads". - Leonard TealeLeonard TealeLeonard Teale AO , born Leonard George Thiele in Brisbane, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and films....
narrated the poem, which was recorded on audiotape - Steve BisleySteve BisleySteve Bisley is an Australian film and television actor, who attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art .-Acting career:...
narrated the poem, in his role as Banjo Paterson, during the re-enactment of the poem in the 2002 musical theatreMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
production The Man from Snowy River: Arena SpectacularThe Man From Snowy River: Arena SpectacularThe Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, which was based on Banjo Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River, was a very popular musical theatre production which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002....
. - The Australian folk band Wallis and Matilda set the poem to music on their album Pioneers.
- The Concert Band of the 2nd Military District (Australia) made a recording with the poem narrated by Tim Elliot, accompanied by an arrangement of the music from the 1982 film. (Reference YPRX2097)
See also
- The Man from Snowy River (1982 film) — (the 1982 film)
- The Man from Snowy River (1982 film) Original Motion Picture SoundtrackThe Man from Snowy River (1982 film) Original Motion Picture SoundtrackThe Man from Snowy River soundtrack is the original motion picture soundtrack from the 1982 film The Man from Snowy River.Bruce Rowland composed the music for the film, and also conducted the orchestra during the recording of the album...
- The Man from Snowy River II — (the 1988 sequel film)
— (Australian title: "The Man from Snowy River II")
— (American title: "Return to Snowy River")
— (British title: "The Untamed") - The Man from Snowy River (1920 film)The Man from Snowy River (1920 film)The Man from Snowy River is a 1920 film made in Australia. The film was silent and filmed in black and white, and was based on the Banjo Paterson poem of the same name....
- The Man from Snowy River (TV series)The Man From Snowy River (TV series)The Man from Snowy River is an Australian television series based on Banjo Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River". Released in Australia as Banjo Paterson's The Man from Snowy River, the series was subsequently released in the United States as Snowy River: The McGregor Saga.The television...
— (Australian title: "Banjo Paterson's: The Man from Snowy River")
— (American title: "Snowy River: The McGregor Saga") - The Man from Snowy River: Arena SpectacularThe Man From Snowy River: Arena SpectacularThe Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, which was based on Banjo Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River, was a very popular musical theatre production which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002....
- The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular (Original Cast Recording)
- The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular (film)
- The Man from Snowy River (music)The Man from Snowy River (music)Australian films The Man from Snowy River and The Man from Snowy River II had musical scores composed by Australian composer Bruce Rowland.Rowland composed a version of the main title music track for the 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony...
- 1890 in poetry1890 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .- Events :* Rhymer's Club founded in London by William Butler Yeats and Ernest Rhys as a group of like-minded poets who met regularly and published anthologies in 1892 and 1894; attendees included Ernest...
- Adaminaby
External links
- The Man From Snowy River — the Poem
- A. B. "Banjo" Paterson Biographical Summary — Reserve Bank of Australia website
- The Man from Snowy River at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- About "The Man from Snowy River" — Australian Government website
- "The Man from Snowy River" — National Treatures — National Library of Australia (includes photo of a draft version of the poem)
- "The Man from Snowy River" — Mountain Man Graphics, Australia website