Who'll Come a Waltzing Matilda With Me? Quiz

Answer: A B 'Banjo' Paterson

In January, 1895, "Waltzing Matilda" was created in the sitting room at Dagworth Station, Queensland. Christina McPherson, the daughter of the owners, used to play a zither and 'Banjo' Patterson, a young solicitor and poet, made up the lyrics to go with a Scottish tune that she used to play.

Answer: A bundle of belongings

A swagman was an itinerant labourer who walked the countryside looking for work. He carried his belongings in his pack or swag and often wore a hat with corks hanging around the brim to keep off flies. The swagman was most common in the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s.

Answer: A waterhole

A billabong is formed when a curved portion of a river is cut off when the main river changes its course, or when the water level is low and the curve is temporarily isolated leaving a stagnant waterhole.

Answer: Sheep

Until the mining boom of the early 1970s, there was an expression "Australia rides on the sheep's back." Sheep were a vital component in Australia's economy both for their wool products and their meat. It is not surprising that a sheep appeared.

Answer: Eat it

As he puts it in his tucker bag I think it is safe to say he means to eat it. It would be a rare treat to have such a large amount of fresh meat. He doesn't kill it now as he can't eat it all so he is probably planning to keep it alive until he meets up with other swaggies or a trader and he will be able to barter some of the meat for tea, sugar, flour or tobacco, the standard supplies that he needs.

Answer: A landowner

A squatter was a person who illegally occupied tracts of Crown land, sometimes vast areas, and used it to pasture sheep or cattle. They also cleared the land and sold the wood. Later it was fenced and homesteads built. These squatters could become quite wealthy and powerful in their own areas and most were eventually granted title to the land they had seized.

Answer: The jumbuck

The rhetorical question that they asked was "Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tuckerbag?" Although they only mention the sheep the swagman knows that if he gives the sheep back it will not solve the difficult situation that he is in.

Answer: He jumps into the billabong

The swagman jumps into the billabong shouting "You'll never take me alive!" The penalty for sheep stealing was very severe and could lead to his being hanged. Even if he just received a long gaol sentence, it was no life for a man who lived on the open road. In prison the conditions were harsh and punishments cruel at that time.

Answer: They are slow and mournful

The last line "And his ghost may be heard as you pass by the billabong, Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me" is sung slowly and sadly, but then quickly reverts to the lively tempo of the rest of the song as the chorus is sung to finish the song.

Answer: No

The word 'Matilda', in this instance, is another name for his bedroll. One opinion is that when the swaggies gathered in groups, and some played tunes on combs, spoons or harmonicas the others would dance with their bedroll in place of a woman. Others say that the 'waltzing' just refers to the swagman's constant travelling on foot from one place to another.