Author’s Note


Banjo Paterson’s poetry had an unquantifiable benefit to the wellbeing of our ancestors striving to survive and to make their lives in the latter half of the nineteenth century and at the time of Federation. His poetry brought pleasure and similar benefits to those serving in all theatres of war, in both World Wars. The Banjo Paterson High Country Trail is a celebration of the pleasure his poetry continues to bring to those who live in the High Country and its visitors.

During the First World War many of the High Country stockmen who had mustered horses to be sold to the Army for Remounts, enlisted in the Light Horse and served with General Sir Harry Chauvel on Gallipoli and Palestine. For this reason the General Sir Harry Chauvel Foundation has been delighted to support the Banjo Paterson High Country Trail.

Banjo Paterson served in the 2nd Remount Depot in Egypt where he supplied horses to the Desert Mounted Corps for the Palestine Campaign. He also helped organise gymkhanas, buckjumping, camp drafting, tent pegging and other equestrian events for those on leave or recuperating in Egypt from injury. While in his book Happy Despatches Banjo described General Sir Harry Chauvel as a ‘sticky old frog’, Chauvel and Paterson knew each other well. For part of their schooling they were a year apart at Sydney Grammar, they both served in different capacities in the Boer War. 

‘Over the Range’ is the title of one of a poem Paterson published in 1887 in The Sydney Morning Herald in which he suggests:

On a thing so certain — "When people die 

They go to the country over the range." 

Banjo Paterson died on 5 February 1941, eighty-five years ago, and if you travel the Banjo Paterson High Country Trail, you will always find and enjoy little of Paterson poetry ‘over the range’ in the High Country. 

I hope that someone will pick up the torch and take Banjo Paterson’s Trail northwards to Orange, Tenterfield and onwards up to Winton, discovering more of the rich world which was Paterson’s inspiration.

As the author of the website material, my thanks to John Murphy, President of the Upper Murray Historical Society and my colleague Vicki Kane for her help with research. My special thanks go to the Trail and website designer Joe Calvert for his creativity, patience and hard work. 

I am grateful for the assistance of Visitor Information Centres in Snowy Valleys (Tumut and Tumbarumba), Gundagai, Yass and Cooma. My thanks go to Tumut Family History Group for its help with information about Patrick Kiley. Greg Ryan from the Albury and District Historical Society has also kindly assisted with information – Thank you Greg. 

The website material has been researched and written on behalf of the Upper Murray Historical Society, The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival, The Corryong Neighbourhood Centre, The Man from Snowy River Tourism Association, The General Sir Harry Chauvel Memorial Foundation and Sandy the Warhorse Committee. 

Honor Auchinleck

Notes on spelling

Please note: The authors of The Banjo Paterson High Country Trail acknowledge some inconsistency in spellings. I have ensured spellings used are consistent with Banjo Paterson’s Complete Poems (Sydney: A & R Classics, 2014). I have left Banjo Paterson’s spelling of Mt Kosciusko. In our explanatory text I have used the modern spelling of Kosciuszko. 

References

Banjo Paterson, Complete Poems (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 2001)

A. B. (Banjo) Paterson, Illalong Children: The Story of Banjo Paterson’s Childhood (Sydney: Landowne, 1985)

Jennifer Gall, Looking for Rose Paterson: How Family Bush Life Nurtured Banjo the Poet (Canberra: NLA Publishing, 2017)