Work / monument · song

Waltzing Matilda

1895 (words written August-September 1895; first published setting 20 December 1902; Cowan's version 1903) · 19th century

In 1895 Andrew Barton Paterson, a Sydney solicitor who published verse as "The Banjo", travelled to Winton in central-western Queensland to visit his fiancée Sarah Riley. At a gathering there Christina Macpherson, a school friend of Sarah's, played a tune that caught his attention, and he wrote a first verse to it on the spot.

Songs in history

Waltzing Matilda1895

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Waltzing Matilda. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/waltzing-matilda
MLA
“Waltzing Matilda.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/waltzing-matilda. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Waltzing Matilda.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/waltzing-matilda.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Waltzing Matilda’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/waltzing-matilda (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻