What you didn't know about "Waltzing Matilda" ...

[dogtag]

Me too. e.g. I thought a Swagman was a burglar, per the cartoon
of a man with eye mask, sack over shoulder with word SWAG on it.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...g-Matilda.html

[Vern Humphrey]

At one time there was a proposal that "Waltzing Matilda" be Australia's National Anthem. It was voted down -- more's the pity.

[Sandpebble]

Here's a Swagman ..... swagman-005-1024x682.jpg he was a gift given me in Australia . Hand made by an artist in Hahndorf S.A. where I lived and chosen for his particular gesture

p.s. ... it was given me as a gift ...I didn't choose it

[barretcreek]

Didn't know the bit about the 'Mighty Battle Maid'. Learned the rest while abusing the hospitality of some friends up Cape York. Managed to avoid any of the fauna Australia is known for.

[Vern Humphrey]

"Matilda" is an old name for a blanket or overcoat dating back to the 30 Years War. A soldier slept in his blanket or overcoat, so it was his "wife" and he called it "Matilda."

[JB White]

It was either Slim Dusty or Rolf Harris who explained the lyrics in one of their renditions of the tune. Might have been Rolf as Aussies won't speak his name anymore since his sex scandal. Not mentioned in the article but Slim was.
Hmmmm....makes me wonder if there is something subliminal in the songs "Tie me kangaroo down", or perhaps " Jake the Peg (with the extra leg).

Nothing wrong with Australia Fair as far as national anthems go.

[Art]

There was a serious movement to make "I am Austrailian" the national anthem of Australia and I think that would be better than what almost amounts to a novelty song. I've posted this before but this is a pretty cool music video. Judith Duram (who I still think is a goddess) and The Seekers singing "I am Australian," "Georgy Girl," and "Waltzing Matilda."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v22SPtCFck8

I think it interesting that "squatter" has quite a different meaning of what it means every where else, someone setting up a household on someone else's property without permission. In the U.S. any one who staked a land claim in the 19th century would be a "squatter" by that definition.

[Vern Humphrey]

No. They staked claims on land they were legally entitled to homestead. They were, most of them, prisoners sentenced to "transportation" to Australia. When they had served out their sentences, they had to make a living and the government allowed them to homestead land.

The problem is the Outback is so dry. So the early homesteaders would find a billabong (water hole) and homestead that. They did not own much surrounding land, but no one else could use that land, because they controlled the water. So they simply ran all the sheep they wanted. They were therefore "squatting" on the surrounding land, not on the land they actually owned around the billabong.

Ultimately the government bowed to reality and granted them all the land they claimed -- it wasn't any good to anyone else, anyway without the water.

[dryheat]

Aussie, it's practically a foreign language.

[Vern Humphrey]

Aussie, it's practically a foreign language.

When I was in Singapore, we used to get commercials made in Australia. A real "Strain" accent will make your ears bleed.