The Man from Goondiwindi Q.

Tourism signage in the rural town of Texas, South East Queensland, asks visitors a knowledge question about Banjo Paterson's poetry.  Following that path not only led me to a Banjo poem, but on an historical journey into Sydney's underworld and a stoush between two of Australia's iconic poets.

From a tourism display in Texas, Queensland.

The poem can be found in the National Library of Australia's newspaper archive, Trove.  I was delighted to see that no one had corrected the text before I got to it.  There is a certain pleasure in correcting the record.

The text of which reads -

The Man from Goondiwindi (Q.)

By the Banjo

I. This is the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q.).

II. This is the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
came down, from Goondiwindi (Q.).

III. These are the wealthy uncles — two,
Part of the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q.).

IV. This is the game, by no means new,
Played by the wealthy uncles — two,
Part of the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q.).

V. This is the trooper dressed in blue
Who busted the game by no means new
Played by the wealthy uncles— two,
Part of the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q.).

VI. This is the magistrate who knew,
Not only the trooper dressed in blue,
But also the game by no means new,
And likewise the wealthy uncles— two,
And ditto the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q.).

VII. This is the tale that is oft gone through
On Western plains where the skies are blue.
Till the native bear and the kangaroo
Have heard of the magistrate who knew
Not only the trooper dressed in blue,
But also the game by no means new,
And likewise the wealthy uncles— two,
And ditto the Push from Waterloo
That spotted the sunburnt bushman who
Came down from Goondiwindi (Q,).

Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), Saturday 17 December 1904, page 12

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113305820

Some observations

The poet's design strategy is clear -  eight syllable lines with rhyming endings throughout (including a clever use of the stand alone letter Q for Queensland).  Stanzas become one line longer with increasing stanza number with the exception of stanza seven which has gained three lines.  This growth of verse is known as cumulative verse.  Readers may recognise the similarity with 'The 12 Days of Christmas' or 'The Old Woman who Swallowed a Fly.'  Paterson also used it in 'The Dam that Keele Built.'

The use of illustration is important.  The poem is presented in some anthologies as a text only poem, but this illustrated version seems to suggest that the words and the accompanying art are both needed to understand the work.  This page of the paper appears to be a collaborative piece between poet and artist.

The Waterloo Push was a notorious gang of disaffected youths.  There were a number of gangs, called 'Pushes' in Sydney at the time that Paterson wrote, with names such as the Miller Point Push, the Waterloo Push and the Rocks Push (eventually "The Push").  The Waterloo Push's notoriety was exemplified in the gang rape of a young woman in 1886, a crime labelled the Mt Rennie Outrage, which saw a number of people go to the gallows.  But the newspapers continued to report bashings and violence from this gang after the Mt Rennie Outrage.

Given the link between the image and poem, I wonder if the 'uncles' are specific people that the reading public would have been able to identify.

It is useful to compare this work with other works by the Australian Poet, Henry Lawson, namely "The Captain of the Push" and the related "The Bastard from the Bush".  Granted there is debate about whether 'the bastard' really was authored by Lawson - it was certainly too bawdy for him to place his name on it. A distinct battle of ideologies between Paterson and Lawson played out in the magazine 'The Bulletin', and was therefore known as the "Bulletin Debate".  Have another look at the two uncles then Google an image of Henry Lawson and see if he would fit a composite of these two characters (or perhaps I am seeing too much!).  Paterson saw the bushman as a better human then the city man, and Lawson had an opposite view.  While this poem is not published in 'The Bulletin' it does seem to be engaging the topic of the debate.  The bushman comes to the rough part of the city, has an interaction with the criminal part of town, but is then able to hold his own in court and return to his bush home unscathed and gentlemanly.

If I could continue the journey that this little ramble started, I think there is much to be gained from a further analysis of the argument between these two Australian voices.