Renowned Australian bush poet, Andrew Barton ("Banjo") Paterson was born on the 17th of February 1864, in country New South Wales.

Not only a famous bush poet. Paterson became a journalist, lawyer, horseman and a farmer.

How did he start? 

In 1885 Paterson began submitting his pieces to The Bulletin – an Australian weekly magazine, where it was published under the name "The Banjo."

Today, the Sydney Grammar School student is very well known for his bush poetry, such as The Man from Snowy River and Clancy of the Overflow big favourites.

One of Paterson's most loved works, "Waltzing Matilda" is one of Australia's most widely known folk songs and it was considered as Australia's national anthem.

Whilst Advance Australia Fair was ultimately elected as the nation's anthem Waltzing Matilda remains as Australia's unofficial anthem and is commonly used at sporting events.  

This Australian literary celebrity has been put on our currency and can be seen on the AUD $10 note, along with an illustration inspired by his poem, The Man from Snowy River, as part of the copy-protection microprint, the text of the poem itself. 

Paterson died of a heart attack in 1941. Paterson's grave, along with the grave of Alice Walker, is in the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Sydney.

To learn more about this literary Aussie icon "Banjo" Paterson, click here 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.