The Old Australian Ways

"The Old Australian Ways"
by A. B. Paterson
Written1902
First published inRio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Lines72
Full text
The Old Australian Ways at Wikisource

"The Old Australian Ways" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton Paterson).[1]

It was first published in the poet's collection Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses in 1902, and subsequently reprinted in the author's poetry collections and other poetry anthologies.[1]

Synopsis

The poet compares the "prison's bars" of the city folk of London, with the wide open land of Australia. He writes of Clancy (of the "Overflow") who saddled a horse and rode west and states that if you want to know what he found there, then you would need to go "Beyond the reach of rule or law", to "Nature's homestead" to "see what Clancy saw/And know what Clancy knew."

Critical reception

In a review of the author's Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses a writer in The Grafton Argus and Clarence River General Advertiser noted that "The best of his work at present is that in which he abandons the purely quizzical vein, and which gives descriptions of the land he touched with some light of imagination–as in 'The Old Australian Ways'".[2]

Publication history

After its original publication in Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses[1] the poem was later reprinted as follows:

  • An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1907[3]
  • The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens, Angus and Robertson, 1909[4]
  • The Children's Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens and George Mackaness, Angus and Robertson, 1913[5]
  • Selections from Australian Poets edited by Bertram Stevens and George Mackaness, Cornstalk Publishing, 1925[6]
  • Poets of Australia : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1946[7]
  • An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness, Angus & Robertson, 1952[8]
  • The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson edited by Clement Semmler, Viking O'Neill, 1982[9]
  • Song of the Pen, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1901-1941 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie, Lansdowne, 1983[10]
  • The New Oxford Book of Australian Verse edited by Les Murray, Oxford University Press, 1986[11]
  • Banjo Paterson's Poems of the Bush, J. M. Dent, 1987[12]
  • A Vision Splendid: The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson, Angus and Robertson, 1990[13]
  • Selected Poems : A. B. Paterson edited by Les Murray, 1992[14]
  • The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson : Containing 'The Man from Snowy River', 'Rio Grande' and 'Saltbush Bill, M.P.' , 1921[15]
  • Our Country : Classic Australian Poetry : From Colonial Ballads to Paterson & Lawson edited by Michael Cook, Little Hills Press, 2002[16]
  • Banjo Paterson Treasury by A. B. Paterson, Random House, 2013[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Austlit — "The Old Australian Ways" by Banjo Paterson". Austlit. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  2. ↑ ""New Books"". The Grafton Argus and Clarence River General Advertiser. 18 December 1902. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "The Golden Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Children's Treasury of Australian Verse edited by Bertram Stevens and George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Selections from Australian Poets edited by Bertram Stephens and George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "Poets of Australia : An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "An Anthology of Australian Verse edited by George Mackaness". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson edited by Clement Semmler". Austlit. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Song of the Pen, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1901-1941 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "The New Oxford Book of Australian Verse edited by Les Murray". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Banjo Paterson's Poems of the Bush (J. M. Dent)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "A Vision Splendid: The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "Selected Poems : A. B. Paterson edited by Les Murray". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  15. ↑ "Austlit — The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson (1921)". Austlit. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Our Country : Classic Australian Poetry edited by Michael Cook". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Banjo Paterson Treasury by A. B. Paterson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
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