Waltzing Matilda Australia's Favorite Song

Waltzing Matilda

Australia's Favourite Song

Waltzing Matilda is Australia's favourite song.  It is quite likely that more Australians know the words to this song than the national anthem. There is probably no other song that is more easily recognised by people young or old, native born or a newly arrived immigrant.


We have updated our Waltzing Matilda page on Trishan's Oz. This page was originally written in 1997 by Trishan, an eleven year old Australian child and his dad. Over the ensuring years this page continued to rate in the top 10 sites in Google’s raking on the subject. We have now given the page a long overdue face-lift with new video clips (which didn't exist at the time the page was originally written) and lots of additional content. We have, however, decided to maintain some of the “look and feel “ of the original website. So you will still see Trishan’s artwork and explanation of the song as it appeared on the original website. We hope you find our site informative and fun.

We believe this page is now the most comprehensive , easy to understand page about Waltzing Matilda. It also contains the most extensive information about Christina Macpherson who history has overlooked as the person who wrote the music for this Australian icon. Come check it out for yourself. 

Who Owns the Copyright to Waltzing Matilda

Is Waltzing Matilda Copyrighted?

There is some controversy as to the copyright status of the iconic Australian song Waltzing Matilda. While the generally held view is that it is in the public domain, this is strictly speaking not correct.

Visit Waltzing Matilda - Australia's Favourite Song to discover to complete story behind this famous Australian song.

Waltzing Matilda Facts: Waltzing Matilda page Updated on Trishan's Oz.

Waltzing Matilda Page Updated

We have updated our Waltzing Matilda page on Trishan's Oz. We believe this page is now the most comprehensive, easy to understand page about Waltzing Matilda. Come check it out for yourself. 

This page was originally written in 1997 by Trishan, an eleven year old Australian child and his dad. Over the ensuring years this page continued to rate in the top 10 sites in Google’s raking on the subject. We have now given the page a long overdue face-lift with new video clips (which didn't exist at the time the page was originally written) and lots of additional content. We have, however, decided to maintain some of the “look and feel “ of the original website. So you will still see Trishan’s artwork and explanation of the song as it appeared on the original website. We hope you find our site informative and fun.

Waltzing Matilda - The Woman Who Inspired Waltzing Matilda?

Would there have been a Waltzing Matilda without her?

It was Christina Macpherson who inspired Banjo Paterson to compose Waltzing Matilda. 

Christina Macpherson

She also arranged the original music for the song. Christina readily admitted that she did not originate the music for Waltzing Matilda but that she had heard it played by a brass band at the horse races at Warrnambool Victoria in April 1894. She found the tune catchy and had learned to play it by memory on her autoharp. As part of an evening’s entertainment Christina played this tune to Banjo. He asked her what the tune was and she told him she didn't know. (The tune in question is the Scottish song "Bonnie Wood O' Craigielea" first published in 1818.) Banjo liked the tune and immediately started to put down some words to it. Christina and Banjo worked though the score, Christina playing the tune on her autoharp and Banjo penning the words as they came to mind.

Christina never married. She moved to South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne and died in relative obscurity on March 27 1936. She left her entire estate worth £3,624 to her younger sister. She was buried in in the St Kilda Cemetery. It was only in the late 1970's while the Australian Broadcasting Commission was making a documentary on Waltzing Matilda that her burial plot, without a tombstone, was rediscovered. Christina's grand-niece had a small marker placed on the spot where she was buried.

This small marker on a long forgotten grave-site is the only recognition, it seems, given to the woman who inspired the creation Australia's most treasured song.

Read the full story of Waltzing matilda here.

An extract from the Waltzing Matilda webpage of Trishan's Oz written by Senani Ponnamperuma