Arts in Australia and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The early Anglo-Celtic immigrants of the 18th and 19th centuries introduced folk ballad traditions which were adapted to Australian themes: "Bound for Botany Bay" tells of the voyage of British convicts to Sydney, "The Wild Colonial Boy" evokes the spirit of the bushrangers, and "Click Go the Shears" speaks of the life of Australian shearers. The lyrics of Australia's best-known folk song, "Waltzing Matilda", were written by the bush poet Banjo Paterson in 1895. Adopted by Australian soldiers during World War I, this song remains popular and is often
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda at all; they thought it was anti-soldier, but they've come full circle now and they see it's certainly anti-war but not anti-soldier." Written in 1971, the coincidence with the Vietnam War has not been missed as it rails against the romanticising of war. As the old man sits on his porch, watching the veterans march past every Anzac Day, he muses, "The young people ask what are they marching for, and I ask myself the same question". The song was originally eight verses long but Bogle pared it down to five verses. In 1974 Bogle, entered the National Folk Festival