Waltzing Matilda nearby billabong (watering hole), after which his ghost haunts the site. The original lyrics were written in 1895 by Australian poet Banjo Paterson, and were first published as sheet music in 1903. Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that it has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, in the Queensland outback, where Paterson wrote the lyrics. In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance. The song was first recorded
Strawhead (band) fueled some controversy when it made a derivate work from an old ballad entitled "The Bold Fusilier". "The Bold Fusilier" is a British song which some argue predates the 1903 tune to "Waltzing Matilda". "Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known folk song, and has been referred to as 'the unofficial national anthem of Australia. There are similarities between "Waltzing Matilda" and "The Bold Fusilier", making for argument that one of the songs is based on the other song. There is no evidence that "The Bold Fusilier" is older than "Waltzing Matilda" and Australia and most sources reject the idea