Waltzing Matilda Theatre and subsequently touring twelve regional centres in Queensland. The show was created by Jason and Leisa Barry-Smith and Narelle French. The story line used the fictional process of Banjo Paterson writing the poem when he visited Queensland in 1895 to present episodes of four famous Australians: bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961), soprano Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), Bundaberg-born tenor Donald Smith (1922–1998), and soprano Gladys Moncrieff, also from Bundaberg. The performers were Jason Barry-Smith as Banjo Paterson, Guy Booth as Dawson, David Kidd as Smith, Emily Burke as Melba, Zoe Traylor as Moncrieff, and Donna Balson (piano, voice). Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda to Gallipoli. For "ten weary weeks", he kept himself alive as "around [him] the corpses piled higher". Eventually he is wounded by a shellburst and awakens in hospital to find that both his legs have been amputated. When the ship carrying the young soldiers departs from Australia the band plays "Waltzing Matilda" while crowds wave flags and cheer. When the crippled narrator returns and "the legless, the armless, the blind, the insane" are carried down the gangway to the same popular music, the people watch in silence and turn their faces away. Interviewed by "The Sydney Morning Herald" in 2002,