Banjo Paterson Travelling with fiancée, Sarah Riley, they met with her old school friend, Christina Macpherson, who had recently attended a race at Warrnambool in Victoria. She had heard a band playing a tune there, which became stuck in her head and replayed it for Paterson on the autoharp. The melody also resonated with him and propelled him to write "Waltzing Matilda" While there has been much debate about what inspired the words, the song became one of his most his widely known and sung ballads. In addition, he wrote the lyrics for songs with piano scores, such as "The Daylight is
Banjo Awards Banjo Awards The National Book Council Banjo Awards were presented by the National Book Council of Australia from 1974 to 1997 for works of fiction and non-fiction. The name commemorates the bush poet Andrew Barton Banjo Paterson. The Council has enjoyed notable leadership including the Hon. Mr Justice Michael Kirby (judge) and Professor Michael Fraser (1991–1998). Many notable Australian writers have been recipients for this award, including Peter Carey, Tim Winton, Alan Gould, Liam Davison, Sally Morrison, and Roger McDonald. In 1978 Helen Garner was the first woman to win the award for her novel Monkey Grip. Source: Notable shortlisted