Banjo Paterson had two children, Grace (born in 1904) and Hugh (born in 1906). Paterson had been previously engaged to Sarah Riley for eight years, but this was abruptly called off in 1895 following a visit to her at Dagworth Station in Queensland where she was visiting the Macpherson family. It was here that Paterson met his fiancée's best friend from school days, Christina Macpherson, who composed the music for which he then wrote the lyrics of the famous "Waltzing Matilda". However, following this collaboration Paterson was suddenly asked to leave the property, leading historians to conclude that he was a womanizer
Banjo Paterson Dying" and "Last Week". These were also published by Angus & Robertson between the years 1895 to 1899. In 1905, the same publishers released "Old Bush Songs", a collection of bush ballads Paterson had been assembling since 1895. Although for most of his adult life, Paterson lived and worked in Sydney, his poems mostly presented a highly romantic view of the bush and the iconic figure of the bushman. Influenced by the work of another Australian poet John Farrell, his representation of the bushman as a tough, independent and heroic underdog became the ideal qualities underpinning the national character. His