In order for the song to become the anthem, it had to face a vote between the Royal anthem God Save the Queen, the " unofficial anthem " Waltzing Matilda and Song of Australia.

The song Waltzing Matilda, which is about a swagman and squatters, is probably Australia's best internationally known and most well-loved song.

The most famous bush ballad is " Waltzing Matilda ", which has been called " the unofficial national anthem of Australia ".

This was also known as the Waltz and is the origin of the Australian song Waltzing Matilda.

Eric Bogle wrote a popular song, " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " ( 1972 ), after watching in Australia a parade of elderly veterans of the Gallipoli campaign.

Notable anti-war songs include " And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda " ( 1972 ) by Eric Bogle, and " A Walk in the Light Green " ( 1983 ) by Redgum, most often remembered by its chorus " I was only nineteen ".

In the 19th century, a squatter was a person who occupied a large tract of Crown land in order to graze livestock-the phenomenon is referred to in the song Waltzing Matilda.

Shane MacGowan came into his own as a songwriter with this disc, offering up poetic story-telling, such as " The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn " and " The Old Main Drag ", as well as definitive interpretations of Ewan MacColl's " Dirty Old Town " and Eric Bogle's " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " ( this had previously been covered by Shane's fellow punk contemporaries The Skids in 1981 ).

Their debut single was the bush ballad, " Waltzing Matilda ", which appeared in November and reached the Melbourne top 40 singles chart.

" Waltzing Matilda " is Australia's most widely known bush ballad.

Extensive folklore surrounds the song and the process of its creation, to the extent that the song has its own museum, the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland.

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.

In 2008, this recording of " Waltzing Matilda " was added to the " Sounds of Australia Registry " in the National Film and Sound Archive which says that there are more recordings of " Waltzing Matilda " than any other Australian song.

The Combo Waterhole is thought to be the location of the story that inspired " Waltzing Matilda ".

It has been widely accepted that " Waltzing Matilda " is potentially based on the following story:

Paterson sold the rights to " Waltzing Matilda " and " some other pieces " to Angus & Robertson Publishers for five pounds ( the currency of the time ).

Billy tea is the drink prepared by the ill-fated Swagman in the popular Australian folksong Waltzing Matilda.

*" Song of the Australian Outlaw "( to the tune of " Waltzing Matilda ")

During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, and Australian folk music and bush ballads such as Waltzing Matilda were heavily influenced by Anglo-Celtic traditions, while classical forms were derived from those of Europe.

Waltzing Matilda, often regarded as Australia's unofficial National anthem, is a quintessential Australian folk song, influenced by Celtic folk ballads.

Notable Australian exponents of the folk revival movement included both European immigrants such as Eric Bogle, noted for his sad lament to the battle of Gallipoli " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ", and indigenous Australians like Archie Roach and Paul Kelly.

Billabongs are referred to relatively often in Australian literature ; Banjo Paterson's famous folk song " Waltzing Matilda " takes place beside a billabong.

Waltzing Matilda, often regarded as Australia's unofficial National anthem, is a quintessential early Australian country song, influenced more by Celtic folk ballads than by American Country and Western music.

The lyrics of Australia's best known folk song, " Waltzing Matilda ", were written by the bush poet Banjo Paterson in 1895.

Billy tea is the drink prepared by the ill-fated swagman in the popular Australian folk song Waltzing Matilda.

Along the way he subsequently ends up inventing several things that are considered Australian Icons in the real world, for example beer soup ( vegemite ), putting corks on a string round his hat to keep flies off ( a common Australian outback hat stereotype ), as well as becoming the subject of a ballad that is hinted at being a parody of the song " Waltzing Matilda " when he is caught apparently stealing a sheep by a billabong. A gigantic circular storm surrounding Fourecks prevents any ships from leaving, however.

A romanticised figure, the swagman is famously referred to in the song " Waltzing Matilda ", by Banjo Paterson, which tells of a swagman who turns to stealing a sheep from the local squatter.

His recitals were also enlivened by the inclusion of many Australian songs, notably " Waltzing Matilda ", " Song of Australia ", " Clancy of the Overflow " and " The Rivetter " ( Albert Arlen's settings ), " Six Australian Bush Songs ", and also Alfred Hill's version of the New Zealand Māori song " Waiata Poi ".

" The refrain is based almost word by word on the 1890 Australian song, " Waltzing Matilda " by A. B.

The song has been recorded by Rod Stewart on two 1993 albums, Lead Vocalist and Unplugged ... and Seated under the title " Tom Traubert's Blues ( Waltzing Matilda )".

Also in the hospital is Norris ( played by Ronald Lacey ), who is considered " scum " even by the other inmates, who had managed to con Blanco out of his only possessions: an antique silver snuff box, a Japanese wireless radio, and a musical box that played Waltzing Matilda when opened.

* " Ozymandias ", a song from the 2005 album ... Waltzing Alone by The Guggenheim Grotto

Waltzing with Brando by Bernard Judge

Suvla Bay also features in " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ", the oft-covered song by Eric Bogle.

In the English-speaking world, many people who otherwise might not have heard of the landing at Suvla Bay know something of its history through the song And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda written in 1972 by Eric Bogle and covered by numerous artists including the Clancy Brothers, Joan Baez and the Pogues.

Banjo Patterson's Waltzing Matilda is even considered Australia's unofficial National Anthem.

The four songs in the plebiscite were: Waltzing Matilda ; the then current anthem, God Save the Queen ( now the Royal Anthem ); the now current anthem, Advance Australia Fair ; and Song of Australia.

Other well-known singers of Australian folk music include Rolf Harris ( who wrote " Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport "), John Williamson, and Eric Bogle whose 1972 song " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda " is a sorrowful lament to the Gallipoli Campaign.

Wolf published a pamphlet against the dance entitled " Proof that Waltzing is the Main Source of Weakness of the Body and Mind of our Generation " in 1797.

* 2005: The Country Fair area is renovated to include 10 new rides: Dizzy Disk, the Amazing Flying Elephants, Lemon Twist, Shooting Star, Sky Rider, Veggietales Sideshow Spin Kid's roller coaster, Waltzing Swinger, Piggy Parade, Busy Bees, and Lucky Ducky.

Prominent among these is " And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda ", written in 1971.

Winton is intimately involved in the story of the popular Australian folk song, " Waltzing Matilda ", which had its first performance in the North Gregory Hotel in the town.

The Waltzing Matilda Centre opened in 1998 and is the first museum dedicated to a song.

Winton's visitor centre is located in the Waltzing Matilda Centre.

The quay is mentioned in Eric Bogle's 1971 song, " And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda ".