The Man from Snowy River (poem)
"The Man From Snowy River" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine, in April 1890.
The poem tells the story of a horseback pursuit to recapture the colt of a prizewinning racehorse that escaped from its paddock and is living wild with the brumbies (wild horses) of the mountain ranges. Eventually the brumbies descend a seemingly impassably steep slope, at which point the assembled riders give up the pursuit, except the young hero, who spurs his pony down the "terrible descent" to catch the mob.
Several characters mentioned in the early part of the poem are featured in previous Paterson poems, Clancy of the Overflow and Harrison from "Old Pardon, Son of Reprieve".
Films
The poem inspired two films with the title "The Man From Snowy River" — one of the films being a 1920 silent version, and the other being the better-known 1982 version — as well as inspiring a sequel film in 1988.
Bruce Rowland composed the music for both the 1982 and 1988 "The Man From Snowy River" films. The soundtrack for the 1982 film became one of the most critically acclaimed in the history of motion pictures.
NBC Sports uses some of the exact music from the soundtrack for their coverage of The PLAYERS Championship.
For the titles which were used for both the original and sequel films in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, please check the following table:
| Country | Date | The Australian film titles | The American film titles | The British film titles | ||||
| Film | 1982 | The Man From Snowy River | The Man From Snowy River | The Man From Snowy River | ||||
| Sequel film | 1988 | The Man From Snowy River II | Return to Snowy River | The Untamed |
Television
"Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River" ("Snowy River: The McGregor Saga") was a television series, which was produced in the 1990s.
The series was about Matt McGregor (the TV version of 'The Man'), and his family. The action takes place a number of years after 'the Ride' of the poem. The episode, 'The Race', celebrates the ride.
The television series is known in the United States as "Snowy River: The McGregor Saga") . The television series was extremely loosely based on the concept of "The Man From Snowy River".
| Country | Australian television title | American television title | ||
| TV series | Banjo Paterson's The Man From Snowy River | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga |
Olympics
with "The Man From Snowy River - Olympic Theme" (CD)
The poem was also commemorated at the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games by Steve Jefferys, the lone rider who cracked the stockwhip and whose Australian Stock Horse "Ammo" reared to begin the ceremony. Steve Jefferys and Ammo were then followed by another 120 Stock Horses and their riders (who wore Driza-Bone riding coats for the ceremony) during The Man From Snowy River segment.
The Man From Snowy River segment included formation riding, with the horses forming the five Olympic Rings and the riders carrying special Olympic flags - which was followed by the riders carrying Australian flags.
The Man From Snowy River segment was performed to a special Olympics version of the soundtrack music for the 1982 The Man From Snowy River film, by Australian composer Bruce Rowland, the composer of the music for both The Man From Snowy River film and its sequel The Man From Snowy River II (Return to Snowy River). The creative team behind the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony were David Atkins and Ignatius Jones.
The special theme can be heard here: [1]
Theatre musical
A very popular live musical theatre production, The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, which was also based on the poem, toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002.
The CD won the 2002 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA Music Award) for Best Original Cast / Show Album.
Other live action shows
The poem has also been commemorated, in live entertainment, by an enactment of "The Man From Snowy River" at various Australian Royal Agricultural Shows, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show and the Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show).
There is also special tribute entertainment at Warner Bros. Movie World at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
The River and 'The Man'
The Snowy River is indeed a real river, with its headwaters in the highest section of the Great Dividing Range near the easternmost part of the border between New South Wales and Victoria. Corryong, a small town on the western side of the range, claims stockman Jack Riley as the inspiration for the character, and like many other towns in the region uses the image of the character as part of the marketing to tourists.
There is a possibility that another exceptional and fearless rider, Charlie McKeahnie, who was born in 1868 might have been the inspiration for the poem, because of a dangerous riding feat in the Snowy River region in 1885, in which Charlie McKeahnie took part when he was only 17 years of age ([2] , [3]).
The location of the ride in the poem is left unspecified, though clearly it takes place somewhere in the Great Dividing Range.
The historical context of the poem
The poem was written at a time in the 1880s and 1890s when Australia was developing a distinct identity as a nation. Though Australia was still a set of independent colonies under the final authority of Britain, and had not yet trod the path of nationhood, there was a distinct feeling that Australians needed to be united and become as one. Poems like "The Man from Snowy River" suggested to the many Australians at the time who read The Bulletin magazine of Sydney, that they shared a unique land and that the characters and heroes who inhabited this land had so much in common. Australians from all walks of life, be they from the country or the city, looked to the bush for their mythology and heroic characters. They saw in the Man from Snowy River a hero whose bravery, adaptability and risk-taking could epitomise a new nation in the south. This new nation emerged as the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Currency commemoration and tribute
AB 'Banjo' Paterson and "The Man From Snowy River" poem are commemorated on the Australian $10 bank note [4]. The full text of the poem is printed several times in microprint as one of the note's security devices.
External links
- The Man From Snowy River - the Poem
- AB 'Banjo' Paterson Biographical Summary - Reserve Bank of Australia website
- The Man from Snowy River at Project Gutenberg
- About "The Man from Snowy River" - Australian Government website
- "The Man from Snowy River" - National Treatures - National Library of Australia (includes photo of a draft version of the poem)
- "The Man from Snowy River" - Mountain Man Graphics, Australia website