A Bush Christening

Last updated
"A Bush Christening" 
by Banjo Paterson
First published in The Bulletin
Country Australia
Language English
Publication date 16 December 1893 (1893-12-16)
Preceded by "Behind the Scenes"
Followed by "The Geebung Polo Club"
Read online "A Bush Christening" at Wikisource

A Bush Christening is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 16 December 1893, the Christmas issue of that publication. [1] It has been called "a rollicking account of how the traditional pre-occupations, whisky and religion, come together". [2]

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Banjo Paterson Australian journalist, author and poet

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem.

Contents

Plot summary

‘Mike was the dad of a ten-year-old lad’ (stanza 2, line 5) who has never been christened. Magee lives "On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,"(stanza 1, line 1) and rarely sees a priest. By chance a priest passes by one day and his parents decide to christen the boy as soon as possible. The Magee (son) overhears the conversation, and, thinking that a "christening" is like branding of animals, decides to make a run for it. The priest and parents chase after him. They see that they have no chance of catching the runaway boy, ‘so the priest, flung a flask at his head that was labelled ‘Maginnis Whisky’ (stanza 11, line 43, 44). Thereafter the boy is known and christened as "Maginnis Magee". He grows up to be a justice of the peace who hates to be asked how he came to be christened "Maginnis".

Justice of the peace judicial officer, of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace

A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.

See also

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.

This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1893.

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1893.

Notes

The poem has been linked by Australian literary researcher Lucy Sussex to an anonymous story, "Peggy's Christening", in the Colonial Monthly, April 1868. [2]

Lucy Sussex New Zealand writer

Lucy Sussex is an author working in fantasy and science fiction, children’s and teenage writing, non-fiction and true crime. She is also an editor, reviewer, academic and teacher, and currently resides in Melbourne, Australia.

Further publications

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses (1895) is the first collection of poems by Australian poet Banjo Paterson. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1895, and features the poet's widely anthologised poems "The Man from Snowy River", "Clancy of the Overflow", "Saltbush Bill" and "The Man from Ironbark". It also contains the poet's first two poems that featured in The Bulletin Debate, a famous dispute in The Bulletin magazine from 1892-93 between Paterson and Henry Lawson.

Related Research Articles

Barcoo River river

The Barcoo River in western Queensland, Australia rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range, flows in a south-westerly direction and unites with the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek. The first European to see the river was Thomas Mitchell in 1846, who named it Victoria River, believing it to be the same river as that named Victoria River by J. C. Wickham in 1839. It was renamed by Edmund Kennedy after a name supplied by local Aborigines.

In Defence of the Bush is a popular poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 23 July 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, Up The Country. Paterson's rebuttal sparked the Bulletin Debate, a series of poems by both Lawson and Paterson about the true nature of life in the Australian bush.

"Bell-Birds" is a poem by Australian writer Henry Kendall that was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 25 November 1867.

In Answer to Various Bards is a poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 1 October 1892 in reply to fellow poet Henry Lawson's poem, In Answer to "Banjo", and Otherwise.

The Poets of the Tomb is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 8 October 1892 in reply to fellow poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson's poem, In Answer to Various Bards.

A Voice from the Town is a poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 20 October 1894.

Saltbush Bill is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 15 December 1894, the Christmas issue of that publication.

Saltbush Bill's Gamecock is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in Brooks's Australian Xmas Annual Volume 1 1898.

Saltbush Bills Second Fight Banjo Paterson poem

Saltbush Bill's Second Fight is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Antipodean in 1897.

Saltbush Bill on the Patriarchs is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Evening News on 19 December 1903.

Saltbush Bill, J.P. is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Evening News on 16 December 1905.

A Mid-Summer Noon in the Australian Forest is a poem by Australian poet Charles Harpur. It was first published in The Empire magazine on 27 May 1851, and later in the poet's poetry collection Poems (1883).

The Women of the West is a poem by Australian poet George Essex Evans. It was first published in The Argus newspaper on 7 September 1901, and later in the poet's poetry collection The Secret Key and Other Verses (1906).

"The Last of His Tribe" is a poem by Australian writer Henry Kendall that was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 30 September 1864, under the title "Woonoona: The Last of His Tribe".

Andy's Gone With Cattle is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in The Australian Town & Country Journal on 13 October 1888.

Rio Grande's Last Race is a racing poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in the London Sketch magazine on 16 December 1896. It was later published as the title poem for Paterson's second poetry collection, Rio Grande's Last Race and Other Verses, in 1902.

The Teams poem

The Teams is a poem by Australian writer and poet Henry Lawson. It was first published in the Australian Town and Country Journal on 21 December 1889. It was later published in the poet's poetry collection In the Days When the World Was Wide and Other Verses in 1896.

Where the Pelican Builds is a poem by Australian poet Mary Hannay Foott. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 12 March 1881, and later in the poet's collection Where the Pelican Builds and Other Poems (1885).

References

  1. ↑ Austlit - "A Bush Christening" by A. B. Paterson
  2. 1 2 The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, 2nd edition, p136
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