Saltbush Bill on the Patriarchs

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.^[1]

Saltbush Bill was one of Paterson's best known characters who appeared in 5 poems: "Saltbush Bill" (1894), "Saltbush Bill's Second Fight" (1897), "Saltbush Bill's Gamecock" (1898), "Saltbush Bill on the Patriarchs" (1903), and "Saltbush Bill, J.P." (1905).^[2]

Plot summary

Saltbush Bill tells the story of a successful sheep farmer using the biblical story of Isaac and Jacob as a metaphor.^[1]

Further publications

• Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses by Banjo Paterson (1917)
• The Drovers edited by Keith Willey (1982)
• Song of the Pen, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1901-1941 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie (1983)
• A Vision Splendid : The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson (1990)
• The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson (1992)

See also

• 1903 in poetry
• 1903 in literature
• 1903 in Australian literature
• Australian literature

References

1. Austlit - "Saltbush Bill on the Patriarchs" by A. B. Paterson
2. The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, 2nd edition, p670