: 'Once a jolly swagman, camped by a billabong. Under the shade of a coolibah tree'. You can relive this famous ballad way out in Queensland's outback.
Here lies a peaceful waterhole surrounded by pretty coolibah trees, a perfect spot for a dip or a rest in the shade. As you take in the tranquil surroundings, you may see what inspired Banjo Paterson's immortal ballad, Waltzing Matilda.
Just south-east of the tiny settlement of Kynuna, along the Matilda Highway in Queensland's north-west, lies the Combo Waterhole, the legendary billabong behind Banjo's famous poem.
It all started at nearby Dagworth Station. Here Banjo was inspired when Dagworth owner Bob MacPherson told him of the suicide of a shearer involved in the great strikes of the 1890s, which led to the burning of the Dagworth shearing shed.
Banjo heard several similar stories and this led to him scribing the famous ballad that has now become Australia's unofficial national anthem.
Legend has it that Christina MacPherson of Dagworth adapted a Scottish tune, Cragielea, for the music to the ballad.
A visit to the Combo Waterhole is a nostalgic journey into Australia's history. And if you travel a further 145 kilometres along the Matilda Highway, you can delve more into the famous legend at the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton.
Here, Banjo Paterson's story is spelled out in full detail with a sound and light show and interactive displays. Winton also claims fame as the place where Waltzing Matilda was first performed.; Explorers
: Queensland's Outback, covering an enormous 832,000 square kilometres, is tough pioneer country, steeped in the history of early explorers.
Many tourists travel the Matilda Highway and byways in search of the real Australian outback and its rich heritage. Here they discover Australia's early beginnings thanks to many significant sites and memorials dedicated to brave pioneers such as Burke and Wills, Ludwig Leichhardt, William Landsborough, John McKinlay, Sir Thomas Mitchell and Sir Augustus Gregory, among many others.
Towns, highways, roads, trees, rivers and other important sites have been memorialised after explorers and are well worth a visit. There's Burketown, the Burke river, the Mitchell Highway, the Landsborough Highway, the McKinley River, Leichhardt River and Falls, Gregory River and Downs to name a few.
Each town in the outback has its own place in Australia's history. Barcaldine was the site of the revolutionary 1891 Shearers' Strike. Visit the famous tree of knowledge, folk museum and Workers Heritage Centre.
Winton is the 'birthplace' of Australia's national airline, Qantas, and the national song, Waltzing Matilda as well as being home to the Waltzing Matilda Centre.
Longreach has an important link with the Qantas story told in the Qantas Founders Outback Museum in the original Qantas hanger.
Don't miss the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, a pioneer museum devoted to rural Australia's exploration, settlement and development.
