When Banjo Paterson first published the poem in 1890 it was an immediate hit. And no wonder. Australians were horse mad and tests of horsemanship provided popular entertainment, especially at agricultural shows. As one of the most widely enjoyed sports, horse related competitions were watched by knowledgeable spectators - after all, almost everyone came in daily contact with horses. At the Sydney Royal Easter Show the most skilled horse men and women were admired as the Formula One drivers of their day.
Poets like Paterson and Henry Lawson romanticised the bush, celebrating it as something uniquely Australian at a time when the people needed a reason to unite as the colonies prepared for Federation. The qualities lauded in Banjo's poem - individual resourcefulness, endurance, daring - have become imbedded in our psyche from that nation-building time.
When night-time entertainment in the Show's main arena was first made possible with the electrification of the showgrounds in 1917, an act with an outback theme was the obvious choice to captivate the audience. Called 'Wild Australia', the bushranger story featured an attack on a homestead and a stage coach hold up (the looting of the luggage particularly pleased the crowd). As mounted police rounded-up the gang, a sensational display of trick-riding unfolded, which included spectacularly arranged falls from horses at full gallop.
Almost one hundred years later, audiences still respond to dramatic presentations of those skills. Perhaps, ironically, all the more so because so many of us now find ourselves removed from the realities of rural life and its physicality. When whips crack and horses gallop close by we are thrilled to feel our blood stir. Banjo's tale of the underdog who wins through is destined to become a perennial Show classic. As Banjo himself foretold, 'The Man from Snowy River is a household word today, and the stockmen tell the story of his ride.'
*written by Vicki Hastrich
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