G'day Rowan (Cap'n Dick, Charley, Bill D, Snuffy ... Uncle Tom Cobbley & all ...),

The text with Bill D's kink to the statue site doesn't do too bad a job of covering the background. The 'Bowyang Yorke' text is generally considered to be the earliest form of the genre (even if this version is little more sanitised than even the old newspaper quote) and the later songs given did bring Gundagai a bit of useful publicity.

John Meredith, a pioneer collector of Australian folk song / lore / &c, grew up about 90 kilometres south-west of Gundagai. He reckoned the local kids (and toymakers) knew just what the damned dog really did to the poor long-suffering bullocky's tucker box ... a popular toy of the 1920s was a cast metal dog, called a Gundagai Dog, squatting and with an aperture in its rear for an incinderary pellet, which - as it burned - vented forth a bubbling brown mess onto the pavement (or your parent's furniture ...).

(Errr .. Rowan ... I might get around to listing all the variants and sources ... but why spoil the fun of searching for all these diligent 'Catters?)

Regard(les)s,

Bob