G'day Murray,

That's an interesting question. The old one was whether Paterson made up the expression "Waltzing Matilda", for the same meaning. There is a collected song "Australia's on the Wallaby" as well as Lawson's poem, in much the same form, "Freedom on the Wallaby". Arguments about which came first, etcetera, are bubbling below the surface - I got on viewpoint from collector/academic Chris Sullivan last week and have heard other views over the years.

I guess the starting point, as far as printed sources go, is to check with the Australian National Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1988) as this gives the full Oxford English Dictionary treatment to Australian expressions - chronological citations of the earliest use in each particular sense of a word. I will check with my copy when I get home.

Regards,

Bob Bolton