Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival 2003 -- Strawy Matilda

Waltzing Matilda

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
'Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?'
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
'Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?'

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee.
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.'
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.'

Up rode a squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred;
Down came the troopers, one, two, three:
'Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.
Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!'

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong;
'You'll never catch me alive!' said he;
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!
Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!'
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!'


Strawy Matilda

This Scarecrows in Motion display was created for the 2003 Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival. The display includes seven life-sized scarecrows, the jumbuck (or sheep) in the tuckerbag, the swaggy's dog, the squatter's horse and the swaggy's ghost, all individually handmade and animated to music. The scarecrows tell the story of one of Australia's most popular songs, Waltzing Matilda. It took 12 weeks to create this display.

		Waltzing Matilda
		This song is so widely loved in Australia that it has become our unofficial national anthem. The words, written by Banjo Paterson in 1895, were set to music by Christina Macpherson.
			Waltzing Matilda Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, Under the shade of a Coolibah tree, And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, 'Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me? Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?' And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled, 'Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?' Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee. And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag, 'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me. Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.' And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag, 'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me.' Up rode a squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred; Down came the troopers, one, two, three: 'Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me! Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me. Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag? You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!' Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong; 'You'll never catch me alive!' said he; And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong, 'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me! Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda, You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!' And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong, 'You'll come a-waltzing matilda with me!'

		A 'swagman' was man who walked around Australia carrying his blankets and provisions in a chaff bag or swag, and living off his wages from occasional jobs. 'Billabong' is an Aboriginal word for a waterhole. A 'billy' was an open-topped tin with a wire handle used for boiling water on a fire. The word, 'waltzing' comes from a German phrase, 'auf der walz' which means to go for a long walk. In Germany apprentices had to travel around the country, working to gain experience in their trade. Similarly in Australia, men would go for long trips across the country, carrying their swag and looking for work. This expression was introduced to Australia by German settlers. A 'matilda' was a woman who would accompany a traveller -- a term originally used by soldiers in the European thirty year war. In Australia the word came to mean the bed roll carried by the traveller. 'Jumbuck' is an Aboriginal word for sheep. The 'tucker bag' was the swagman's food bag. A 'squatter' was a powerful rich landowner. The 'troopers' were the colonial policemen.
		Strawy Matilda
		Here are some scenes from the performance of Strawy Matilda by our Strawy Family of scarecrows:
		The music is 'played' by our Strawy Bush Band with a piano accordion and a fiddle.
		Benjamin, the scarecrow blue tongue lizard is curled up on a hay bale beside the band.
		The old swagman with his huge bushy beard boils some water for a cup of tea beside a billabong. Sitting beside him is the swagman's faithful dog, Spot.
		The swagman has grabbed a jumbuck that came down for a drink at the billabong and has tied him up in his tucker bag.
		Suddenly the fierce squatter who owns the sheep appears. He is mounted on his magnificent horse, Silver. Silver rears up high in the air!
		With the squatter are three troopers, dressed in bright red uniforms and carrying huge muskets. They fire at the poor swagman!
		The squatter has accused the swagman of stealing his sheep and the troopers are about to arrest the swagman. So the swagman drowns himself in the billabong! Then the swagman's ghost rises eerily from the billabong and floats around the scene. The ghost so alarms Silver the thoroughbred, that Silver rears wildly in the air, in the spectacular conclusion of the performance.

		Scarecrow Festival Performance
	The Strawy Matilda display was taken to Memorial Park in Kurrajong, NSW, on Sunday 19th October 2003 for the Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival. The scarecrows were animated to piano accordion music especially recorded for us by Betty Wagner. Betty is a talented musician who has written a special ebook for children about reading music notes. The Strawy Matilda Show entertained the crowds throughout the day with spectacular recreations of the famous Waltzing Matilda story. The horse reared up, the muskets fired streamers, the bush band instruments operated, the sheep jumped in the bag, the dog jiggled, and the ghost danced and swept through the air. The display was awarded the Margaret Garcia Trophy for the Overall Winner of the Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival in 2003. • Scarecrows in Motion Homepage • Kurrajong Straw-billies • Strawy Fire Brigade • Bicycle Built For Two • Old MacStrawy Had a Farm • Man From Strawy River • How these Scarecrows are Made • Scarecrow Ideas • Kurrajong Public School Year 1 Scarecrows • Scarecrow Resources • Contact Us © 2008-2011. scarecrows-in-motion.com.au . All Rights Reserved. A page about the Scarecrows in Motion displays created for the Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival.

Strawy Matilda

Waltzing Matilda

Strawy Matilda

Scarecrow Festival Performance