A Bush Christening
| "A Bush Christening" | |
|---|---|
| by Banjo Paterson | |
| First published in | The Bulletin |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 16 December 1893 |
| Preceded by | "Behind the Scenes" |
| Followed by | "The Geebung Polo Club" |
| Full text | |
 A Bush Christening at Wikisource | |
A Bush Christening is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin magazine on 16 December 1893, the Christmas issue of that publication.[1] It has been called "a rollicking account of how the traditional pre-occupations, whisky and religion, come together".[2]
Plot summary[edit]
‘Mike was the dad of a ten-year-old lad’ (stanza 2, line 5) who has never been christened. Magee lives "On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,"(stanza 1, line 1) and rarely sees a priest. By chance a priest passes by one day and his parents decide to christen the boy as soon as possible. The Magee (son) overhears the conversation, and, thinking that a "christening" is like branding of animals, decides to make a run for it. The priest and parents chase after him. They see that they have no chance of catching the runaway boy, ‘so the priest, flung a flask at his head that was labelled ‘Maginnis Whisky’ (stanza 11, line 43, 44). Thereafter the boy is known and christened as "Maginnis Magee". He grows up to be a justice of the peace who hates to be asked how he came to be christened "Maginnis".
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
The poem has been linked by Australian literary researcher Lucy Sussex to an anonymous story, "Peggy's Christening", in the Colonial Monthly, April 1868.[2]
Further publications[edit]
- The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses by Banjo Paterson (1895)
- From the Ballads to Brennan edited by T. Inglis Moore (1964)
- A Treasury of Colonial Poetry (1982)
- Singer of the Bush, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie (1983)
- My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years edited by Leonie Kramer (1985)
- A Vision Splendid : The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson (1990)
- A Treasury of Bush Verse edited by G. A. Wilkes (1991)
References[edit]
- ^ Austlit - "A Bush Christening" by A. B. Paterson
- ^ a b The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, 2nd edition, p136