swagman

It's good to compare this to a photograph of a swagman over at the State Records NSW set here: www.flickr.com/photos/state-records-nsw/2715952698/

See a Tyrrell Today comparison here: www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasdaddy/2740006551/

Hi, this photo has been discussed in one of the threads in the Flickr Commons group, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool!

Here is a good link to a present day swagman...www.electronicswagman.com.au

The same group:

That's a great photo. Seems like there has been a bit of retouching to the swag, billy and trouser legs to make them more defined, but I'd be interested in an expert opinion. Good to compare with "On the wallaby track" from the Tyrrell Collection here: www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2363534490/ ADDED: Oh, I see now through at the persistent URL, that these were glass slides for display at an exhibition, so it is understandable that some features were retouched to give more definition on the big screen. Maybe some of the trees in the background have been blurred in processing too.

Very impressive portrait.

Compare him to this photgraph of Ninely and Nine: www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/3084038737/

BobMeade - the whole photo has been touched up extensively, but the eyes most strikingly of all. In the original only the whites of his eyes are visible and it gives the image a powerful aspect. The State Library have the original, but only digitised in low definition. A sharper version can be seen reproduced on p. 78 of Gaslight Sydney by Louise Johnson (Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1984). The State Library further define the location as Walbundry Station.

Thank you pellethepoet.

A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag (bedroll). The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zealand. Swagmen were particularly common in Australia during times of economic uncertainty, such as the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Their swag was frequently referred to as "Matilda", hence Waltzing Matilda refers to walking with their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through, and in many cases the farmers, if no permanent work was available, would provide food and shelter in return for some menial task. The figure of the "jolly swagman", represented most famously in Banjo Paterson's bush poem "Waltzing Matilda", became a folk hero in 19th-century Australia, and is still seen today as a symbol of anti-authoritarian values that Australians considered to be part of the national character. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swagman