Swagman in our glorious era

It was the era of fabulous gold strikes and gold rushes...of land-rich squatters... Cobb & Co coaches... bushrangers...and of course Australian swagmen.

The itinerant swagmen are the most iconic of Australian characters - and many seniors will remember them tramping on country roads and on the outskirts of our capital cities.

And swagmen are the subject of a new book of short stories by journalist and author Ted Cavey, a former news editor of The Age, editor of The Courier, Ballarat, and managing editor of The Standard, Warrnambool.

The book, entitled Down on His Luck, portrays the adventures that befall swagmen as they tramp the outback looking for work to allow them to survive in an unforgiving climate and the harshest of conditions.

It depicts the mateship that characterises them...their struggles...their triumphs...their tragedies.

Story titles include: Down on His Luck, The Strangest Swaggie, Death of an Educated Man, The Bush Poet, The Laziest Swaggie, The Outback Butler,and The Last Laugh.

Author Ted Cavey believes that while the swagman's place in our history is assured because he's the subject of our national song, Waltzing Matilda, their portrayal in Banjo Paterson's creation really does them a disservice.

"Waltzing Matilda tells the story of the jolly swagman who is a thief, because he steals a jumbuck, and a coward, because when confronted with his crime he takes his own life," Cavey says.

"But the overwhelming majority of swagmen were neither thieves nor cowards: they were honest toilers humping their blueys on the wallaby track looking for an honest day's work.

"They weren't like the tramp of England or the hobo of America with whom they're often erroneously compared."

Swagmen were at their most prolific in Australia during the Depression of the 1890's following the shearers' strike. Their numbers dwindled in the early 1900's when forms of welfare were introduced but soared again during the Great Depression of the 1930's. It was these swagmen that many seniors will remember from the 1940's and 1950's.