The Black Man from the Snowy Mountains

“The Black Man from the Snowy Mountains” by Chris.D (canvas 1000 x 1500)

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One of Australia’s most well known pieces of literature, the poem ‘The Man from Snowy River’, published in 1890 has since become equally famous for concealing the exact identity of the hero of the story within, with the following century leading to several reasonably guesses as to whom it may be.
Less acceptable to many ‘Australians’ is the plausible belief that he may have been an Aboriginal man, or at least the primary inspiration for the ‘the man’. This belief has been put forward by several prominent historians, scholars and authors over the last five decades.
If Banjo Paterson intended for his ‘hero’ to be a “fair-haired bushman of English or Irish lineage”, then it is still reasonable to conclude that the inspiration came from a Aboriginal stockman and/or “black-tracker”, according to historical research. More so, Paterson may have accidentally or deliberately left clues in the poem itself, and may have himself been inspired to pen the piece due to other writers publishing similar poems years before.
This painting does not declare that the ‘The Man from Snowy River’ was absolutely a Aboriginal man, nor is intended to detract from the appeal of Banjo Paterson’s poem, but rather commemorates the plausibility of the Black Man theory and the ongoing mythology and intrigue of the story within the poem.
More than this, this painting speaks to the history and skill of the Aboriginal Stockman, who were literally forced into the role, least they be murdered, imprisoned, or herded to reservations with their tribe to live off rations for the remainder of their lives.
The Black Stockmen throughout history, to be respected and revered!