Conroy's Gap
1890 poem by Banjo Paterson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Conroy's Gap" is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson (Andrew Barton Paterson).[1]
| "Conroy's Gap" | |
|---|---|
| by A. B. Paterson | |
| Written | 1890 |
| First published in | The Bulletin |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Published in English | 20 December 1890 |
| Full text | |
 Conroy's Gap at Wikisource | |
It was first published in The Bulletin on 20 December 1890, as by "The Banjo", under the title "The Story of Conroy's Gap",[2] and subsequently reprinted in the author's poetry collections and other poetry anthologies.[1]
Critical reception
In a review of the poet's collection The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses a reviewer in The Argus (Melbourne) noted: "The swing of the verse is as various as the pace of a horse–now ambling along in an easy, careless measure, now breaking into a rough trot, and presently springing into full gallop, with a long stride, and a rhythmical recurrence of the rapid hoof-beats on the ringing around. And the general effect of the free and animated movement of the verse is thoroughly exhilarating, as in [this poem, among others], where the metre suits well with the hurry and excitement of the narrative."[3]
Publication history
After its original publication in The Bulletin[2] the poem was later reprinted as follows:
- The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses, Angus and Robertson, 1895[4]
- The Collected Verse of Banjo Paterson edited by Clement Semmler, Viking O'Neill, 1982[5]
- Singer of the Bush, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Complete Works 1885-1900 edited by Rosamund Campbell and Philippa Harvie, Lansdowne, 1983[6]
- My Country : Australian Poetry and Short Stories, Two Hundred Years edited by Leonie Kramer, Lansdowne, 1985[7]
- A Vision Splendid: The Complete Poetry of A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson, Angus and Robertson, 1990[8]
- Selected Poems : A. B. Paterson edited by Les Murray, 1992[9]
- A. B. (Banjo) Paterson : Bush Ballads, Poems, Stories and Journalism edited by Clement Semmler, University of Queensland Press, 1992[10]
- Banjo Paterson : His Poetry and Prose edited by Richard Hall, Allen & Unwin, 1993[11]
- The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson : Containing 'The Man from Snowy River', 'Rio Grande' and 'Saltbush Bill, M.P.', 1921[12]
- The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads edited by Elizabeth Webby and Philip Butterss, Penguin, 1993[13]
Notes
- Conroy's Gap, and Conroy's sheep, would later be mentioned by Paterson in his 1894 poem "The Travelling Post Office", and also in his 1896 poem "Mulga Bill's Bicycle"