Visit Yass Valley

Banjo Paterson Park was acquired and constructed in 1944 as Central Park. It was then renamed in 1948 in honour of Australia’s famous writer and poet, Banjo Paterson.

Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood.

Paterson’s more notable poems include “Waltzing Matilda”, “The Man from Snowy River”, and “Clancy of the Overflow”. When Paterson was a young boy, his family took over his uncle’s farm in Illalong near Yass.

A bust at the park commemorates Banjo Paterson who lived in the Yass district as a boy. The bust is a replica of the bronze original sculpted by Mrs Folks which was unveiled in Banjo Paterson Park on 2 November, 1950.

The original bust is now housed at Yass Valley Information Centre.