Banjo Patterson's gravesite

Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson — Australia's most beloved poet and the author of 'Waltzing Matilda', 'The Man from Snowy River', and 'Clancy of the Overflow' — died on February 5, 1941, aged 76, and was cremated at the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium at 199 Delhi Road, North Ryde. His memorial plaque there features the opening lines of 'Waltzing Matilda', making the site a quiet place of pilgrimage for Australians who grew up with his verses as part of the national soundtrack.

Paterson was a man of extraordinary range: poet, journalist, war correspondent, soldier, amateur jockey, and veterinarian. His ballads about the bush — written in the 1880s and 1890s — captured a version of Australian identity that the country seized upon and never let go. 'Waltzing Matilda', written in 1895, is arguably the most recognisable Australian song in the world, more widely known than the national anthem. Though Paterson lived most of his adult life in Sydney, his imagination was always in the mountains and the outback, and his writing ensured that world was never forgotten.

The Northern Suburbs Crematorium is open to visitors and also holds the remains of Michael Hutchence of INXS, whose memorial is nearby. The facility is set in landscaped grounds with the understated dignity of a well-maintained memorial park. For those inclined to literary pilgrimage, Banjo Paterson's plaque is a touchstone for the Australian love of bush poetry and the cultural mythology it created.