Dimensions
144 x 223 x 35mm
Banjo Paterson, writer of 'Waltzing Matilda' and 'The Man From Snowy River', was sent by the 'Sydney Morning Herald' and the 'Melbourne Argus' to cover the Boer War as their official correspondent.
Not content to simply record the progress of the war, he was shot at, went behind Boer lines with the Medical Corps, spoke to doctors, farmers, prisoners of war and respected figures who supported the Boer cause. He rubbed shoulders with noted personages of the day, such as the Queen Victoria's cousin, The Duke of Teck, and Rudyard Kipling, but was equally at home in the company of Private Harrison, the mule-whacker.
From it all came a remarkable record of the campaign - sometimes serious and contemplative, sometimes compelling in recounting the fear and exhilaration of battle, sometimes revelling in absurdities of war. Paterson's two most recent biographers have called his work from the Boer War "brilliant" and "his best descriptive writing".
Published for the first time as a separate collection, 'From The Front' contains Paterson's despatches, carefully annotated and illustrated with maps, original drawings and photographs. It gives an extraordinary insight into Australia's first war, and reveals the talent of one of our best-loved writers.
