Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his Tucker Bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
This is what the words in blue mean:
Waltzing: travelling
Matilda: bag
swagman: a worker who travels in search of work
billabong: small lake
coolibah: eucalyptus tree
jumbuck: sheep
billy: can for boiling water
Tucker Bag: food bag
troopers: policemen
squatter: farmers who used land that was not theirs
thoroughbred: well-bred Horse
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a Write the sentence in which you found the word ‘sprang’.
b From that sentence, suggest what ‘sprang’ means.
c Write a new sentence using the word ‘sprang’.
d Use a dictionary to find words with a similar meaning
(synonyms) to ‘sprang’.
e Draw a small picture showing what you think
‘sprang’ means.
Try this for other words, too.
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Read the story and underline the key words. Write
the most important of these key words in a list
like the one below. Write next to it a word that
means a similar thing (a synonym). You don’t have
to use all the spaces, but you should not use more.
Key word
Example: glee
Synonym (similar word)
joy
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A squatter and some troopers arrived, and asked where the jumbuck was.
The swagman leaped up and grabbed the jumbuck.
Ever since his death, the swagman's ghost can be heard singing by people
passing the billabong.
A swagman near a billabong sang as he waited for his billy to boil.
In reply, the swagman jumped into the billabong, saying "You'll never catch
me alive".
A jumbuck came down to drink at the billabong.
1 What did the swagman do as he watched and waited till his
billy boiled?
2 Which animal came down to drink at the billabong?
3 Where did the swagman shove the jumbuck?
4 Who was mounted on a thoroughbred?
5 What may be heard as you pass by the billabong?
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The swagman's ghost
Imagine you have come across the billabong where the story
took place. It is a calm, hot day with no breeze. Suddenly,
the surface of the water starts to ripple. Before your eyes,
the ghost of the swagman rises out of the billabong... (now
complete the story)
Below is a plain text version for printing:
Understanding words:
a
b
c
d
e
Write the sentence in which you found the word ‘sprang’.
From that sentence, suggest what ‘sprang’ means.
Write a new sentence using the word ‘sprang’.
Use a dictionary to find words with a similar meaning (synonyms) to ‘sprang’.
Draw a small picture showing what you think ‘sprang’ means.
Finding key words:
Read the story and underline the key words. Write the most important of these key
words in a list. Write next to it a word that means a similar thing (a synonym).
For example:
Key word – glee
Synonym – joy
Sequencing:
Write these sentences in the correct order, so they make sense:
A squatter and some troopers arrived, and asked where the jumbuck was.
The swagman leaped up and grabbed the jumbuck.
Ever since his death, the swagman's ghost can be heard singing by people passing
the billabong.
A swagman near a billabong sang as he waited for his billy to boil.
In reply, the swagman jumped into the billabong, saying "You'll never catch me alive".
A jumbuck came down to drink at the billabong.
Get to the facts:
1
2
3
4
5
What did the swagman do as he watched and waited till his billy boiled?
Which animal came down to drink at the billabong?
Where did the swagman shove the jumbuck?
Who was mounted on a thoroughbred?
What may be heard as you pass by the billabong?
Make a story...
The swagman's ghost
Imagine you have come across the billabong where the story took place. It is a
calm, hot day with no breeze. Suddenly, the surface of the water starts to
ripple. Before your eyes, the ghost of the swagman rises out of the billabong...
(now complete the story)
Waltzing Matilda
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Up rode the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred,
Down came the troopers, one, two, three,
"Where's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag?"
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
"You'll never catch me alive", said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me".
Word list:
waltzing: travelling
matilda: bag
swagman: a worker who travels in search of work
billabong: small lake
coolibah: eucalyptus tree
jumbuck: sheep
billy: can for boiling water
tucker bag: food bag
troopers: policemen
squatter: farmers who used land that was not theirs
thoroughbred: well-bred Horse