Billy tea is more than a strong cup brewed over a campfire, it is an enduring symbol of Australian Outback life. Immortalized in the song, “Waltzing Matilda,” this simple bush tea tells a larger story of swagmen, jackaroos, resourcefulness, and a tradition that has shaped Australian folklore for generations.
“Waltzing Matilda” and the Origins of Australia’s Billy Tea Tradition
Australian poet A.B. Paterson, aka Banjo Paterson, added lyrics to a traditional Scottish melody called “Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigielea” back in 1895. The result, Waltzing Matilda, is deemed Australia’s unofficial national anthem.
The lyrics of the opening refrain and chorus are:
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:
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me?
Chorus:
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled:
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.
What is a “billy”?
A “billy” is a tin can with a wire handle used by “swagmen”, which were traveling laborers or bushmen, to boil water for tea, if they’re fortunate enough to have it, or other bits of botanicals and twigs to make hot cuppas while camping out in the bush.
The lyrics to the song, “Thou Bonnie Wood of Craigielea,” have been revised several times over the years and the version that is now most popular is a slight variation of the original, having been modified by The Billy Tea Company in the early 1900’s to better emphasize the preparation of tea in the song.
Billy Tea in the Australian Outback: History, Tradition, and How It’s Made
Australia is a British Commonwealth country that has significant tea drinking cultures, both high- and low-brow. The following is an excerpt from serendipiTea: a guide to the varieties, origins, and rituals of tea by SerendipiTea’s co-founder Tomilav Podreka, an Australian himself who, like may Aussies, had a great gift for story-telling.
“For a truly down-under tea experience one must travel to Australia’s Outback where the jackaroos and swaggies, the Australian versions of the N. American cowboy and hobo, respectively, drink billy tea.
The famous song Waltzing Matilda contains a line about the swaggie waiting for his billy to boil, indicating that billy tea is very much a part of Australian folklore. Billy tea is made in a billy, which is nothing more than a tin can with a long handle fashioned from a length of wire. Into this makeshift kettle go the black tea leaves and water, which is then left to boil over the campfire. The crude tea is as much a part of jackaroo lore as the coffeepot is of cowboy legend. The billy was (and still is in many parts of the continent) the first thing on a campfire at night, the hot tea meant to ward off the chill of the evening, and again the first pot grabbed in the morning.
Strong, undoubtedly bitter billy tea fortified the jackaroo as he roamed the vast expanse of the Outback tending his cattle.”
He continues, “Billy tea may be a symbol of a jackaroo, but the swaggies are credited for inventing it. These wanderers (transient worker who travel on foot) are known as swagmen or swaggies because of the ever-present “swag” hanging from the pole slung over their shoulders holding their few worldly possessions. Without fail, tea leaves were wrapped inside the swag and the swaggie, stopping under a bridge, alongside a railroad or by the banks of a stream, mixed the precious leaves with anything else he could find to extend their life and sustain his. This might mean that the tea was mixed with twigs, leaves, or even insects. When the tea had brewed, turned a good, strong color the swaggie would ‘swing the billy’.
Swinging the billy is important because it is by this method that the tea is separated from the leaves and rendered suitable for drinking. The billy was held by the long hanle and with a quick heave, swung windmill fashion – just as children playfully swing pails full of sand and sea water at the beach – so the centrifugal pull settled the leaves on the bottom of the can and the liquid could be poured into mugs.
Unless they were on the move, both swaggies and jackaroos left billy tea simmering on the campfires all day long. In the evening, the fire was built up, the strong tea once again brought to a full boil, and more tea leaves added to the billy. By now, the tea was a ferocious brew that could be tamed with a judicious spoonful of sugar - although more often than not it was drunk unsweetened. Real jackaroos don’t add sugar!”