While the town of Corryong takes great pride in the thought that a local horseman Jack Riley (1841–1914), may have given inspiration for the famous ballad. Wikipedia gives the fact that "…the inspiration for "The Man" was claimed by Banjo himself to be not one person but a number of people, one of which was Owen Cummins." The Corryong story goes that Paterson met with Riley at least twice. [Wikipedia: (
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Next to the cast bronze sculpture is an interpretative sign, with the following information:
Jack Riley; The inspiration for A.B. "Banjo" Paterson's poem "The Man from Snowy River"
"In late 1889 Walter Mitchell and Banjo Paterson spent the night with Jack Riley at his hut on Tom Groggin Station, making Jack Riley the only one of the 12 possible "Man from Snowy River" contenders to have met Banjo prior to him first publishing the poem on 26 April 1890.
"While Banjo repeatedly said that the poem was not about one man, in 1934 he stated that Jack Riley had indeed been the inspiration for the poem.
"Jack Riley himself believed he was the "Man" and acknowledged that the poem was not a true account. He was quoted in 1912 stating "that Paterson fellow got it wrong, Clancy was not there."
"The version of the poem that you can listen to here was released in 1895 with several variations from the original 1890 poem, again reinforcing that the poem is not a factual account."
[Copies of the poem and other historical information are available from the Visitor Information Centre and the Man from Snowy River Museum. Jack Riley's grave can be found in the Corryong Cemetery - also a Waymark].
The full posem can be read at: (
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For a slightly shortened version of the poem, with the opening credits of the movie, try this YouTube clip: (
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Address: Visitor Information Centre, Corryong, Vic, 3707, Australia
Visited: 1026, Monday, 31 December, 2018