| Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses | |
| Author: | Banjo Paterson |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Bush poetry |
| Publisher: | Angus and Robertson |
| Release Date: | 1917 |
| Media Type: | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages: | 137 |
| Preceded By: | Three Elephant Power and Other Stories |
| Followed By: | The Animals Noah Forgot |
Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses (1917) is the third collection of poems by Australian poet Banjo Paterson. It was released in hardback by Angus and Robertson in 1917, and features the poems "Waltzing Matilda", "Saltbush Bill, J.P.", "An Answer to Various Bards" and "T.Y.S.O.N.".
The original collection includes 43 poems[1] by the author that are reprinted from various sources. The book formed part of the publisher's series of "Pocket Editions for the Trenches",[2] designed to fit a serviceman's coat pocket.
On its original publication in Australia The Sunday Times noted "As to the contests of Saltbush Bill, J.P., it is to be regretted that Banjo himself was not responsible for the selection, as he would certainly have omitted quite a number of verses — fugitive lines, poor jokes in rhyme, andinconsequentialities that, although well enough in the columns of a newspaper, would be better out of a volume."[3] The Australian Worker was similarly unimpressed: "A man with the reputation made by The Man from Snowy River and Rio Grande's Last Race has a very high standard to maintain, and, so far as this latest volume is concerned, it cannot be said that Paterson has maintained it."[4]