Corryong - The Man from Snowy River Statue
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The statue of the Man from Snowy River on his horse is located next to the Tourist Information Centre. The statue was sculpted by Brett Garling. You can hear a rendition of the poem "The Man from Snowy River" recorded by a local poet by pressing a button on the nearby information board.
"The Man from Snowy River" is one of Australia`s most famous poems and was written by one of Australia`s most famous poets, Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson.
The poem tells the story of a valuable horse which escapes and its owner offers a princely sum for its safe return of the horse . All the riders in the area gather to pursue the wild bush horses and cut the valuable horse from the mob. But the country defeats them all - except for "The Man from Snowy River".
It is thought that Paterson based the character of The Man from Snowy River on Jack Riley from Corryong, although this is often disputed with the argument put that Paterson created a composite character from a number of people he met.
In late 1889 Walter Mitchell and Banyo Patterson 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 Banyo 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."
Jack Riley was born in Ireland in 1841. At 13 he sailed as an assisted emigrant and, on arrival in Sydney, went directly to Omeo where for the next few years he worked as a tailor. Jack moved to the Monaro district to pursue his love of horses and to ride the Snowy Mountains area. On one occasion Jack rode out into the wilderness of Tin Mine Creek, near Mt Pilot, to search for a missing cattleman whom he found and brought safely back to Moonbah Stattion.
In 1884, Jack came to Greg Greg Station near Corryong, where he owner, Jack Pierce, employed him to look after his cattle at Tom Groggin, some 60km on the Murray River upstream from Khancoban.
Jack lived at Groggin for thirty years and was known locally as "The Hermit of Tom Groggin". AB "Banyo" Patterson met Jack Riley on at least two occasions. By 1914 advancing years and the rough life of a mountain bushman had started to seriously affect Jack's physical condition and he died on 14th July, 1914.
Photos:
Location
50 Hansen Street, Corryong 3707 Map
