He was engaged to a young lady named Sarah Riley. They took a holiday to Dagworth in western Queensland and Sarah's closest friend Christina MacPherson was there at the family station and, well, look, you have to say Banjo and Christina hit it off. Probably a little, a little too well I suppose, is the kindest way to put it. One of the station workers told of seeing a swagman Waltzing his Matilda down by the billabong as in carrying a swag that's stuck in the Paterson's mind.
G'day, guys and welcome to Aussie English! My objective here is to teach you guys the English spoken down under. So, whether you want to speak like a fair dinkum Aussie or you just want to understand what the flipping hell we're on about when we're having a yarn, you've come to the right place. So, sit back, grab a cuppa and enjoy Aussie English.
G'day, guys! Welcome to this episode of Aussie English. It's great to have you here, guys. If it's your first time listening. Thanks so much for joining me. I love seeing all of your new guys listening to the podcast, although, I don't see you, but it's good to see the statistics showing that a lot of you are listening to the podcast for the first time and if you have come back, thank you once again for joining me on the Aussie English podcast. Now, guys, this podcast is for anyone and everyone learning Australian English, but also just English in general.
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Alright. So, the spiel aside, guys, all of that spiel aside, the little video there at the start was a Story from Sunrise, which is a TV show about news and current affairs in Australia. It's definitely worth a look, but this was on YouTube. I will leave a link in the transcript if you would like to watch the entire video which I recommend you do. And it was about Banjo Patterson so, I wonder if you guys know who Banjo Patterson is in the context of Australian culture and history.
Now, we'll get into that who he was a little bit about him at the end in the Aussie English fact, but before then let's go through the Aussie English joke, the expression, some exercises and then the Aussie English fact, ok? So, today's joke, today's joke it's a joke about Australians, ok? What do you call an Aussie in the finals of the World Cup?
What do you call an Aussie in the finals of the World Cup? So, the World Cup is the soccer championship where all the different teams from all over the world compete. What do you call an Aussie in the World Cup? A referee. A referee, right? Because Australia is not well known for its soccer skills. I mean, we get into the World Cup every now and then, but we never, we never win it, ok? But that's that's the joke here. If you see an Australian then the World Cup the only reason he could be there is because he's being paid to be there to be a referee, right?
There's the joke. So, today's expression is That's All She Wrote. That's All She Wrote. This was suggested by Erandaka in the Aussie English classroom, we voted on this expression and Erandaka won. Good job, Erandaka!
Let's go through and define the words in the expression That's All she Wrote.
So, THAT. That is all she wrote. That is referring to a specific thing previously mentioned, previously understood or known, right? Something that you've already mentioned, you can say that, that thing, right? That.
If you hear someone say That's All, that means this is everything or that is everything, that is the totality of whatever it is you were talking about, ok? That's all. That's everything.
SHE. Now, I'm sure you guys know that she is a pronoun for the third person and it's feminine, right? He and she.
And the last word here, another simple one, WROTE is the past tense of the verb to write, which is to mark letters words or other symbols on a surface, typically paper with a pen, pencil or similar implement. To write.
So, the expression definition guys, That's All She Wrote. Have you heard of this expression before? That's all she wrote, guys! That's all she wrote. It's used to convey that there is now nothing more to be said about a certain topic or a certain matter, right? Or it can also be showing that there is a sudden and unforeseen end to one's hopes or plans, right? So, you can use it to show that everything is finished. It's all over, there's no more to be said and done. That's all she wrote.
So, I tried to look into the origin of this expression and it originates from America. And according to phrases.org.uk, which is a great place to find out more about the origin of different English expressions, the popular version of the origin is that it came from World War II and it was the punchline of a mournful tale about an American G.I, an American soldier serving overseas in the Second World War and this serviceman, this American G.I. is supposed to have received a letter from his sweetheart, from the woman he was romantically involved with and he reads it to his colleagues "Dear John" and they say go on, and he says "that's it. That's all she wrote".
So, apparently these Dear John letters were sent to people in the military, people at war from women when they were effectively dumping them, right? They would just write Dear John and it was a sort of subtle way of saying we're breaking up, ok? So, you know it would be the equivalent of a text message today saying it's over. You're dumped. That's all she wrote.
So, let's go through three examples of how I would use this expression in day to day life.
So, example number one: Game of Thrones. Are you guys watching Game of Thrones? This is a great example. So, we've been watching Game of Thrones on the TV recently, I'm obviously obsessed with it. It first came out in 2010.
You know, since it came out there's been eight seasons, 69 episodes, something like 55 hours of story, of plot of white walkers, of dragons, of different houses, of betrayal and we're two or three episodes now into the eighth season, the final season, there's only three or four episodes left. When this season finally finishes, when the final episode airs, that'll be it, that'll be all she wrote. It'll be finished for good, right? So, it'll actually be all that George R.R. Martin wrote of the story, but we could say that'll be all she wrote or that's all she wrote to show that it's completely finished.
Example number two: imagine you're playing a game of Monopoly with your family. So, I used to love playing Monopoly with my family, particularly when I was away at my family's farm up near Bendigo and one of you could be the ram or the sheep, someone else's the dog or the hat. You know, those tokens, those pieces, but I always loved to be the car. I was always trying to be the car when I was playing Monopoly.
So, that was always my favourite game piece. So, you play this game for hours, you're competing against your family to buy up as much property as possible. Maybe you end up with all the train stations or the utilities and then Mayfair and Park Lane. You know, the most expensive properties that you can get in the game of Monopoly. You put a few hotels up on these two properties and one after the other, each of your family lands on these properties and goes bankrupt, they can't afford to pay for the rent in order to stay or keep going in the game. So, when you finally defeat the final player, you could say well that's all she wrote, as in that's all there is, the game is over, it's finished. That's all she wrote.
Example number three: and this is a bit more of a morbid example, but you know it kind of it's a good example. You've got a grandfather and he's lived to the ripe old age of 100 and one, he can still get around quite well and he loves keeping active. He loves gardening in the front yard of his house or you know going for walks. One day he pops out to give his roses in the front yard a water with the hose and all of a sudden he has a massive heart attack and he drops dead on the spot. He dies. He kicks the bucket, he passes away. So, when you hear of your grandfather's death, you might be really sad that he died, but at the same time you might be really stoked, really chuffed, really happy that he died doing what he loved, right?
He died doing something he really enjoyed. So, someone could say well he was out the front yard one minute watering his plants and the next minute he was dead on the ground and that's all she wrote. As in his life is completely finished. That's all she wrote.
So, hopefully now guys you understand the expression That's All She Wrote. You can use it to convey that there is or was nothing more to be said about a certain matter. You can also use it to show a sudden or unforeseen end to your hopes or plans. But broadly, it's just when something has finished, when something is over, when there's no more to be said or done. That's all she wrote.
So, as usual guys, let's go through a listen and repeat exercise. This is your chance to practice your pronunciation so, if you want an Aussie accent, obviously, try and mimic me, try and copy me as best you can. If you're working on any other English accent, you don't necessarily have to copy my pronunciation, but try and say these words after me in your chosen accent. Let's go.
That. That's. That's all she. That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote.
I love telling you guys about pronunciation and what's going on here. There's an interesting thing going on. Can you hear any L in the sentence That's all she wrote. That's all she wrote. The Ls in the word all, if I say the L correctly, all, are actually turning into the dark L, all. Can you hear the L now? So, instead of the light L, all, where I'm saying L correctly, I'm saying the dark L which sounds more like a W, all, all.
So it's done with the lips, not the tongue. This happens when there are Ls followed by a consonant or no sound at all. So, you only use the dark L as long as it's not followed by a vowel. That's all she wrote. Ok? So, try and say that with me in the following sentences and know too that if you want to learn more about Australian pronunciation and English pronunciation as well in general, jump into the Aussie English classroom and complete the English Pronunciation Course. This is a great way to learn how to sound more like a native speaker. Let's keep going.
I said that's all she wrote. You said that so she wrote. He said that's all she wrote. She said that so she wrote. We said that's all she wrote. They said that's all she wrote. It's said that so she wrote.
Good job! Now another interesting thing there with connected speech and particularly with linking different consonants the D there at the end of the words SAID, said, It disappears because there is the consonant TH after it. So, we don't release the D. So this is a way of connecting these two consonants.
So instead of saying I said that's all she wrote, you'll hear that I say said that's, so it links together, said that's, said that's. Good job!
Alright. So, the English fact for the day, guys. Today I was thinking ok, the expression is that's all she wrote, wrote, ok? Writing, authors, people who write things. Authors, poets Banjo Paterson. Alright, I'll talk about Banjo Paterson! So, Andrew Barton Paterson, more affectionately known as Banjo Paterson by the average Australian, was one of Australia's most famous poets as well as also being a solicitor, a journalist, a war correspondent and even a soldier throughout his life.
And you'll probably know his face. All of you guys have probably seen his face as it is on the ten dollar bill. The Australian ten dollar note, his face is the one with the cowboy hat on. He was born in 1864 on the 17th of February in Narrambla near Orange in New South Wales and he was the eldest of seven children. He grew up in the bush as the son of a grazier and was affectionately known as Barty by his close friends and family. From a young age, he went to picnic meetings and polo matches and saw many accomplished horseman from Murrumbidgee and the Snowy Mountains country in action, which sparked his lifelong enthusiasm for horses and horsemanship.
After receiving lessons from a governess, he was able to ride a pony and attend school in the bush town of Binalong. In 1874, he was sent to Sydney Grammar School where he matriculated at age 16. Unfortunately, he failed a scholarship exam in order to go to the University of Sydney and instead he became a solicitor's clerk and was then admitted in 1886 as a solicitor and worked in that position for the following decade or more.
As a young man, Patterson took enthusiastic part in the Sydney social and sporting scene, indulging in tennis and rowing, but falling head over heels in love with horsemanship becoming one of the colonies best polo players. He was reported to be quote "a tall man with a finely built muscular body moving with ease of perfectly coordinated reflexes, black hair, dark eyes, a long finally articulated nose and ironic mouth, a dark pigmentation of skin, his eyes as eyes must be were his most distinctive feature, slightly hooded with a glance that looked beyond one as he talked", end quote.
His love of poetry was fostered by his widowed grandmother Emily May Barton with whom Patterson lived during his school days in Glades ville in Sydney. Patterson began writing verses as a law student and his first poem 'El Mahdi to the Australian troops', was published in The Bulletin in February of 1885. This is where he adopted the pen name 'The Banjo'. So, he used the name 'The Banjo' instead of his real name, which was taken from the name of a station racehorse owned by his family.
He quickly found himself part of a group of Bulletin writers and artists whose work made the 1890s remarkable in terms of Australian literature, rubbing shoulders with the likes of E.J. Brady, Victor Daly, Frank Mahoney, and even Harry 'The Breaker' Morant. By 1895 a series of ballads by Paterson became so popular among readers, that the publisher Angus and Robertson published the collection of the works as 'The Man From Snowy River, and Other Verses'. The first edition sold out in a week of publication and 7,000 copies were sold in the following few months.
The work's most important achievement being that it established the bushmen in the national consciousness of Australia as a romantic and archetypal figure. The work received as much praise overseas as England as it did in Australia and finally Patterson's identity as The Banjo was revealed and he became a national celebrity and Australian icon overnight. In the same year of 1885, whilst on holiday in Queensland with friends at Dagworth station, Paterson wrote his famous ballad 'Waltzing Matilda', which referred to a swagman carrying his bag whilst walking. He was Waltzing Matilda. Little did he realize this song, this ballad would one day be arguably Australia's most famous folk song and nearly became the country's national anthem when it came second in a referendum losing out to Advance Australia Fair.
In the next few years he travelled through the Northern Territory and overseas and wrote of his experiences in prose and verse for newspapers all across Australia.
In 1899, he became a war correspondent after being commissioned by The Sydney Morning Herald to sail to South Africa to cover the Boer War. For nine months he was attached to General French's column where he was placed in the thick of fighting and gave graphic accounts of key campaigns including the surrender of Bloemfontein and the capture of Pretoria and the relief of Kimberley.
His writing was of such quality that it was noticed by the English press and he was appointed as a correspondent for the international news agency Reuters.
Patterson returned to Australian shores in September of the year nineteen hundred before quickly leaving to go to China and England whilst working as a roving correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald. He returned again to Australia in 1982 where he met and married his wife Alice Emily in 1983. They settled down in Woollahra and had two children Grace and Hugh. In 1988, Patterson resigned his editorship as the call of the bush could no longer be resisted and he took over a 40,000 acre property called Coodra Vale near Wee Jasper where he continued to write.
When World War One broke out, Patterson immediately sailed to England in an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a war correspondent again to cover the fighting. Instead, he ended up driving an ambulance attached to the Australian Voluntary Hospital in France before returning to Australia in 1915.
He then made three voyages with horses to Africa, China and Egypt, where he was training these horses and was then commissioned in the second remount unit of the Australian Imperial Force. He was promoted to captain while serving in the Middle East, wounded in the year 1916 shortly after which he rejoined his unit and was promptly promoted to Major where he commanded the Australian Remount Squadron until he returned once again to Australia in 1919.
He lived for another 20 or more years working as a journalist and then retiring to devote his leisure time to creative writing where he was often seen at the Australian Club in Sydney, where his portrait still hangs to this day.
In 1941 Banjo Patterson died following a short illness and was survived by his wife and children. Patterson was in every sense and by verdict of the Australian public an Aussie hero. His life was thoroughly devoted to being a ballad writer, horseman, bushman, overlander and squatter and he helped to make the Australian legend. So, I hope you enjoy this episode, guys!
If you would like access to the bonus content for this episode, which will include two poems by Banjo Paterson, including Old Man Platypus and We're all Australians Now make sure that you sign up to the Aussie English Classroom you'll get that and you'll get all the bonus podcast episodes that I put up as well as all my other courses.
Anyway, it's been a long episode. I hope you have a great weekend, guys, and chatty next time. All the best!
G'day, mate. Thanks for listening to the Aussie English podcast! If you'd like to boost your English whilst also supporting the podcast and allowing me to continue to bring you awesome content every single week, please consider joining the Aussie English Classroom at www.AussieEnglish.com.au and start your one dollar trial today! You'll get unlimited access to the premium podcast as well as all of my advanced English courses and you'll also be able to join three weekly speaking calls with a real English teacher. Thanks so much, mate! And I'll see you soon!