Edwin Henry Murrant was born in Somerset, England in 1864, and immigrated to Australia in 1883. In Australia he met Paddy Magee, from Ireland, and they became best mates. Over this period, the Englishman proved he was expert at horse breaking, which earned him the nickname “Breaker”, but he also changed his surname by a few letters, and his background as well. He falsely claimed to be the illegitimate son of George Digby Morant, (Ref.#1 ) and Sir George always denied it.
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If the stories about him are correct, “The Breaker” acted out many of the suggestions in his poems, and more. He had a marriage of less than 5 weeks (Ref.#2 ) to Daisy Bates, (Ref.#3 ) (m. 1884, Bates : 24 y.o, Morant : 19 y.o) He was engaged many times, accumulated debts, and led a colourful life. In 1899, he enlisted and went to South Africa to fight in the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902). He subsequently joined the Bushveldt Carbineers, a counter insurgency outfit operating behind enemy lines. The British had adopted an unofficial policy of taking no prisoners, but Morant and several others were tried by court-martial for killing prisoners, and a German missionary. Acquitted of the missionary’s death, he was found guilty of killing POWs, and he and Australian, Lt. Handcock, were put before a British firing squad. Whether Morant committed the crimes is a separate matter from whether he received a fair trial, and with very limited time for the defense to prepare, no appeal process, no stay of execution, clearly he did not. An informative article is here (Ref.#4 )
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During his life he’d had a correspondence with Banjo Paterson, and Paterson wrote his obituary in The Sydney Morning Herald.(Ref.#5) . Paterson’s involvement with the case (Ref.#6) and with Major James Thomas, (Ref.#7) the Tenterfield solicitor who represented Morant at his trial, continued for many years. And in “Banjo Paterson Tells His Own Story”, (Ref.#8) printed in The Sydney Morning Herald in 1939, Paterson again reflected on “Breaker” Morant, and recalls their first meeting. Interestingly, he refers to him as a “celebrity”.
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"Breaker" Morant remains a controversial figure, over 120 years after his death. Despite what has been said about the man’s character, there's no doubt he could write a good lyric, and that's what I’ve recorded here.
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This tune is by Graham Jenkin (Ref.#9) of "The Overlanders" from South Australia, from their album : " Songs of the Breaker" (1980). In the song "Brigalow Pat", Jenkin uses only the chorus of the original poem, and then adds some lyrics of his own, but I present the original poem, using his tune for the chorus and adding a matching tune for the original verses. See (Ref.#10 )
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Ref.#1 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Digby_Morant
Ref.#2 : www.wanowandthen.com/Daisy-Bates.html#:~:text=After%20a%20brief%20courtship%2C%20they%20were%20married%20at,days%2C%20ending%20when%20Morant%20was%20apprehended%20for%20theft.
Ref.#3 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Bates_(author)
Ref.#4 : www.westoverward.co.uk/breaker-morant-hero-or-villain/
Ref.#5 : www.smh.com.au/national/from-the-archives-breaker-morant-remembered-by-banjo-paterson-20190226-p510a4.html
Ref.#6 : breakermorant.com/blog/?p=270
Ref.#7 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Francis_Thomas
Ref.#8 : gutenberg.net.au/ebooks21/2100401h.html#AnExecutionandaRoyalPardon
Ref.#9 : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Jenkin
Ref.#10 : www.discogs.com/release/14856056-The-Overlanders-The-Overlanders-Sing-Songs-Of-The-Breaker
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