Saltbush Bill, J.P.

Saltbush Bill, J.P. is a humorous poem by Australian writer and poet Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson. It was first published in The Evening News on 16 December 1905.

Saltbush Bill was one of Paterson's best known characters who appeared in 5 poems: "Saltbush Bill" (1894), "Saltbush Bill's Second Fight" (1897), "Saltbush Bill's Gamecock" (1898), "Saltbush Bill on the Patriarchs" (1903), and "Saltbush Bill, J.P." (1905).

After a long life of droving Saltbush Bill is appointed a J.P. (Justice of the Peace). But he is disappointed to find no mention of pay until he discovers, in his contract, the line "A magistrate may charge a pound/For inquest on a fire." Bill and the local indigenous population collude to make good use of this provision.

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