In many of Karl’s lectures, he returned to familiar stories — being chased by wild cattle and rescued by cowboys, tormented by mosquitoes, and wading across rivers. But something else stood out: a recurring fascination with the people he called “tramps.”
Today, the word “tramp” carries derogatory associations, but in the late 1800s, it was commonly used to describe those who travelled by foot, often in search of work or simply living a nomadic life. When Karl first began his journey in 1899, the Truro Daily News wrote:
“The Oxford Manufacturing Co., of Oxford, N.S., are presenting Karl Creelman, the Truro Tramp, who intends on travelling round the world, with a suit of clothes manufactured from their celebrated tweeds…”
The nickname, “Truro Tramp,” carried no sting at the time. Still, some locals criticized Karl’s venture, setting out without money seemed to suggest he might rely on the charity of strangers.
Nomadic lifestyles like Karl’s were more common than we might imagine today. In his lectures across Australia, Karl noted that he met only two tramps through Canada, but in the American West, he met “thousands.”
“I thought at the time that if any other country could produce a larger number of tramps than the United States, it would be a record-breaker. All through Australia, I met and passed hundreds of tramps, about as many as I encountered in the States.”
In Australia, the term was different: they were called “swagmen” or “swaggies,” named after the rolled-up bundle, the “swag” they carried.
Karl described what he saw:
“A swag generally contains some flour… mixed with water and baking powder into a ‘damper’ that’s cooked in the ashes of a campfire; some beef, blankets, towels, knife, fork and spoon… And in their right hand can always be seen a blackened and sometimes battered tin kettle — a ‘Billy can’ or ‘Jack Sheehy.’ They take their packets of salt, pepper, tea and sugar, fill the Billy with water and boil it while the damper is cooking. After tea and meat, they spread their blankets, lie down, and sleep.”
He explained that these travellers often received provisions, or “tucker” from settlers or station owners.
In New South Wales, they were known as “Sundowners”, those who arrived late in the day, too late to work but just in time for a meal. In Queensland, to travel this way was to be “Waltzing Matilda.”
Karl’s use of the phrase predates what would become one of Australia’s most iconic folk songs. Written in 1895 by Banjo Paterson, “Waltzing Matilda” tells the tale of a swagman, a jumbuck (sheep), and a fatal encounter by a billabong. It was set to music by Christina Macpherson and later published in 1903 by Marie Cowan. The chorus is still sung today:
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me...
“Waltzing” referred to walking on foot, while “Matilda” was the swag carried over the shoulder. It’s now considered Australia’s “unofficial national anthem.”
So, whether you call it tramping, swagging, or waltzing Matilda, Karl wasn’t just observing; he was seeing echoes of himself. A man in motion. A vagabond of sorts, living, in many ways, off the generosity of strangers.
And as for me? The swag becomes a suitcase, the damper becomes airplane snacks — but the rhythm of wandering remains the same.
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