Banjo Patterson Cottage Restaurant operates from a lovely sandstone building dating back to the 1830’s. “Rockend” is a National Trust building where the famed Australian poet A.B.’Banjo’ Paterson lived as a young man with his maternal grandmother. This building exudes old world charm with its sweeping views over the Parramatta River. The cooking is fairly traditional with a good selection of meat and fish dishes—including seared kangaroo—and a separate vegetarian menu. The pick of the dishes in my mind has to be the BBQ Seafood, a plate piled high with king prawns and scampi, tomato, fish and an olive salsa. Friendly service, knowledgable staff and good portion sizes mean that bookings are essential.
Address: Punt Road, Gladesville | Web: www.banjopaterson.com
A Dog’s Mistake by A.B.’Banjo’ Paterson
He had drifted in among us as a straw drifts with the tide,
He was just a wand’ring mongrel from the weary world outside;
He was not aristocratic, being mostly ribs and hair,
With a hint of spaniel parents and a touch of native bear
He was very poor and humble and content with what he got,
So we fed him bones and biscuits, till he heartened up a lot;
Then he growled and grew aggressive, treating orders with disdain,
Till at last he bit the butcher, which would argue want of brain.
Now the butcher, noble fellow, was a sport beyond belief,
And instead of bringing actions he brought half a shin of beef,
Which he handed on to Fido, who received it as a right
And removed it to the garden, where he buried it at night.
‘Twas the means of his undoing, for my wife, who’d stood his friend,
To adopt a slang expression, “went in off the deepest end”,
For among the pinks and pansies, the gloxinias and the gorse
He had made an excavation like a graveyard for a horse.
Then we held a consultation which decided on his fate:
‘Twas in anger more than sorrow that we led him to the gate,
And we handed him the beef-bone as provision for the day,
Then we opened wide the portal and we told him, “On your way.”
