2. According to Mulga Bill, the bicycle ride was more dangerous
than the other one he'd had earlier in his life. Which other
ride did he talk about?
Answers
Answer:Mulga Bill's Bicycle narrates the comical experience of a jaunty young man from the Australian Outback who buys a shiny new bicycle and boasts that he is such an outstanding horseman that he can ride this newfangled machine with ease. But, as the poem relates, he is in for the ride of his lifeThe poem was written by Banjo Paterson, a famous Australian bush poet, best remembered as the author of Waltzing Matilda. It was first published in The Sydney Mail newspaper on 25 July 1896. It was an instant hit and is one of Banjo Paterson's most popular works.
Mulga Bills Bicycle is a poem with verses of irregular lengths. It uses simple language and imagery to generate strong dramatic action and dialogue. The poem has a regular rhythm in rhyming couplets with 7 feet (14 beats in each line) which adds momentum and an air of humour to the story.
Explanation:In an ABC documentary broadcast in 1964, a 90 years old man named William Henry Lewis claimed that he had met Banjo Paterson many times and was the inspiration for the poem. Lewis insisted Banjo Paterson wrote the poem after hearing of Lewis's exploits trying to ride his new bicycle.
The young Bill Lewis bought his first bicycle because a severe drought had made it impossible for him to feed his horse. He was one of the first in the district to buy this newfangled machine called a "bicycle".
Listen to
'Mulga Bill's Bicycle'
Photo: Mulga Bill and his bicycle
Banjo loved to spend time with the people of the Australian Outback. He always had a good ear for a bushman's yarn. The young Lewis was probably a larrikin (mischievous young person) who embellished the stories of his first experience on a bicycle which Banjo may have found hilarious and formed the basis for the poem Mulga Bill's Bicycle.
Contrary to many illustrations, the bicycle that Mulga rode was not a penny-farthing. The penny-farthing with its large front wheel was already out of fashion at the time this poem was written. The latest bicycle craze was the "safety bicycle". In order to dramatize the visual effects of the poem, some publishers illustrated Mulga in outlandish bicycle riding attire on a penny-farthing. This is definitely not what Banjo Paterson had in mind when he wrote the poem.
What Type of Bicycle did Mulga Bill Ride?
Photo: Safety Bicycle like the one Bill rode.
The bicycle used by Mulga Bill was safety bicycle (the type you see today with two equal sized wheels). This type of bicycle was first introduced in 1876 as an alternative for the dangerous and cumbersome penny-farthing. It didn't catch on when it was first introduced because it was more expensive than the penny-farthing. However, once people realised that it was indeed safer and easier to use; everyone wanted one. It revolutionised cycling and made it a practical mode of transportation for the masses. In just a few years over 200,000 of these machines were sold in Australia. The safety bicycle was very popular with shearers and itinerant works, such as swagmen, who used it to travel from place to place in search of work (waltzing the matilda). It was a lot cheaper buy and maintain than a horse.
Why Did Mulga Have such a Hard Time Controlling his Bicycle?
The reason Mulga Bill had so much difficulty riding his bike was that riding a bike is different from riding a horse. You need to know how to balance, steer and stop a bike, which is entirely different from that on a horse.
Now, Mulga also didn't know how to stop a bike. There were no reins for him to pull back on like with a horse. Besides, most bicycles at the time didn't have hand operated brakes. They only had reverse-pedal brakes, that is, you pushed the pedals backward to stop the rear wheel. This didn't usually work too well, in which case you jumped off the bike to stop it.
So, it's no wonder that jaunty Mulga Bill was in for the ride of his life