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.

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.