Swagman was a farmworker who walked from job to job in Australia during the 1800’s. Swagmen carried their belongings in a bundle called a swag, which usually consisted of a bluey (a blue bush blanket) rolled up with spare clothing inside a tarpaulin or groundsheet. Swagmen usually carried a billy (can) and a tucker bag containing a frying pan and tucker (food). The number of swagmen began to dwindle after 1910. It was usual for swagmen, who were also called bagmen, to receive rations of food handed out by country police stations or homesteads. Partly because of this, some wandered continually without working.
