Who is Kater Anyhow? by Andrew Barton Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson's "Who Is Kater Anyhow?" is a short satirical verse published in The Bulletin on 2 March 1889, prompted by a newspaper notice announcing that Henry Edward Kater of Moss Vale, son-in-law of the late William Forster, had been appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council. The poem opens by mocking the appointment, asking why Kater was pulled from obscurity and elevated to sit alongside a recognizable public figure, Richard "Dick" O'Connor, in a Council that the speaker sardonically calls "free from row." The refrain "Who is Kater, anyhow?" frames the poem as a pointed rhetorical question about an unknown man suddenly granted political honor. The second stanza builds the satire by comparison, listing genuine (or at least more visible) claims to public distinction that other men could point to: rallying the colony's armed forces as Sir William Bede Dalley reputedly did, lending a premier money (a barbed aside the fictional editor interrupts with a mock warning against libel), or being "useful underground" like John Davies. Each comparison sets up Kater as lacking any equivalent record of service, financial utility, or practical achievement — heightening the joke that his elevation must rest on something other than merit. The third stanza delivers the poem's actual answer to its own question: Kater's sole distinguishing feat was marrying well. Paterson states plainly that Kater "might have tarried" in obscurity forever but instead "managed to get married" to William Forster's daughter, and that this marriage — not any personal accomplishment — is the entire explanation for his political appointment. The line collapses the poem's mock-investigative structure into a simple punchline: nepotism by marriage. The final stanza extends the joke into the afterlife, imagining Kater's eventual arrival at heaven's gate. Paterson pictures an angel checking Kater's credentials at the "wicket" (gate) and admitting him not for any virtue or deed but purely on the strength of his family connection, greeting him with "Enter! for you're no impostor, Son-in-law of Billy Forster!" This closing image mirrors the earthly appointment being satirized: entry to a place of privilege granted on the basis of whom one married rather than what one did, extended facetiously all the way to divine judgment. As a whole, the piece belongs to the topical, journalistic style of verse Paterson wrote for The Bulletin in the late 1880s — short, occasional poems responding directly to news items of the day, using rhymed couplets, a conversational tone, and pointed political mockery. It functions as light social and political satire rather than narrative fiction, using a real contemporary appointment (Kater's 1889 nomination to the Legislative Council, secured under Premier Sir George Dibbs) as the springboard for a broader jab at patronage, nepotism, and the granting of public honors on the basis of family connections rather than personal merit or public service.
By Andrew Barton Paterson · First published 1940 · Genre: Satire, Verse/Poetry, Political Commentary · 279 words
First lines
-"Mr Henry Edward Kater, of Moss Vale, son-in-law of the late William / Forster, has been appointed a member of the New South Wales Legislative / Council. " Daily paper
Why, oh why was Kater lifted / From the darkness, where he drifted / All unknown, and raised to honour, / Side by side with Dick O'Connor, / In the Council, free from row? / Who is Kater, anyhow?
Did he bid our armies rally, / Like the recent Billy Dalley? / Did he lend a Premier money, / Like -- (No libels here, my sonny. -- Ed. B.) / Was he, like John Davies, found / Very useful underground?
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Who is Kater Anyhow? is listed on Textopian as a poem by Andrew Barton Paterson, dated 1940 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Andrew Barton Paterson
- Date: 1940 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Satire, Verse/Poetry, Political Commentary, Humorous/Comic Verse, Social Commentary
- Length: 279 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Genres
- Satire — The poem is a scathing satirical critique of Henry Edward Kater's appointment to the Legislative Council, suggesting his only qualification is marrying William Forster's daughter, mockingly questioning his actual merit or accomplishments.
- Verse/Poetry — Written in rhyming verse with consistent meter and rhyming couplets, employing traditional poetic forms and techniques typical of late 19th-century poetry.
- Political Commentary — Directly addresses a contemporary political appointment and critiques nepotism and lack of merit-based advancement in political institutions.
- Humorous/Comic Verse — Employs wit, irony, and rhetorical questions to create comedic effect while delivering its satirical message about Kater's undeserved position.
Tags
humorous · satirical · Australian · character-portrait · verse · colonial · witty · ironic · social-satire · narrative-poem · whimsical · philosophical