 The area around the upper Eucumbene and the adjacent upper Murrumbidgee was where Charlie McKeahnie had lived and worked.According to Monaro district folklore, Paterson had told somebody at the Bredbo Hotel that the poem was based on McKeahnie's ride.McKeahnie died at the age of 27 at the Bredbo Hotel after a horse riding accident and was buried at Adaminaby cemetery.