the first ballads were created by british and irish settlers and convicts who brought with them the folk music of their homelands. they were usually not written down, but passed around verbally. the ballads grew into a unique style over the years, becoming very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. australians thought they were "an authentic expression of the national spirit". through bush poetry, newspapers and magazines, like "the bulletin", promoted mateship, egalitarianism, anti-authoritarianism and a concern for the "battler" as being ideal australian values.