[2] In Australia, the term "to bushwhack" most commonly means to make one's way through the scrub or forest ("the bush") by "whacking" (cutting) a trail where none currently exists; a "bushwhacker" therefore means either such a traveller, or more generally, either a person who lives in such country, that is, off the "beaten track" (a phrase of similar derivation), or simply a resident of the countryside in general (by implication, an unsophisticated person, similar to the U.S. term "hillbilly") as opposed to a resident of the city or the suburbs.

[5] Years later, Meredith gave the following account of their formation: In June 1953 [sic: probably an error of recollection on Meredith's part; the year is given as 1952 in most other sources] a literary and musical evening held at Jack Barry's [sic] house at Heathcote was to have an "Australian Night" - something unique in those days when our own culture appeared in danger of being engulfed in the flood of second-rate canned American music.

[8] Performing as singers in the musical were Chris Kempster and Harry Kay, joined later in the season by Cecil Grivas, Alex Hood and Alan Scott, all of whom subsequently became assimilated into the band.

[9] Around this time, the group also supplied the songs and music for several historical radio features written for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) by Nancy Keesing.

[8] The band travelled outside Sydney into rural New South Wales, and Meredith and Scott often used their performances to scout out local bush musicians and singers for field recordings.

We held down our normal wages jobs, performed all over the place, participated in the Folk-lore Society and the Bush Music Club and were enthusiastic members of the Communist Party with all the political activity involved in that... We visited some country towns for different functions.

[11][12]Although happy to commence, and then to continue the existence of the group under the general public perception as popular entertainment, Meredith and the other members were affiliated to the Australian Commununist Party, at that time very much a focal point for idealistic youth, in particular following the end of the Second World War, together with its Marxist ideology and various offshoots such as the Eureka Youth League; in this respect, his aims paralleled those of folk-song activists working in America since the 1940s such as the Almanac Singers and The Weavers.

As well as representing the struggle of the working class against the capitalist system, Meredith wanted the group to be at the vanguard of a movement to regain a national cultural identity.

In his own papers of the time he wrote: ...[are] we going to plan as Marxists, and develop into a bigger, stronger and more influential group... We must regard ourselves as the spearhead in the battle for national cultural independence.

[8][9] (By contrast, group member Alan Scott stated that in his opinion, the constant touring and rehearsing had simply got too much for Meredith, who "could not cope with all his other activities and be a Bushwhacker too".

[15] Nevertheless, the surviving band members - apart from Cec Grivas, who was not in attendance - were present at a celebration of Meredith's life held at Gay Scott's Balmoral property in March 2001, a month after his death, and were persuaded to give a brief impromptu performance.

[19][20]An unrelated group with a similar sounding name, "The Bushwackers" (note slightly different spelling), initially "The Original Bushw[h]ackers and Bullockies Bush Band", formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1971 and continues to the present day.