Govt to help fix Waltzing Matilda centre

The federal government will contribute $8 million to repair the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Queensland, that was damaged by fire last year.

The new and improved Waltzing Matilda Centre will be a major tourist attraction for the region.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who's travelling in outback Queensland, said Banjo Paterson wrote the words to Waltzing Matilda while staying at a station near Winton in 1895 and the iconic song has been an important part of the town's fabric ever since.

"The new and improved Waltzing Matilda Centre will be a major tourist attraction for the region," he said in a statement.