The Droving Days
The Stockman
The stock-keeper, as may be surmised, means one having the care of stock. He is usually found located at a cattle station far out on the Baloone or Barwon; though the " towri," or portion of country he inhabits, is not restricted to these neighbourhoods.
Stockmen are to be met with all over the colonies,
wherever mustering, branding, tailing, or droving, require their
services. They usually go in pairs, to fetch in the unbranded calves
from the station herd, except at "mustering time," when there is a great
meeting of the stock-keepers in the vicinity, and a general raid made on
all cattle for miles round.
Cattle Muster
Mustering lasts a week or two, and is considered by
those engaged in it excellent sport. Breakfast over at sunrise, and
already saddled, the stockmen take their departure for the "Long
Waterhole", "Breakneck Gully", the "Black Licking Place", or similar
spots where cattle are located. Sometimes the herd, or the portions
most required, are got in quickly. At others there is a long and
wearisome task before them.
Riding, such as would not disgrace the best jockeys in the world,
feats of horsemanship unequalled by circus performers, and terrible
hair-breadth escapes, characterize these cattle-hunting expeditions,
but the stockman fears not -he loves his profession, and heeds no
peril.
Risky Riding
Were it otherwise, the herd, who have perhaps sought
the tops of lofty precipitous ranges, or dense, intricate scrubs,
would never be brought in. Indeed at times it seems impossible to
reach them. Gaining heights where none dare follow, they look
scornfully down on the adventurous rider, who, though willing to risk
his life in their capture, dares not follow them to certain death.
And accidents do sometimes occur, even to those whose long
experience in stock keeping ought to prove a safeguard against such
catastrophes. Horse and owner are frequently capsized, the former
killed, and the latter more or less injured. Many years ago, while out
with a mustering party on the Namoi, the author of this paper (George
E. Loyau) met a serious accident, and little short of a miracle saved
his life.
Hardworking Stockhorse
Old stock-horses are great favourites with their
owners, and the same characteristics observed in treatment by the
Arabs, are found with Australian stockmen.
These horses are so well trained, that they seem to enter
fully into the spirit of the matter, and, in spite of all endeavors to
check them, not infrequently set off of their own free will, to head
some refractory beast which has broken away from the mob and defied
attempts to bring it back
At first crack of the stockman's "gully raker," as his
long-thonged whip is termed, the cattle fly in all directions, and a
general race ensues, exciting in the extreme. The herdsmen are,
however, mostly triumphant, and, having " headed," or turned the
stragglers, parried the charges of bulls, knocked-up cows and
ugly-looking "scrubbers," drive them quickly to the yard.
Shouts and whip-cracking denote their presence long ere they
arrive, and their companions at the branding yard then busy themselves
in getting the fires ready, and the irons properly heated.
"Redlands" Round Up
Frank
McNamara rounds up cattle at "Redlands", Jandowae, Queensland. The
property was worked by him and wife Helen, daughter of the late
Neil Fletcher,
owner of "Strathgyle", Bell, Queensland.
Photo: Kitty Creevey - Kitty Creevey
Collection - Jandowae, Queensland
Jack Of All Trades
James Joseph McNamara spent most of his working life as a stockman
and overseer on cattle properties around Dalby.
He worked for
Charlie Persse at "Hawkwood" Station before becoming a mail contractor
on the Burra Burri run. He also acted for a time as caretaker at Jimbour
House.
Photo: Kitty Creevey - Kitty
Creevey Collection - Jandowae, Queensland
Branding Pen Battle
To put the mob of cattle in is no easy task, and much
skin and hair is knocked off the hides of unreasonable animals with
whips, ere they enter those portals, where Hope is unknown, and an
inferno of torture is prepared for them.
A scene of the liveliest description then ensues -the lasso is
used, the beasts thrown, and the branding iron (a cabalistic symbol)
heated to a fiery pitch, terminates the ordeal and sets aside all risk
of disputed ownership.
Acme of Easy Occupation
Stock-keepers wages range from £45 to £50 per annum,
with rations, though, in the Maranoa, and other outlying districts,
more is given. There is here little temptation to spend money, (the
store account at the year's end usually shows, as items, tobacco and
slops) consequently, as with shepherds and hut-keepers, more than half
the earnings go to bush publicans, who receive periodic visits from
their infatuated dupes.
Stockmen are, too often, heirs of intemperance, and reckless
as to consequences. This is the more to be regretted, as there are
among them many sterling young men whose early training and education
once entitled them to fill the highest positions.
The free and easy life they enjoy in the bush, the company
they mix with, are well calculated to make them careless. They at
length become so infatuated with their profession, as to choose it in
preference to all others, and consider it the acme of easy occupation.
When Day Is Done
The day's work over, there is a social and friendly
gathering of "all hands", stories without end, are told, songs, new
and old sung, while jokes, too often unmentionable to ears polite, are
the gems of the evening, and regarded as the best things in the world.
When there is no grog obtainable, smoking and tea-drinking are
the order of the night, and the party seldom break up till a few hours
before dawn. They then seek repose on possum rugs, old blankets, or
saddle- cloths. A saddle forms their pillow, and the ground-floor of
the not very clean hut their bed.
Sleep, however, visits them speedily, for, wearied with their
exertions, they slumber at a moment's notice, and are found at sunrise
ready booted, spurred, and saddled, for another cattle-hunting
expedition.
Solitude and Sanity
Mustering and branding over, the stockman's life is
a truly monotonous one. Three men are usually located at the
out-station, one of whom acts as hut-keeper.
The latter passes his time in reading, eating, or sleeping,
and, but for the knowledge that there is a "jolly spree" ahead, when
his agreement is ended, would, doubtless, commit suicide, or become
a candidate for the lunatic asylum.
Travellers seldom visit
these out-stations, they lie too far off the road, consequently,
there are few opportunities for learning news of the great world, or
of seeing a newspaper. At a station I visited, on the Barcoo, a
Sydney Morning Herald, six months' old, was regarded in the light of
a luxury.
(Note: Article written by
George E. Loyau)
Source: Trove Digitized Newspapers - The Sydney Illustrated News - 5 July 1873 - National Library of Australia