Cows are calving, one new mother with mastitis - Brooke & Mike first catch the cow, milk the colostrum, then feed the skittish calf - trickier perhaps than it first appears.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Update from the long paddock
from Rebecca
Cows are calving, one new mother with mastitis - Brooke & Mike first catch the cow, milk the colostrum, then feed the skittish calf - trickier perhaps than it first appears.
Cows are calving, one new mother with mastitis - Brooke & Mike first catch the cow, milk the colostrum, then feed the skittish calf - trickier perhaps than it first appears.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
In the Droving Days
from The Man from Snowy River by A. B. Patterson
‘Only a pound!’ and was this the end?
Only a pound for the drover’s friend.
The drover’s friend that had seen his day,
And now was worthless, and cast away
With a broken knee and a broken heart
To be flogged and starved in a hawker’s cart.
Well, I made a bid for a sense of shame
And the memories dear of the good old game.
‘Thank you? Guinea! and cheap at that!
Against you there in the curly hat!
Only a guinea, and one more chance,
Down he goes if there’s no advance,
Third, and the last time, one! two! three!’
And the old grey horse was knocked down to me.
And now he’s wandering, fat and sleek,
On the lucerne flats by the Homestead Creek;
I dare not ride him for fear he’d fall,
But he does a journey to beat them all,
For though he scarcely a trot can raise,
He can take me back to the droving days.
‘Only a pound!’ and was this the end?
Only a pound for the drover’s friend.
The drover’s friend that had seen his day,
And now was worthless, and cast away
With a broken knee and a broken heart
To be flogged and starved in a hawker’s cart.
Well, I made a bid for a sense of shame
And the memories dear of the good old game.
‘Thank you? Guinea! and cheap at that!
Against you there in the curly hat!
Only a guinea, and one more chance,
Down he goes if there’s no advance,
Third, and the last time, one! two! three!’
And the old grey horse was knocked down to me.
And now he’s wandering, fat and sleek,
On the lucerne flats by the Homestead Creek;
I dare not ride him for fear he’d fall,
But he does a journey to beat them all,
For though he scarcely a trot can raise,
He can take me back to the droving days.
Update from the campfire
ºC days you're looking for a secluded spot to strip down.
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| You can taste the tea and damper © Rebecca Phyland |
Is the drover's day done?
"Russel Ward wrote in The Australian Legend that Paterson
romanced the Long Paddock because Australians realised it was bushmen
such as stock route drovers - people rendered different from any others
by a unique way of life - who created the ''national mystique'', the
characteristics of the typical Australian."
Read Daniel Lewis' article in The Sydney Morning Herald 17 June 2012.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
The Legend of the Drover
Arthur and Al, two true blue Aussie drovers, are heading off for one last grand adventure and you are invited to join them to relive the pioneering spirit of the droving days. Their task and duty is to muster 800 head of cattle for six months, from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains to the vast saltbush plains of the Riverina. By connecting urban people with the landscape and farming enterprises, Arthur hopes to develop a better understanding between the city and the bush. But with hundreds of demanding miles of this vast country and a large mob of cattle to herd, the drovers need a hand.
So pack your swag and saddle-up for a week (or more), or just tag along to one of the round-ups for a weekend. Either way we'd love to see you on the road and make you a part of Aussie droving lore.
Highlights of the muster:
This breath-taking adventure begins at the rich, rolling pastures of Murraguldrie Station, and retraces the old travelling stock routes colloquially referred to as the ‘Long Paddock'. The drove will pass through many boom and bust towns of days gone by; where guests will meet the salt-of-the-earth characters who still know how to put on a warm welcome with a broad smile. Guests will also learn about indigenous connection to Country, and hopefully spot some of Australia's most precious native animals. By night the food will be cooked in the traditional camp oven, spiced with colourful yarns and the poetry of Banjo Patterson around a crackling campfire.
Arthur Webb, drover and Murraguldrie Station owner, has spent a lifetime in the saddle and has a rusted-on attitude for doing things the right way rather than the easy way. He has that increasingly rare personality that stands tall in the face of adversity and yet is not afraid to embrace times of change.
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| © Brock Bowen & Peter Dowson |
Highlights of the muster:
- Clean air, open country, with big blue skies by day and a blanket of glittering stars by night.
- Droving culture including advanced horse riding, rounding up cattle, commanding the cattle dogs.
- Travelling Stock Routes and the biodiverse reserves of the Long Paddock.
- Indigenous stories of Country as told by the original custodians of the land.
- Campfire camaraderie of the stockmen, with bush damper, ripping yarns and traditional Aussie poetry.
- Glimpses of a bygone era, where local knowledge meant understanding the unpredictability of the seasons and community meant taking a moment to chat to everyone you pass.
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| Arthur on the good old game © Brock Bowen & Peter Dowson |
Arthur Webb, drover and Murraguldrie Station owner, has spent a lifetime in the saddle and has a rusted-on attitude for doing things the right way rather than the easy way. He has that increasingly rare personality that stands tall in the face of adversity and yet is not afraid to embrace times of change.
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