Stockman Clothing

In our country the settlers started cutting down our sacred Dau’wa (Stringy-Bark) trees, an important food source of our Kau’bvai (Bees), to build station stockyards, homes and the Port of Maryborough. Our men tried to stop them but died in vain so our women fled north with their children along our pathway (the Old Coach Road) linking Biggenden and Mount Perry. They settled there with our next-of-kin within our Gurgang neighbours.

One of those young ones was my ancestor ‘Nannie’ and her Grand-daughter is my Great Grandmother. Both my Nan and Pop come from five generations of men and women who were expert horsemen, horse breakers, racehorse trainers and rodeo riders. In July 1917, my Great Great Uncle enlisted and joined the 11th Light Horse Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Beersheba, one of Australia's most significant victories of World War 1. James’s niece Mary, and husband Bert became drovers. Bert’s father Herbert, was contracted to break in horses for WW1 (1914-1918) and when he died in 1916, 15-year-old Bert and his older brother took over that contract.

Bert, Mary and their children began droving just after the 1942 bombing of Darwin (WW2 1939-45).  Once again, the family took up working for the war-effort, this time moving large mobs of cattle over vast distances to provide food for the troops. Mary’s boys couldn’t enlist because drovers were deemed ‘essential services’ so the family were contracted to deliver cattle to Ipswich Abattoir for supply to the frontline. One of Mary’s sisters, also an excellent horsewoman, joined the Australian Women’s Land Army and these women worked in agriculture to ensure the continuing supply of fruit and vegetables, poultry, sheep and wool, importantly filling the labor gap left by men’s mass enlistment.

Today, many of our ancient tracks are now major arterial roads that criss-cross our cities and connect all our towns. One important track is now the Australian Bicentennial National Trail, founded by Reginald Murray (RM) Williams. This track runs 5,330 kms along the Great Dividing Range, from Cooktown to Victoria and today it is used by horse riders, walkers and mountain bike riders. In 1986, Kilkivan initiated the Kilkivan Great Horse Ride, inviting the late R M Williams to participated in the inaugural 32km long endurance ride that still happens today.

For millennia, our Kau’bvai people maintained our section of the trail running through our country and our droving families criss-crossed it many times when moving cattle back and forth over the range.  Like many other families in those early days of hardship, ours, for over 4 generations, has made and mended their own ‘leather-goods’ and the women made all the family clothes including rodeo shirts. So, long before these types of goods were available in shops, our family made leather bridles, belts and saddlebags and today this practice is still carried out in our wider family. Three generations of our family worked for R M Williams at Rockybar, his property in Queensland, either as cattlemen or making and mending leather goods. Some of our family are acknowledged for their stock skills and continuing work in the cattle industry in both the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame & Outback Heritage Centre in Longreach and RM Williams Australian Bush Learning Centre and Visitor Information in Eidsvold.