Festival no bum steer
CROYDON, the town which achieved national notoriety when a gang of local outlaws stole 6000 head of cattle from a local station over a period of years in the 1980s, is holding its annual Poddy- Dodger’s Festival this weekend.
The cattle heist from Strathmore Station, owned then by Queensland Stations, was and remains the largest theft of cattle in Australian history.
The station too, at more than 9000sq km, is one of the largest in Australia.
John Andrew Pickering and his uncle Clive Robert Pickering did time at the Lotus Glen prison at Mareeba while a third man, David Leonard Keating, served his time in a south Queensland jail.
The Poddy- Dodger’s Festival was started more than 15 years ago to celebrate its fame as the cattle duffing capital of Australia. The phrase “poddy- dodger” has the same meaning as the American word “rustler”.
The crime was quickly romanticised and the three men in jail were seen by many as Harry Redford figures.
This was because they had not stolen cattle from “battlers”. They had taken unbranded cattle from a large corporation that had failed to muster and brand all of its stock. For bushmen and cattlemen like the Pickerings this was seen as an opportunity to pick some “low hanging fruit”.
Harry Redford did the same thing in 1869 when he stole 1000 head from Bowen Downs southwest of Charters Towers.
In an unsurpassed display of bushmanship and superior stock handling, he and his men walked the cattle more than 3000km across open plains and desert to Marree in South Australia. Among the cattle was a white shorthorn bull that was eventually recognised and led to Redford being arrested. The case went to trial in Roma. The jury of fellow bushmen was so in awe of his skill that they found him not guilty.
Croydon started to revel in its reputation as the poddy- dodging capital of Australia. It was only natural that this pride eventually transitioned into the town’s annual Poddy- Dodging Festival. The town’s pub has a sign pointing to the PoddyDodger’s Bar. It is a true fact that quite a few real life poddy- dodgers have drunk in this bar over the years.
The Croydon Poddy- Dodger’s Festival started as a musical event but now incorporates rodeo and other entertainment. Committee member Ronell Evans said entry was free and there was plenty of space for camping. “The camping is free as well,” she said.
Croydon was always a town without water. There was nowhere for locals to go swimming. This all changed in the 1990s when Belmore Creek was dammed.
When the dam filled in 1998 the townsfolk were caught unawares. No one had any togs, but they happily took to the water in their jeans and work shirts. Reading of the Croydon tog drought in the Townsville Bulletin at the time, swimming star Lisa Curry offered to send the town a uteload of bikinis for the ladies and budgie smugglers for the blokes.
Croydon Poddy- Dodger’s Festival president Doug Saal said live music was still a feature of the event.
“We’ve got music and we’ve got great bucking bulls provided by Warren Bethel and the broncs are coming from Inverleigh West Station,” he said.