Last crack of the whip for Australia’s cowboys
Stock trails may be passed to local councils
• Wielding her stockman’s whip from astride a horse in the outback, Kylie McElligott nimbly hustles some cows into line but admits she still has much to learn in the Australian art of droving.
The 24-year-old, who grew up on a ranch in Oregon, hopes to pick up the trade, which involves steering cattle — or occasionally sheep — for vast distances across the country.
Riding Jasmine, McElligott said she was discovering how to handle both the whip and the horses, which are more lively than those in the U.S.
“It’s so nice to be on horseback every day,” she said. “You get to know the cattle. There are leaders who come up close and others that are shy or curious.”
Asked if she enjoyed the work, she looked across at the dusty track filled with rows of cattle and said: “I’ve fallen in love.” There are now just a handful of professional drovers remaining in Australia and their future is uncertain.
In recent decades, as the hiring of drovers dwindled due to the use of trains and trucks, swaths of stock routes have been lost, either sold off or leased to farmers for private grazing.
McElligott has been at the side of Bill Little, a 59-yearold who is one of the last drovers and is trying to pass on his skills to a new generation.
With his spurs, high boots, Stetson hat and longlegged frame, Little comes well-equipped for his occupation. From atop his horse while steering 1,500 beef cattle worth $2 million across Queensland, he said he did not miss people, but could do without the snakes, mosquitoes and saddle sores.
He planned to keep droving, he said, despite a lingering ankle injury. “I grew up on a cattle station — I could ride before I could walk,” he said. “It’s a pretty good life. I run my own show.”
On his trips, which can last up to seven months, Little is accompanied by several “ringers” as well as extra horses and a pack of cattle dogs.
The father of two young children admitted that it was an unusual life and “not for everyone.” Yes, he said, there were hazards, but there were rewards such as occasionally slaughtering a stray cow — a “drover’s kill” — which provides fresh meat.
It is a profession that started in the 1830s and — due to the nation’s vast interior — became known for its arduous treks between remote inland stations. It has featured in everything from the film Australia, starring Nicole Kidman, to wellknown bush poems.
But the profession is under threat from plans that could open up the vast network of stock routes to grazing and leave them without feed.
Queensland has Australia’s last fully-functioning historic stock route, which stretches 70,000 kilometres and covers 2.6 million hectares. Drovers pay a fee to use the track — 2 cents per kilometre for each 20 head of cattle — and must travel at least 10 km a day, to keep up grass supplies.
But the state is considering handing greater control of the route to local councils, which drovers fear will affect their access. The change follows calls by farmers who say many routes have not been used for 50 years and should be used for general grazing. But such a move could dry the track of its grass and make it useless as a route for herding large numbers of cattle.
Little believes the laws should be changed to ensure that routes remain open and are not overgrazed. “For us, this is not about keeping an old profession alive,” he said. “It’s about keeping our livelihood alive.”