World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Transporting Beef: Trails, Rails and Ships

The Australian Stockman: Drovers, Stock Routes and Aboriginal Cattle Workers

Australia's cattle workers moved herds thousands of kilometers on foot, and Aboriginal stockmen and stockwomen did much of the work.

What does a stockman do?

A stockman is an Australian outback cattle worker, the counterpart of the American cowboy. A drover, a closely related role, moves livestock on the hoof over long distances, usually sheep, cattle or horses, as described in the Wikipedia article on Australian drovers. Drovers were typically experienced stockmen.

They moved stock for several reasons: to deliver animals to a new owner, to take them to market, or to find feed and water during drought. Drovers who opened up new country over very long distances were called overlanders.

Life on the droving trail

Contract drovers were paid per head of stock delivered, so livestock came first, then horses, then men. Trips could last up to two years, and each drover typically rode four or five horses per trip, with night horses highly valued for handling stampedes.

A standard team for 1,200 cattle was seven people: a boss drover, four stockmen, a cook and a horse-tailer. Cattle covered about 10 miles (16 km) a day. Night stampedes, called rushes, could be triggered by noises, lightning or fire and were a major danger.

Famous droves

In 1836 Joseph Hawdon moved about 300 cattle roughly 480 km from the Murrumbidgee River to Melbourne. In 1870 Harry Redford took about 1,000 cattle from Bowen Downs Station and drove them about 2,400 km, pioneering the Strzelecki Track, and a jury found him not guilty, largely impressed by the feat.

From 1879 to 1882, Patrick and Michael Durack took 7,250 breeding cattle from Queensland to the Kimberley, a journey the page calls the longest of its type on record. In 1881, Nat Buchanan drove 20,000 cattle about 3,200 km to the Daly River near Darwin.

Aboriginal stockmen and stockwomen

Aboriginal people helped establish Queensland's pastoral industry through their knowledge of the land, and early pastoralists relied on that knowledge to survey stock routes, according to the State Library of Queensland's Working Country exhibition. The exhibition describes working Country as a means of survival during colonial upheaval.

On the Canning Stock Route, white bosses led the teams, but the work depended on Aboriginal stockmen and women, who far outnumbered the white drovers, according to the National Museum of Australia. They are not named in the mainstream history of the route, though Aboriginal people remember them with pride.

The long routes

The best-known routes were the Murranji Track, Birdsville Track, Strzelecki Track and Canning Stock Route, which was described as the loneliest, most difficult and most dangerous. The Canning is about 2,000 km long and crosses several Western Australian deserts.

From 1911 to 1931 only eight cattle mobs reached Wiluna. Once the wells were reconditioned, about one mob of 300 to 800 head was driven down the route each year, and a herd of 800 cattle plus the team's animals could use more than 30,000 litres of water at each well.

What Made It Work

Droving worked because it put skilled people, tough horses and local knowledge together over very long distances, at a time before roads or railways reached the cattle country.

The record also shows costs. Mistreatment of Aboriginal people by Europeans along the routes fed a cycle of violence, and Aboriginal workers who carried much of the labor often went unnamed in the history.

  • Teams were organized by role: boss drover, stockmen, cook and horse-tailer.
  • Night horses were kept specifically for handling stampedes.
  • Livestock came first, then horses, then men, so the herd arrived in condition for sale.
  • Routes followed water, and wells were dug and reconditioned along stock routes such as the Canning.
  • Aboriginal knowledge of country helped pastoralists find and survey the routes.

What replaced the drovers

Railways from the 1860s reduced the need for droving, and trucking largely replaced it from the 1960s. Droving still happens during drought on the long paddock, a fenced public stock route, and Queensland is the only state still running cattle trains.

Aboriginal rodeos are now internationally known and reflect the labor of Aboriginal drovers, stockmen and stockwomen. For more on cattle work, see farm.FM ranching and a farm.FM story about outback drovers.

Timeline

  1. 1836Joseph Hawdon moves about 300 cattle from the Murrumbidgee to Melbourne
  2. 1860sRailways begin to reduce the need for droving
  3. 1870Harry Redford drives about 1,000 cattle from Bowen Downs along the Strzelecki Track
  4. 1879-1882The Durack brothers drive 7,250 breeding cattle from Queensland to the Kimberley
  5. 1881Nat Buchanan drives 20,000 cattle about 3,200 km to the Daly River
  6. 1911-1931Only eight cattle mobs reach Wiluna on the Canning Stock Route
  7. 1960sTrucking largely replaces droving

Frequently asked questions

What is an Australian stockman?

A stockman is an Australian outback cattle worker, the equivalent of the American cowboy. Stockmen drove herds long distances as drovers and worked on cattle stations.

What did Australian drovers do?

Drovers moved cattle, sheep or horses on the hoof over long distances to market, to new owners, or away from drought, typically traveling about 10 miles a day with cattle.

Did Aboriginal people work as stockmen?

Yes. Aboriginal stockmen and stockwomen were essential to station work and droving, and on the Canning Stock Route they far outnumbered white drovers, though they are often unnamed in the history.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall