‘I lost my phone in the first week’: a new generation of drovers in outback Queensland
Written by Mandy McKeesick. Photography by Carly Earl from the Guardian
Bill Little has been droving for 40 years across thousands of kilometres of stock routes. Now he’s showing new hands the ropes
It is 5am and a near-full moon is dropping to the western horizon; the land is dark and quiet. A generator rattles to life and artificial lights pierce the night. From horse floats and trucks emerge stockmen and women, snuggling into coats, collars raised against the settling frost.
The predawn light rolls in, revealing grasslands, scattered trees and penned steers. Steaming coffee is downed as horses are caught and saddled. More horses are released from a makeshift yard and they wander away slowly, pausing to pick at fresh grass. Dogs bark in anticipation.
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Written by Mandy McKeesick. Photography by Carly Earl from the Guardian
Bill Little has been droving for 40 years across thousands of kilometres of stock routes. Now he’s showing new hands the ropes
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It is 5am and a near-full moon is dropping to the western horizon; the land is dark and quiet. A generator rattles to life and artificial lights pierce the night. From horse floats and trucks emerge stockmen and women, snuggling into coats, collars raised against the settling frost.
The predawn light rolls in, revealing grasslands, scattered trees and penned steers. Steaming coffee is downed as horses are caught and saddled. More horses are released from a makeshift yard and they wander away slowly, pausing to pick at fresh grass. Dogs bark in anticipation.
Continue reading...
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.
