Podcast Episode 8
BRONC & CHRISTY

An Unlikely Pair, reunited after 50 years

Christy Curtis and John “Bronc” Bradshaw, ex-Glenhaughton ringers from opposite sides of the world, first met in 1964. They were reunited in 2023 in Taroom, Queensland, Australia.

CHRISTY CURTIS arrived at Glenhaughton Station from the UK – a fresh faced 18 year old straight out of English boarding school, sent to work at Glenhaughton, a 900-square-mile property, for his stepmothers cousin, Duncan McConnel. It was an experience with good men that he never forgot and a time in his life that shaped him into the man he became.

JOHN “BRONC” BRADSHAW was already an experienced old-hand at 23 years of age. Bronc first drove cattle as a 13 year old with drover George Lamb, before working as a 15-year-old ringer on Glenhaughton in 1957-1959, returning again a few years later after a stint in the North Queensland Gulf country.

The two young men became great friends working on Glenhaughton Station at the Tin Hut camp in the Amphitheatre, a remote outstation a day’s ride from the homestead. 58 years on, Christy returned from France to catch up with his old mates at the Glenhaughton Ringers and Cooks reunion in Taroom (Sept-Oct 2023), camping once more at the nostalgic Tin Hut.

Leesa Bongers of Taroom Tales Podcast, caught up with Bronc and Christy for a brief yarn about the good times they shared all those years ago, and why the Tin Hut holds a special place in the hearts of all who lived and worked there. 

This story has been re-worked into a Podcast episode from a YouTube movie created in 2024.

Sadly Bronc is no longer with us, passing from complications following heart surgery on 17 May 2025. Christy Curtis maintains contact with Broncs family and other Glenhaughton friends and has recently returned with his family for another visit to the Glenhaughton country in August 2026. This episode is a tribute to their lasting friendship, in fond memory of everyone’s mate Bronco Bradshaw.