SHOW NOTES – Episode 3 Nugget-Bronc-Lex (Lucky Escapes)

Glenhaughton Ringers – Noel “Nugget” Roser, John “Bronc” Bradshaw, and Lex Smith, return to their favourite mustering camp after more than 60 years at the Amphitheatre Tin Hut, Taroom. Reunited at the Ringers and Cooks Reunion 2023, the three old mates talk about the days of catching scrubbers, and some of the many near misses they survived. Cattle management on the 900-square-mile station was a lot different to how things are done today. It was long before WPHS and the very idea of these men ever stopping to do a “Take 5” is hilarious. Everyday the young stockmen risked life and limb doing what they loved in the beautiful Central Queensland bush… and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

These were the days of hard-working and hard-riding stockman, of wild cattle, packhorses and mustering camps. It was a simple but satisfying life, and those good times will never be forgotten by the ones who lived them. Join Nugget, Bronc, and Lex as they take a trip down memory lane, reliving the thrills and spills on Glenhaughton Station, way back in the day..

KNEE-STRINGING SCRUBBERS EXPLAINED:

Knee Stringing was widely used on Australian cattle stations as a way to control wild cattle in a mob, especially in the mountainous scrub country around Central Queensland, in the Carnarvon, Blackdown, and Expedition Ranges. It was used on the most unmanageable, dangerous scrubbers who learnt to hide in the bushes to escape the musters. On Glenhaughton Station, the Cabbage Tree palms of the Robinson Gorge provided excellent cover for the cunning scrubbers.

Over the years, scrubbers became as cunning as a covert commando, hiding amongst the cabbage tree undergrowth, the faintest glimpse of a broad white face visible, completely motionless as riders approached discussing if the beast was dead or alive.

The young ringers were taught by a head stockman to cut a knee tendon on one of the front legs, to intentionally make the beast lame. If done correctly, the cut would heal up over time, but not the tendon, effectively slowing them up forever.

Knee Stringing stopped the beast from breaking free of the mob and galloping away. It was a brutal but effective way to capture the wild cattle from the rugged bushland holdings in Central Queensland, where cattle could easily hide in the thick scrub, evading capture for their entire life. It wasn’t a technique that was favoured by the young ringers in the 1950s. Mistakes were made due to lack of training, and many thought it a cruel practice, only to be used as a last resort. Most men didn’t like doing it.

Over time, managers and stockmen sought to find better ways of handling cattle and more humane methods were developed.

Lester Close was a head stockman on Glenhaughton in the early 1960s who introduced a technique of tying up the front leg with a rope. The scrubber would be slowed up but not hurt, hopping along with the mob on three legs, effectively preventing it from escaping back to the scrub. It is unsure if this was Lester’s idea or a method he learnt from the Arcadia Valley stockmen before he came to work at Glenhaughton.

MUSIC CREDITS

Steven O’Brien Music Tracks: CC-BY http://www.steven-obrien.net

Family Reunion – Steven O’Brien
Comical Theme – Steven O’Brien
Happy Days – Steven O’Brien
Happy Stories – Steven O’Brien
Fight to the Death – Steven O’Brien
Lazy Day – Steven O’Brien
Morning Stroll – Steven O’Brien

Ben Sound Music Tracks: CC-BY http://www.Bensound.com

A New Beginning – Ben Sound (Licence code: 6LHG8B50K66SC5Q1
Country Boy – Ben Sound

SOUND FX

Freesound.org

Small Aircraft Overhead: Aeroplane kilnsea wetlands Yorkshire wildlife trust by Sonic-ranger — https://freesound.org/s/220024/–License: Attribution 4.0
Cows Mooing: 401636 Mystikum Cows-mooing-mono-4824.wav cows_mooing_mono_4824.wav by Mystikuum — https://freesound.org/s/401636/
Gunshot: Gunshot Sound identify weapon by jjcunning–https://freesound.org/s/578189/–License: Creative Commons 0
Horse Whinny: Horse Whinny, Close, A.wav by InspectorJ — https://freesound.org/s/419231/–License: Attribution 4.0
Bull Bellow: ANMLFarm_Kuh-Bulle-Agressiv 05_IOKA_NONE_Hofefeld.wav by JakobGille — https://freesound.org/s/610784/
Landrover: 332501_rambler52_pickup_ford_62_driveup1

Pickup_Ford_62_DriveUp1.wav by rambler52 — https://freesound.org/s/332501/ — License: Attribution 4.0

Car Door Slam: 450225_kyles_truck-pickup-door-open-close-real-nice-slam

truck pickup door open close real nice slam.flac by kyles — https://freesound.org/s/450225/ — License: Creative Commons 0

AMBIENCE:

Morning Birds Crickets Rd 3 – Leesa Bongers
Birds tree Tilly walking morning Rd4 – Leesa Bongers

LINK TO FEEDS:

RSS Feed: ACAST link to Episode 3 “Bull Dust, Scrubbers, and Lucky Escapes” – Nugget Roser, Bronc Bradshaw, Lex Smith

LINK TO MOVIES – YOUTUBE:

YouTube: link to Movie “Bull Dust, Scrubbers and Lucky Escapes” – Nugget, Bronc, Lex

IMAGES:

VIDEO: Leesa Bongers

PHOTOGRAPHY: Leesa Bongers | Kate Bradshaw | Tracey Mutch

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS:

FACEBOOK – Taroom Tales

FACEBOOK – Glenhaugton Ringers

INSTAGRAM – Taroom Tales

Play Episode on Listening Apps:

Apple Podcasts; Spotify; iHeart Radio; Samsung; Google

GLOSSARY:

Troublesome = unmanageable, unruly, difficult, dangerous, problematic

Ringer = Australian stockman

Head Stockman = Foreman of the ringers, answerable to the Manager

Manager = Boss of the station, reports to the owners/board members

Camp Cook = Responsible for all meals in stock camp, baking bread/damper

Cowboy = General rouseabout at homestead, gardening, milking, handyman jobs

Knee-Strung = method of controlling wild cattle, cutting tendon below knee to stop scrubber from galloping away from the mob when mustering

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