Back to Longreach

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We previously had been to and through Longreach on our way to the Bash, so in effect we have completed a massive loop. This time we had a booking for the Stockman’s Hall of Fame show and museum.



The show was a one man, 4 horse event. It was interesting to listen to Lachie Cossor – a 5^th generation stockman – as he explained the different types of horses used by the stockmen and women and the training that goes into them. He had a pen of around 15 sheep that, with the help of his 2 kelpies and 1 dingo/kelpie cross, he proceeded to manoeuvre and guide around the undercover arena, explaining that it was the dogs that do most of the hard work as they run, sweep, stop, lay down and encourage the sheep towards pens and yards. All the while the sheep were moving with rider and horse the dogs were skirting back and forth to keep everything heading in the right direction.



At the end of the show Lachie rode a massive Braham bull into the arena. I would suggest that “Rodney” has been trained since the day he was born as he just stood there whilst whips were cracked all around his giant frame and Lachie jiggled the gristle lump on his neck.



We learnt one thing; that the word stampede is not used in Australia when it comes to the run of horses and/or cattle, but rather it is called a “rush” – stampede being an American term.



The museum was amazing and kept us entertained throughout the displays as we plugged in our individual headphones/ipod; as we moved between the different areas, so the soundtrack moved with us. We heard multiple stories of determination and fortitude in opening up the land in the early pioneering days when stockmen/women would move mobs of cattle and herds of sheep over thousands of kilometres.



There was also an RFDS display that had a board showing the number of cases from the previous day as well as a “real time” map of current flight paths.

At the entrance to the museum there was a huge panel with a silhouette image of a mounted stockman and his dogs. As we approached the wall the dogs came to life, standing up and even lifting a paw to shake your hand. If we stood in certain spots below several sensors and raised our arms quickly above our heads the dogs would leap into the air. Then as we moved away from the wall the dogs would lie at rest waiting for the next person to come along. It was a very clever interactive display.



We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hrs there.

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