Chapter 7 – Wild Cattle

Working as a ringer on a large cattle station is a particularly Australian experience. For many overseas visitors, and coast-bound Australians for that matter, the ringer, stockman, or drover is one of the more enduring and iconic images of the Australian Outback, along with that of Uluru, majestic ochre-red gorges, and a remote track leading to the spinifex-clad horizon. It may seem a romantic portrayal of a freedom previous generations once enjoyed, which we no longer do. It may be that ringers, stockmen, and drovers experience a healthier connection with the natural world through an active lifestyle. Alternatively, it may just be that the grass is always a little greener on the other side of the fence, and the life of a ringer would quickly lose its appeal given how demanding and isolating it can be. Nevertheless, for those with a desire for hard, physical work, a connection with horses, a need to be part of the natural world, and a sense of adventure, working as a ringer offers a lifestyle lost to much of humanity today. And never will it be more exciting or more dangerous than when wild cattle are being worked. Cattle that can, and will, kill you with the whip of a horn or the kick of a hoof you do not even see.