Malcolm Douglas - Australia - Over The Range (1983)

[Music] [Music] [Applause] when europeans explored australia they took up huge tracts of land they settled wherever they could sow their crops or graze their sheep and cattle one of the last regions taken up was the far northwest kimberley an area so rugged that only a few isolated cattle stations struggled to survive there the ancient eroded mountains were a barrier to all but the most hardy and determined pioneers they pushed north with their cattle over the durac and king leopold ranges to settle wherever feed and water were available the most rugged and isolated country was simply referred to as over the range [Music] malcolm douglas now takes you on another great adventure with the cattlemen of australia's remote northwest [Music] it's winter in the kimberley the dry warm days and months without rain at mount elizabeth station the horses have been mustered ready for drafting malcolm douglas and the station owner peter lacy pick out the best mounts for their planning and expedition into the back country a wild inhospitable place accessible only on horseback the horses not required are turned out and those selected prepared for the long journey sound feet are vital much of the country to be traversed is extremely rocky and unshot horses quickly become footsaw and lame the aboriginal stockman narragan tribesmen have been on mount elizabeth since their parents left the bush 30 years ago to work on the newly established station 15 horses will be used for the main expedition for each rider must have at least two mounts and the team needs pack horses and a mule for all the supplies and equipment marbuk is peter's favorite mayor the animals singled out are given extra feed for horses rapidly lose their condition in the kimberley dry season packed saddles once used extensively throughout australia are becoming a rarity four-wheel drive vehicles can reach most areas and carry more gear but at mount elizabeth horses are still used when the men muster in the more isolated pockets of the property all equipment is carefully checked and repaired and extra hobbles must be made a dried salted bullock skin is softened for several hours under a layer of wet sand until it's pliable enough to work hobbles used in the mustering camps restrict the horse's movements while allowing it limited range to feed years ago the australian stockman used greenheid to make all their salary today most of its machine made and these skills are rapidly dying out [Music] a length of wood draws a knot in the strip the knot fits neatly into a slit and the completed hobbles fit loosely around the front legs just above the hoof hide neck straps are made so that each horse can carry its own set of hobbles during the day hahaha extra bread is baked for the expedition all these remote cattle stations are self-sufficient the nearest town is over 500 kilometers away by road before leaving peter methodically cleans and checks his guns as well as the high-powered rifle he always rides with a revolver strapped to his thigh these armaments are not for sport the rifle is used to eradicate vermin and supply the station with meat the revolver is always at the ready in case of danger peter's been close to death four times gored by charging wild cattle so he's been issued with a permit to carry these weapons malcolm who's rarely fired a handgun makes sure that he'll be able to use it correctly in an emergency malcolm carries a rifle too but for survival only it's kept dismantled and well protected in his swag everyone's ready to go except johnny james the mule typically he's cranky and stubborn and he bites and kicks without warning the mule a hybrid animal is a cross between a donkey and a horse throughout the world mules have been bred for their ability to work under severe conditions and to withstand extreme hardship [Music] before roads were pushed over the range peter and his father ran a big team of mules but they've been superseded and johnny james is the last of the pack mules on mount elizabeth pack horses are easier to manage [Music] the horses are skittish at first but they soon settle down and the expedition starts out until the going gets too rough the vehicles will carry most of the supplies to ease the burden on the horses [Music] they follow the station track past the old homestead peter's father took up the selection of mount elizabeth in 1946 and built this classic stone and ant bed home the original roof was a thatch of local reeds a big goanna is spotted by dickie and scotty the aboriginal stockman [Music] scotty wields a stick like a boomerang and he's deadly accurate horses hate joanna's dicky's always up to tricks and gives scotty a few anxious moments the horses settle and they return to the midday camp scotty gives the goanna to malcolm for lunch 15 minutes on the hot sand covered with coals and it'll be ready to eat peters arranged to assist at the annual muster on mount barnet a neighboring property and the men head south to the main camp [Music] they keep a wary eye on wild scrub bulls always dangerous arriving at mount barnett the men yard their horses in a small holding pen they'll be rested while the musters on buck a fine young stallion has only recently been broken in and peter gives it lots of attention but buck is more interested in the black [Music] mare [Music] johnny james is being difficult again now he doesn't want his pack saddles removed mules are vicious a deserved reputation and dicky makes sure that he keeps well out of the way kimberley horses lose their condition rapidly so until the vehicles are left behind they're given concentrated feed at the end of the day hobbles are fitted and the horse is turned loose for the night everyone rests for the following days will be hard and hectic [Music] by sunup everyone's on the move the musters in full swing malcolm peter scotty and dicky have joined the large team of stockman on the mount barnet boundary as there are a few fences between properties mustering is often a combined effort branded cattle can be drafted according to ownership and wild clean skins are equally shared [Music] the aboriginal stockman play a vital role during the master the horses still fresh take some time to settle [Music] so cattle already mustered are held in temporary yards they could easily break through the flimsy enclosure but the unfamiliar hessian defies them and they remain generally quiet during the night everyone's tense when the cattle are released the flighty ones always break [Music] and the bull buggies give chase [Music] skill is needed to contain the mob they'll be pushed along steadily all day and as other cattle have found they run into the herd [Music] wild bulls repeatedly break from the mob and at any time can charge the stockman when they get away peter gives chase this is the quickest way to control these animals a top horseman can sometimes cut a bull back into the mob but it's dangerous this is the first time that some of these cattle have seen horses and humans [Music] it's a wild rough ride driving flat out dodging trees fallen logs and holes in the black soil when the buggy gets too close a bull will attack peter an amazing driver has to maneuver the angry beast back to the mob [Music] [Applause] the cattlemen's latest attempts to control the wild open range cattle involves helicopters flown by men with nerves of steel [Applause] [Music] the pilots cover in one day vast areas that would take a team of stockman weeks to master [Music] [Applause] the helicopter keeps the cattle on the run pushing them towards the stockman holding the main herd [Applause] [Music] [Music] their low-level maneuvering is breathtaking and spectacular [Applause] the bull buggy and chopper working together flush out the most determined bulls and move them along the wildest bulls won't be intimidated and attack the vehicle until they drop [Music] exhausted the bull bar immobilizes the animal while it's dehorned scrub balls are virtually vermin and must be eradicated before well-bred stock can be introduced to improve the herd [Applause] [Music] balls that shy away from the main herd are picked up and delivered to the yards by truck any bulls not caught are shot [Music] bull chasing is a rough bone jarring occupation and at any time a driver has a good chance of being good by a beast or injured in a rolling vehicle somehow peter and his team maintain this pace for weeks during the mustering season peter contract musters on a number of kimberley cattle stations he's paid for the number of bulls rounded up an outsider might not understand the need for this brutal activity but the cattle industry depends on culling for its very survival [Applause] [Music] cooling the engine is essential after hours of driving at high speed through long dry grass as the days pass the small scattered mobs merge on the last day long hessian wings are erected to direct the cattle into the yards aerial mustering has to be successful it costs around 200 an hour to hire a helicopter but often much to the disgust of the cattlemen more donkeys are rounded up than sailable cattle introduced by the first settlers donkeys now roam in plague proportions [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the pilot cuts out as many donkeys as he can and gives them one last push before heading off to another station and another master [Applause] oh any donkeys trapped with the cattle are sold for pets meat there are now so many in the kimberley that their numbers have to be controlled peter's been looking for a young donkey for his son and this is the lucky one it's going straight back to the [Music] homestead brett's delighted and within days the boy and the little donkey are constant companions brett loves animals he's even encouraged the many birds to drink from a shallow basin at the edge of the garden while at home peter gives his gyrocopter a quick checkover aware of the changes needed to remain profitable peters recently built this machine and he hopes eventually to be able to direct his stockman to cattle that he spotted from the air still sorting out minor construction problems peter's restricted to taxiing along the airstrip running the motor in within 12 months he'll be using his gyrocopter regularly during the mustering season peter's father frank lacy the last of the kimberley pioneers watches his son bemused by the changes rapidly taking place an expert bushman he taught peter many of the skills needed to work in outback cattle station one of these crafts was the manufacturer of green hide rope from bullock skin salted and wrapped for 24 hours it's then sliced methodically in an ever decreasing circle into a long strip five strands laid out in equal lengths are fixed to a hobble swivel each strand is individually twisted then a wooden cross holds the five strands in position as they wound together the middle strand passes through a hole in the center of the cross it's left taut for a week to stretch and dry these bronco ropes were once used right across australia and have now all but been replaced by nylon periodically rubbed with fat they'll stay supple throughout the season back at the stockyards drafting's in full swing the branded animals are separated and the clean skins pushed into the smaller yards for marking [Music] [Music] the young bulls are castrated dehorned and branded and released to roam the rangers for another year any fat bullocks or bulls are kept for market they'll end up as hamburger meat in america the bulls which have not been yarded before are uncontrollable [Music] some are especially stubborn [Music] and lauren bishop the owner of mount barnett trying a different approach only just escapes a goring [Music] slowly the bulls are loaded the days are long hot and dusty it's a tough life with few luxuries the basic diet is meat damper and black tea three times a day a beast is killed whenever meat is needed [Music] malcolm organizes lunch rump steak bbq bush style [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] and damper the traditional bread of the bush is baked daily most big camps have a cook and like chefs the world over they have their individual methods [Music] danny the mount barnet camp cook making sure that the loaf will rise adds a generous amount of baking powder to the flour [Music] he's [Music] the secret of success is a good bed and glowing coals to evenly heat without [Music] burning [Music] half an hour in the oven and it's ready it looks easy but to make a good damper is a knack acquired with years of practice with the muster over it's time to move on and johnny james is up to his old tricks again [Music] [Music] oh it's important that the saddlebags are evenly balanced he bites johnny james is kept pinned while the horses are settled but he's far from happy and when the gates open he's off we his crashing return scatters the team this erratic behavior is typical of mules when johnny james settles down the team heads back through mount elizabeth and on towards the west to the stoney country the spinifex pigeons blend in well with the rocks [Applause] [Music] when the terrain is too rough even for the four-wheel drive vehicles they're left at a base camp from here equipment and provisions will be carried in pack saddles gecko peter's favorite pack horse had her left eye removed by a government vet when a cancer assist inflamed the pupil now completely recovered the loss of an eye doesn't worry her at all she's docile and steady a great pack horse malcolm reports their position to the flying doctor base a hike to the top of the nearest range reveals to the north and west the wild stoney country shimmering in the dry season heat this no man's land is the least known region of australia the last aborigines left 20 years ago and it's too rough for selection but it's an area that malcolm has been keen to visit for years [Music] peter's interested in the scattered mobs of wild cattle found wherever there's permanent water and feed when cattle prices rise it could be profitable to organize a team of stockman and helicopters to round them up [Music] the price of beef is controlled by the hamburger meat market in america and currently this is depressed [Music] for tens of thousands of years fierce aborigines roamed this wilderness now they're gone the fragmented tribal groups live on cattle stations missions and government settlements malcolm's always keen to learn about the aboriginal culture and he's looking for cave paintings and burial sites peter scotty and dicky know of many sites but others may never be found the locations have been lost with the passing of the tribal elders [Music] the first paintings shown to malcolm are of the wanjina mythical dreamtime beings who with supernatural power created the world when they died they left their images on the walls and ceilings of caves the wanjina spirits live on controlling the destinies of the aboriginal people these caves were also the homes of tribal spirits where the bones of the dead were placed on ledges for safe keeping close by the commonly named paper nest wasps are guarding their young and enlarging the nest [Music] scotty and dicky drive the aggressive insects away for the lava are good to eat these fat grubs were a treat relished especially by the children another delicacy is sweet manner this sugary substance was described by moses in the bible over four thousand years ago it's a great favorite with the aboriginal people [Music] the secretion is produced by an insect no bigger than a match head the manor shaken from the leaves is left to dry for a few hours in the sun large quantities of manner were once collected by the women and carried in paper bark containers the aboriginal stockman craved their traditional food and at the first opportunity diggy's off hunting returning with a kangaroo [Applause] on a patch of bare sandy ground dicky shows malcolm the small move stem of a sweet yam they're found easily and can be eaten raw this aptly named snake a black-headed python is non-venomous and passive meat is needed and peter on the lookout for a beast spots a young heifer [Music] [Music] it might look a bit rough but it's the way stockman have always replenished their supplies the rump one of the best cuts is peter's choice i reckon someone would have shot at us and then bushfire got off most of the meat will be salted to preserve it in the heat malcolm make sure that he gets in for the fill it salt has rubbed well into the meat which is heaped and left overnight there's no better lunch than fresh rib bones roasted on the coals and fresh damper completes the meal scavenging crows and hawks are never far away a dingo too picks up the scent of blood [Music] dingoes are common in the kimberley their numbers have increased with the introduction of cattle he's weary and will wait for nightfall before he moves in on the carcass [Music] camps are basic with swags rolled out on the bare ground the hobbled horses are retrieved adorned and harnessed the salted beef now dried can be carried for months but before cooking it's soaked rinsed and boiled several times until all the salts removed when it's finally edible it's a simple sort of corned beef the men break camp and push on deep into the stony country [Music] it's now late in the dry season and the first clouds to appear for months signal the beginning of the change of seasons [Laughter] [Music] so spectacular frilled lizards threaten ferociously when the horses pass by [Music] they seek safety camouflaged as bumps on a dead branch scotty leads the group to an important site that malcolm's anxious to see it's the crocodile dreaming site here the aborigines say freshwater crocodiles were created during the time that the wanjinas roamed the land a group of aborigines travelled from the north and arrived at this cave the wanjinas changed them into freshwater crocodiles the females are the ones full of eggs the many young the smaller paintings are shown throughout the cave [Applause] the big males with the huge black eyes are at the far end from this cave the crocodiles travelled to the drysdale river and gradually dispersed to all the freshwater rivers in the north the path of the crocodiles travelled from the cave to the river is marked by stones and scotty shows malcolm the direction that the reptiles took [Music] years ago the owner of this ceremony would arrange for the tribes to gather and reenact the crocodile creation today the paintings and ceremonial sites are falling into disrepair crocodiles are now an important food and scotty hooks won before leaving [Music] but malcolm's still looking for burial sites and a particular style of ancient cave art scotty recognizes a small upright stone such markers placed high on a ridge indicate that an important site lies nearby peter and malcolm investigate peter's anxious to locate and record all the burial caves on his property for already those near the main road have been desecrated by travelers [Music] when a tribesman died his body was placed on a high wooden platform to decay the skeleton was taken back and deposited in the man's spirit place a small can kept the bones intact with the disintegration of tribal life this ritual ceased and now the bones are deteriorating to finally disperse on the wind [Music] close by peter and malcolm locate a fine collection of the small stick-like figures called bradshaw paintings this style was named after mr joseph bradshaw an early kimberley explorer who discovered and described the ancient pictographs in the cave near the coast nothing is known of the origins of this art aborigines today treat the paintings with contempt and call them rubbish so it appears that the breadshores were illustrated by people of a previous era the cave paintings and burial sites are the last reminders of human occupation in this remote area it's been a long hard journey over the range and now it's time to head the horses round for malcolm it's been an unforgettable experience but he's concerned the wilderness is threatened mining companies and tour operators are looking to the north it's hoped they'll respect and conserve this wild region back at mount elizabeth the weary horses are fed and will be turned out to run free malcolm must leave to return home for the coming reigns we'll isolate the kimberley for the many months of the wet [Music] season [Music] you

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Length: 45min 55sec (2755 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 01 2020