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43-400: Overlander or Overlanders may refer to: An Australian name for a drover who herds large mobs of sheep or cattle over long distances, to a market or rail head , or to open up new grazing territory Overlander (train) was a rail service that operated between the cities of Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand Overlander, Western Australia ,

86-580: A common sight in rural and Outback areas. But during times of drought , taking animals onto the "long paddock", the fenced travelling stock route , along a public road, is common practice even today, and droving skills are still required. The modern drover is now typically assisted with modern equipment, such as motorcycles , all-terrain vehicles , a truck and/or trailer for the horses, if they are used. Caravans are commonly used, along with generators to provide extra comfort and convenience. Stock may be enclosed at night in an area that has been fenced off with

129-405: A day, sheep about six miles (9.7 km), and are permitted to spread up to 800 metres (half a mile) on either side of the road. Occasionally mobs of horses were moved by drovers. A short camp is made for a lunch break, after which the cook and horse-tailer will move ahead to set up the night camp. A continual watch is kept over cattle during the night camp, usually with one horseman riding around

172-445: A day. The train's leader commonly wore a bell to warn of its approach, since contemporary accounts emphasised the risk packhorse trains presented to others. They were particularly useful as roads were muddy and often impassable by wagon or cart, and there were no bridges over some major rivers in the north of England. About 1000 packhorses a day passed through Clitheroe before 1750, and "commonly 200 to 300 laden horses every day over

215-468: A few decades of the 19th Century, enormous pack trains carried goods on the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico , west to California . On current United States Geological Survey maps, many such trails continue to be labeled pack trail . Packhorses are used worldwide to convey many products. In feudal Japan riding in a saddle (kura) was reserved for the samurai class until the end of

258-660: A location in Australia Overlanders, Edmonton , a residential neighbourhood in the Hermitage area of northeast Edmonton, Alberta, Canada The Overlanders (film) , a 1946 movie about Australian drovers herding cattle across the Australian outback during World War II The Overlanders (band) , the name of a British 1960s music group Overlander Mountain , in Mount Robson Provincial Park, Canada Gregor

301-573: A new pastoral lease, Fossil Downs Station , in the Kimberley of Western Australia some 5,600 kilometres (3,480 mi) away. They left with 700 head of cattle and 60 horses during drought conditions as they trekked through Queensland . Arriving at the property in June 1886 with 327 cattle and 13 horses they reunited with their brother Dan. The most famous Outback stock routes were the Murranji Track ,

344-523: A pay-grade up and a step above a breaker boy in the society of the times. As the nation expanded west, packhorses, singly or in a pack train of several animals, were used by early surveyors and explorers, most notably by fur trappers , " mountain men ", and gold prospectors who covered great distances by themselves or in small groups. Packhorses were used by Native American people when traveling from place to place, and were also used by traders to carry goods to both Indian and White settlements. During

387-535: A policing force, killed at least 30 Aboriginal people, in the Rufus River massacre . In 1863, boss drover George Gregory drove 8,000 sheep from near Rockhampton to the Northern Territory border, some 2,100 km, taking seven months. In the early 1870s, Robert Christison overlanded 7,000 sheep from Queensland to Adelaide, a distance of 2,500 km. Patrick Durack and his brother Michael trekked across

430-663: A significant distance occurred in 1836 when 300 cattle were moved by Joseph Hawdon in 26 days from the Murrumbidgee River to Melbourne , a distance of about 480 km. Also in 1836, Edward John Eyre drove stock from New South Wales to the Port Phillip district. As droving skills were developed, more challenging assignments were undertaken. During the late 1830s, settlers began to move into countryside near Adelaide . There followed expeditions to bring sheep and cattle to Adelaide from New South Wales. The first such expedition

473-462: A small mob of quiet cattle is relatively easy, but moving several hundreds or thousands head of wild station cattle over long distances is a very different matter. Long-distance moving large mobs of stock was traditionally carried out by contract drovers. A drover had to be independent and tough, an excellent horseman, able to manage stock as well as men. The boss drover who had a plant (horses, dogs, cooking gear and other requisites) contracted to move

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516-766: A small stream would have steep banks in normal terrains. By the 1790s the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was shipping anthracite coal from Summit Hill, Pennsylvania , to cargo boats on the Lehigh River using pack trains in what may be the earliest commercial mining company in North America. Afterwards in 1818−1827 its new management built first the Lehigh Canal , then the Mauch Chunk & Summit Hill Railroad , North America's second oldest which used mule trains to return

559-452: A sturdy tree (very quickly). Many drovers have been trampled to death in a rush, sometimes still in their swags . A good night-horse can be given its head, and will gradually wheel the leading cattle around until the mob is moving in a circle, and calm can be restored. During long "dry stages" extra care will be taken of the stock, and this may involve droving during the night to conserve the animals’ energy. About three kilometres before water

602-546: A temporary electric fence . Localised droving was common in the Kosciuszko National Park and Alpine National Park and High Plains areas, until the areas became National Parks. The drovers would often bring cattle from the lower pastures to the fresh green pastures for the summer months. During the summer months many of the drovers would often stay in mountain huts like Daveys Hut , Whites River Hut and Mawsons Hut . In 1881, Nat Buchanan , regarded by many as

645-407: A trip. The horse tailer was the team member responsible for getting horses to water and feed, and bringing them to the camp in the morning. A good night-horse was highly prized for its night vision, temperament, and its ability to bring animals under control when a "rush", known elsewhere as a stampede, occurred at night. The standard team of men employed to move 1,200 cattle consisted of seven men:

688-619: Is a common public house name throughout England. During the 19th century, horses that transported officers' baggage during military campaigns were referred to as "bathorses" from the French bat , meaning packsaddle. The packhorse, mule or donkey was a critical tool in the development of the Americas . In colonial America, Spanish, French, Dutch and English traders made use of pack horses to carry goods to remote Native Americans and to carry hides back to colonial market centers. They had little choice,

731-484: Is a person, typically an experienced stockman , who moves livestock , usually sheep , cattle , and horses "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in search of better feed and/or water or in search of a yard to work on the livestock. The drovers who covered very long distances to open up new country were known as " overlanders ". Moving

774-528: Is likely that the pack horse routes were established from that time. Most packhorses were Galloways , small, stocky horses named after the Scottish district where they were first bred. Those employed in the lime-carriage trade were known as "limegals". Each pony could carry about 240 pounds (110 kg) in weight, spread between two panniers. Typically a train of ponies would number between 12 and 20, but sometimes up to 40. They averaged about 25 miles (40 km)

817-460: Is reached, the animals will be held and small groups will be taken to drink in order that the cattle do not rush and injure or drown others. A "cattle train drover" is a person who accompanies a mob of cattle on a train while they are being transported to a new location. The goods trains provide special accommodation for these drovers in specially constructed guard's vans. Queensland is now the only state to run cattle trains. The first droving over

860-627: The Birdsville Track , the Strzelecki Track and the Canning Stock Route . The Canning was regarded as the loneliest, the most difficult, and the most dangerous. The gradual introduction of railways from about the 1860s made some droving work unnecessary. However, the work of the overlanders and drovers in general fell away rapidly in the 1960s as trucking of animals became the norm. Road trains carrying large number of animals are today

903-745: The Long Causeway ; others were named after landmarks, such as the Reddyshore Scoutgate ("gate" is Old English for a road or way) and the Rapes Highway (after Rapes Hill). The medieval paths were marked by wayside crosses along their routes. Mount Cross, above the hamlet of Shore in the Cliviger Gorge , shows signs of Viking influence. As the Vikings moved eastwards from the Irish Sea in about 950 AD, it

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946-534: The River Calder (at a ford) called Fennysford in the King's Highway between Clitheroe and Whalley " The importance of packhorse routes was reflected in jingles and rhymes, often aide-memoires of the routes. As the need for cross-Pennine transportation increased, the main routes were improved, often by laying stone setts parallel to the horse track, at a distance of a cartwheel. They remained difficult in poor weather,

989-454: The Thomson , Barcoo , Cooper and Strezlecki rivers thus pioneering the Strzelecki Track . Women have been noted as exceptional drovers as well. One of the true legends of the outback is Edna Zigenbine, better known as Edna Jessop , who took over a droving job from her injured father, and became a boss drover at 23. Along with her brother Andy and four ringers, they moved the 1,550 bullocks

1032-406: The samurai era (1868); lower classes would ride on a pack saddle ( ni-gura or konida-gura ) or bareback. Pack horses ( ni-uma or konida-uma ) carried a variety of merchandise and the baggage of travelers using a pack saddle that ranged from a basic wooden frame to the elaborate pack saddles used for the semi-annual processions ( sankin kotai ) of Daimyō. Pack horses also carried

1075-594: The 2,240 kilometres across the Barkly Tableland to Dajarra , near Mount Isa , Queensland . Much literature has been written about droving, particularly balladic poetry. An idealised image of the droving life is described in the poem Clancy of the Overflow , and more realistically depicted in the historical film The Overlanders . Video, September 2013, one of the largest Australian cattle drives in 100 years. Packhorse Packhorses have been used since

1118-559: The Americas had virtually no improved waterways before the 1820s and roads in times before the automobile were only improved locally around a municipality, and only rarely in between. This meant cities and towns were connected by roads which carts and wagons could navigate only with difficulty, for virtually every eastern hill or mountain with a shallow gradient was flanked by valleys with stream cut gullies and ravines in their bottoms, as well as Cut bank formations, including escarpments. Even

1161-635: The Overlander , the first book of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins A human-like species in the Archie Comics series Sonic the Hedgehog See also [ edit ] Overland (disambiguation) Overlanding Oberland (disambiguation) Oberlander Oorlams Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

1204-683: The Reddyshore Scoutgate was "notoriously difficult", and became insufficient for a developing commercial and industrial economy. In the 18th century, canals started to be built in England and, following the Turnpike Act 1773, metalled roads. They made the ancient packhorse routes obsolete. Away from main routes, their use persisted into the 19th century leaving a legacy of paths across wilderness areas called packhorse routes, roads or trails and distinctive narrow, low sided stone arched packhorse bridges for example, at Marsden near Huddersfield. The Packhorse

1247-412: The boss drover, four stockmen , a cook and a horse-tailer. Store cattle were moved in larger mobs, of up to 1,500 head, while fat bullocks going to meatworks were taken in mobs of about 650 head, i.e. three train loads. The stockmen will ride in formation at the front, sides and back of the mob, at least until the mob has settled into a routine pace. Cattle are expected to cover about ten miles (16 km)

1290-684: The earliest period of domestication of the horse . They were invaluable throughout antiquity, through the Middle Ages , and into modern times where roads are nonexistent or poorly maintained. Packhorses were heavily used to transport goods and minerals in England from medieval times until the construction of the first turnpike roads and canals in the 18th century. Many routes crossed the Pennines between Lancashire and Yorkshire, enabling salt, limestone, coal, fleeces and cloth to be transported. Some routes had self-describing names, such as Limersgate and

1333-559: The equipment and food for samurai warriors during military campaigns. In North America and Australia, in areas such the Bicentennial National Trail , the packhorse plays a major role in recreational pursuits, particularly to transport goods and supplies into wilderness areas and where motor vehicles are either prohibited or impracticable. They are used by mounted outfitters , hunters , campers , stockmen and cowboys to carry tools and equipment that cannot be carried with

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1376-412: The five ton coal cars the four hour climb the nine miles back to the upper terminus. Mules rode the roller-coaster precursor on the down trip to the docks, stables and paddocks below. The same company, as did its many competitors made extensive use of sure footed pack mules and donkeys in coal mines, including in some cases measures to stable the animals below ground. These were often managed by 'mule boys',

1419-726: The greatest drover of all, took 20,000 cattle from St George in Southern Queensland to the Daly River , not far south of Darwin , a distance of 3,200 km. Cattle stealing has long been part of Australia's history and some of the country's biggest droving feats have been performed by cattle rustlers or duffers . The most notable one was Harry Redford who established a reputation as an accomplished drover when he stole 1,000 cattle from Bowen Downs Station near Longreach, Queensland in 1870 and drove them 1,500 miles (2,400 km). His route took him through very difficult country down

1462-488: The mob at a predetermined rate according to the conditions, from a starting point to the destination. The priorities for a boss drover were the livestock, the horses, and finally the men, as drovers were paid per head of stock delivered. Drovers were sometimes on the road for as long as two years. Traditional droving could not have been done without horses. The horse plant was made up of work-horses, night-horses and packhorses , with each drover riding four or five horses during

1505-429: The mob, unless the cattle are restless, when two riders would be used. A rush can be started by a sudden noise such as a dingo howl, a bolt of lightning , sparks from a fire, or even a bush rat gnawing on a tender part of a hoof. Drovers tell vivid stories of the totally chaotic conditions that occur when several hundred cattle start a rush at night. If they head towards the drovers’ camp, the best option may be to climb

1548-596: The north of Australia from their property on Coopers Creek in Queensland , which they left in 1879 along with 7250 breeding cattle and 200 horses, to the Kimberley region of Western Australia near Kununurra where they arrived in 1882. The 3,000 miles (4,828 km) journey of cattle to stock Argyle Downs and Ivanhoe Station is the longest of its type ever recorded. Charles and William MacDonald left their property near Tuena , New South Wales, in 1883 bound to establish

1591-427: The packhorse is similar to that of a riding horse. Many but not all packhorses are also trained to be ridden. In addition, a packhorse is required to have additional skills that may not be required of a riding horse. A pack horse is required to be tolerant of close proximity to other animals in the packstring, both to the front and to the rear. The horse must also be tolerant of breeching , long ropes, noisy loads, and

1634-631: The rider. They are used by guest ranches to transport materials to remote locations to set up campsites for tourists and guests. They are used by the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service to carry in supplies to maintain trails, cabins and bring in commercial goods to backcountry tourist lodges and other remote, permanent residences. Additionally, packhorses have also been used by drug trafficking organizations to transport narcotics across wilderness areas. In

1677-496: The shifting of the load during transit. Patience and tolerance are crucial; for example, there are many ways to put pack horses into a pack string, but one method incorporates tying the halter lead of one animal to the tail of the animal in front of it, an act that often provokes kicking or bolting in untrained animals. Loading of a packhorse requires care. Weight carried is the first factor to consider. The average horse can carry up to approximately 30% of its body weight. Thus,

1720-462: The third world, packhorses and donkeys to an even greater extent, still haul goods to market, carry supplies for workers, and many other of the same jobs that have been performed for millennia. In modern warfare , pack mules are used to bring supplies to areas where roads are poor and fuel supply is uncertain. For example, they are a critical part of the supply chain for all sides of the conflict in remote parts of Afghanistan. Foundation training of

1763-536: The title Overlanders . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Overlanders&oldid=1229645996 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Drover (Australian) A drover in Australia

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1806-790: Was an almost continuous train of sheep, cattle, bullock drays, and horses along the route. Many Aboriginal Australians lived along the route. They sometimes received "injudicious treatment" from the Europeans—in the words of Governor George Gawler . Such treatment included sexual abuse of Aboriginal women and wanton shooting of Aboriginal people. That led to an escalating cycle of conflicts between Aboriginal people and Europeans. For example, drover Henry Inman lost all 5000 of his sheep, when Aboriginal people attacked his party, in April 1841. And in August 1841, drover William Robinson and his party, together with

1849-743: Was led by Eyre, which started in December 1837 and followed the path of Charles Sturt along the Murray–Darling River system . Eyre's party comprised eight stockmen, 1000 sheep, and 600 head of cattle, which started out from Monaro in New South Wales. The party arrived in Adelaide in July 1838. During the following years, the traffic on the Murray–Darling route would grow enormously. At its height, there

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