Maryvale Station
In 1937, at the age of 15, Tom left home and headed to the West Coast of South Australia to work on a sheep station called Maryvale, 20km south east of Streaky Bay (owned by Ignatius Kenny). This eventually involved a lot of work cutting trees, making fences posts and digging holes in rocky ground to make fences for crops. This was pretty hard work and Tom eventually got jack of this and in 1938 headed north to the cattle stations of South Australia's far north & beyond.
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| Central Australia in 1922, showing stations and droving tracks |
Glengyle Station
From Maryvale, Tom went to Glengyle Station in the channel country of southwest Queensland, 125km north of Birdsville. Glengyle was established in 1876 and in it's heyday had a total area of 18,000 square kilometres including outsations, running 25,000 head of cattle and 1,000 horses. The station was regularly mentioned as a source of good quality beef in the city markets. Glengyle is at the end of the world's longest mail run, about a 2,000 kilometre round trip from Port Augusta.
Tom's journey to Glengyle involved travelling to Quorn (430km) and riding the Ghan to Marree (340km). From here Tom travelled with Tom Kruse on the back of his mail truck as far as Birdsville (500km), jumping out as required to stick sheets of iron under the wheels to keep traction across the sand hills. We're not sure if they know, but also on one occasion when the mail truck overheated, Tom had to use a few bottles of beer destined for the Birdsville pub to top up the radiator to keep it running. At Birdsville, Tom joined a group of people on a supply run with packhorses, riding the additional 135km out to the station.
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| Loading up the mail truck at Marree for the trip north |
Tom's journey to Glengyle involved travelling to Quorn (430km) and riding the Ghan to Marree (340km). From here Tom travelled with Tom Kruse on the back of his mail truck as far as Birdsville (500km), jumping out as required to stick sheets of iron under the wheels to keep traction across the sand hills. We're not sure if they know, but also on one occasion when the mail truck overheated, Tom had to use a few bottles of beer destined for the Birdsville pub to top up the radiator to keep it running. At Birdsville, Tom joined a group of people on a supply run with packhorses, riding the additional 135km out to the station.
Listen to Tom talk about travelling to Glengyle Station with Tom Kruse
Clifton Hills Station
After the war, Tom returned to the bush in late 1946 and worked at Clifton Hills Station, located on the northern section of the Birdsville Track. The station was established in 1883 and is the largest holding along the track at 17,000 square kilometres. The holding has run up to 20,000 head of short-horn cattle, that were regularly sent to the Adelaide market by train from Marree.
The trip to Clifton Hills involved catching the Ghan to Marree (a journey of around 700km), then acquiring horses with a mate and riding the rest of the journey up the Birdsville track to the station (another 325km).
The trip to Clifton Hills involved catching the Ghan to Marree (a journey of around 700km), then acquiring horses with a mate and riding the rest of the journey up the Birdsville track to the station (another 325km).
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| Overlooking rail yard and township at Marree |
Tom's final job involved he and another drover taking a herd of cattle up the Diamantina to Winton in central Queensland. The trip covered around 750km and would have taken about eight weeks (droving cattle at "around 8-10 miles a day" in the old scale).
Listen to Tom talk about seeing the Min Min lights while droving his herd of cattle to Winton
After reaching Winton, they brought a number of horses and gear back on the return trip to Clifton Station. They collected a mob of Brumbies and drove them down to Marree, where they were railed to Adelaide and unloaded at Mile End. From here Tom rode his horse Dinah up Greenhill Road and then Portrush Road to the house at Glen Osmond. The horse was a little flighty, not being used to any civilisation.
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| Tom O'Brien with Dinah, at Portrush Road (around 1946) |
Dinah occupied the vacant block next to the family home on Portrush Road (after Mrs Andrew's house was knocked down) until she was finally sold.
References:
- Wikipedia
- David Rumsey Map Collection
- Photos taken at the National Motor Museum
- Stories and recordings from Tom O'Brien
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