Community
21 August, 2024
Legacy of Outback drovers to be recognised in Camooweal
The number of drovers is dwindling every year, but their legend lives on in Camooweal.
The role of Indigenous drovers in helping to forge the northern Australia stock routes will be a highlight at the Camooweal Drovers Festival this weekend.
The town will celebrate the golden age of droving with a long weekend of hair-raising stock tales, bronco branding, bush poetry, live music and even a weekend-long talent show.
The event starts at 9am Friday at the Drovers Camp, one kilometre east of the township.
Drovers Camp Association secretary Josie Rowlands said there were two drovers already in Camooweal assisting to get the event up and running with more due in the coming days.
There are expected to be less than 20 drovers in attendance this year – which is about half the number from only a few years ago – as old age and illness reduces their capacity to travel.
Ms Rowlands said four former North West drovers had passed away this year, adding to the urgency of keeping their stories and spirit alive.
“We are feeling it – it is very sad – these are the men who opened up the Northern Territory and Queensland for the Australian beef industry,” she told North West Weekly.
“If it wasn’t for these old fellas working alongside the Traditional Owners across the north, we wouldn’t have the country we have today.
“Once the last of the old fellas go, there will be no more. They are a link to the earlier history of this region.”
A portrait exhibition by acclaimed photographer David Prichard will highlight the central role of the legendary Indigenous drovers in the story of northern Australia.
“It’s important we recognise the role of the Traditional Owners in the story of Australian droving. It wasn’t just white men, they were working closely with Indigenous people,” Ms Rowlands said.