Cattlemen of the High Country

Revised and updated

This new edition of the 1980s classic relives the pioneering spirit of mountain cattlemen of the Bogong High Plains, and picks up the story of more recent times when their country were ravaged by wildfire and the State Government revoked the high country leases.

The book provides an enduring record of a breed of Australians, folk heroes in their own right, whose lives have formed the basis of verse and legend. Each year the cattlemen held the annual muster before the first snowfall of autumn, and brought their cattle down to lower pastures for winter feeding, or sold them at annual sales.

These tough and resourceful cattlemen endured the snow and freezing conditions of winter and the ravaging bushfires in summer. When mustering or checking their cattle, they sheltered in little huts which they built from the timber at hand. They were masters of bushcraft.

In this book their yarns and reminiscences reveal a characteristic courage and endurance and an indomitable sense of humour.