Ode to Indigenous Stockmen

Indigenous Stockmen Salute

You, our men

Strong, Fearless, Stoic and Kind

Sons from proud families

At one with the land since millennia

Trackers, horsemen, ringers, drovers

Opening up the outback

Canning Stock Route, Hells Gate Track, Strzelecki Stock route, murranji

Ancient trade routes, our people did trade

Our goods, knowledge and stories

Heads of Cattle, mobs of sheep

You gave your trade routes

Your knowledge and skills

Economic prosperity to a selected few

Checked shirts, wide brimmed hats, dusty boots

Swags, saddles and whip

Months away from loved ones

Driving the cattle and the sheep

Night time at camp

Swapping stories of dreamtime

Dreaming of home

One last Billy tea before bed

Trotting, cantering then galloping

The last rise before home

You arrive, you are home

It’s been a year.

Many fights for your rights

Lingiari would be proud,

Hand full of sand

History stands, Your land.

Aboriginal stockman

Strong, fearless, stoic, kind

Knowledge is not lost; Next generation takes up

Trackers, horsemen, ringers, drovers

You are Australia

A legacy that lives on

Aboriginal stockman,

We salute you.

Sally Cooper and Dion Devow