AUSTRALIA’S WILD HORSES

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 September 1940, Page 12

AUSTRALIA’S WILD HORSES

THOUSANDS IN “THE CENTRE.” SYDNEY, August 15. “Australia has a reserve of horses about which the average man knows nothing, horses of a type that would be hard to beat for remount work, great stayers, and as sure-footed as goats. “I have seen many of these horses used for stock work on out-back stations, and in droving plants, and know something of their great staying powers.” These remarks were made yesterday by Mr Fred Blakeley, of Lasseter expedition fame, in describing the wild horses of Central Australia. “I do not know the number of horses available for remount and transport work,” Mr Blakeley said, “but I feel sure that it will fall far short of requirements, so I would like to suggest the tapping of a more or less unknown supply—the great mobs of wild horses in different parts of the continent. Out in Central Australia, west of Alice Springs, in' a stretch of country called the Spring Belt, there is an extensive chain of open water-holes and many thousands of wild horses of a very fine type that would be hard to beat for remount work. They are great stayers, z and as sure-footed as goats. On my'trip out with the Lasseter expedition I saw many well-worn pads leading into water, signs that the wild horses were there in- great numbers. I had a good look at a stallion and six mares, and a splendid lot they were. Old stockmen tell me that the wild horse is evenly distributed right throughout this Spring Belt system. ’ . HORSES OF QUALITY.

“There can be no doubt about the quality of these horses,” continued Mr Blakeley, “for, 4000 miles farther south, on North Creek, many were captured and used in Egypt for remount work in the last war. These horses from the sandhills and plains outstayed every other horse used in Egypt, so they have been well tried. I know the mustering of these horses is a big job, but I think 500 could be captured at the cost of building one tank. “In the last war three or four white men and ten natives captured many hundreds. If the Government sent out 300 or 400 good stockmen, with as many old brumby hunters as possible, great numbers could be added to our transport system. This work could be done under fairly " strict army rules, and would prove fine training for the men, although the leaders of these wild horse hunters would have to be drawn from men who have earned their living at ’the game. x ' t “These men’s knowledge of how to handle the wild horses would be very valuable,” said Mr Blakeley, “for it is the first contact with man that makes a good horse or an impossible one. These brumbies are great doers. They can get. a feed almost any-

where; even dried gum leaves are not turned down when hard pushed. ' “There are other mobs of wild horses well worth while going after,” said Mr Blakeley, “such as the Snowy River brumbies, which, although nothing much to look at, are great stayers—just as safe as the horse of the plains, but only.half the size. This horse is mountain-bred and can. always find a way through the thickest of timber, a very valuable animal forscout work. It may be that there are only a hundred or (two of this class' of horse left, . but of. what value would they be to Australia for scout work along the rugged timbered ranges of our coast. I “There are other phases of inland [transport that may be worth conI sideration, bullocks, for instance, and camels. From what I know of the! inland I should say we > could raise over 5,000 camels which, would be eminently suitable for the patrol of hundreds of miles of coastline away''

from main depots. As for packing bullocks, we could still muster great numbers of them, which, like the camels, would be most efficient in country where motor vehicles would be almost useless,” concluded Mr Blakeley.