Mail coach owner and driver extraordinaire – Norman Richardson held mail contracts probably the longest of anyone in Australia – over 42 years – from age 20 until age 62, said to be the biggest mail contractor in South Australia for a good while.
Draught Horse Derby… started during WW1 – held as part of Heroes Day events, raising funds for the families of men killed in the war and the Red Cross.
In our horse days, the government ran many excellent experimental farms. These were also training schools for those going into any of the many branches of agriculture.
As well as horses being used for stock work and wild ones being mustered and droved to various sales – sold both here and overseas – horses were widely used in the Snowies to transport sightseers, skiers, scientists, trout fishermen – and trout!
They said “Australia rides on the sheep’s back” but they forgot everything depended on the horse, including moving wool to sell. The horse market was giant too.
Waler meetings often became an adventure. Who’d a’thunk it. Many years ago, Jac and I went to a Society AGM followed by an SGM. It was to haunt us for some time but now we laugh about it.
For decades Toowoomba had one of the biggest horse sales in Australia. The big buyers for overseas as well as buyers for Australia attended. Draughts to ponies all sold well. Auctioneers themselves became very wealthy from the horse trade.
Horses were essential for everyday life, serving in a multitude of roles, with no equivalent today. They had to be safe, dependable, strong, and easy to keep.
Ships were requisitioned by the Navy for war transport of horses and troops. Horse export was part of our economy – most ship crews and horsemen were old hands at the game.
Walers are rare and old-fashioned horses who were developed at a time now long gone. Using horse names from when horses were key may help to create ongoing links to our history.
