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In 1942, the Japanese

were driving invincibly southward from Singapore.

It seemed inevitable that next into their hands

would fall the Northern Territory of Australia,

the largest undeveloped region in the world

with a million head of cattle and a population

of only 5,000 whites.

Space, scorched earth and space,

was Australia's final weapon.

But first, the vast herds of the north must be saved.

And so, across Australia moved a mass migration

unique in history.

From small beginnings, the mobs of cattle poured south

in an almost unending flood.

This is the story of one mob and of the people

who drove it across a continent.

- The Japs'll get nothing from me.

- Old Gutsache wants you, boss.

- Righto.

Hold 'em, boys, I gotta see the manager!

Lookin' for me, Burt?

- Yes, come in, Dan.

I was just tellin' the boys I've a shock for ya.

- What's that, the company givin' us a rise?

- That big a shock, you'd be turnin' on whiskey.

- Listen, boys, I've just had this telegram.

Closed works, stop.

Load vital machine parts on SS Toowoomba immediately, stop.

Destroy freezing plant, evacuate personnel, stop.

Regards, Barton.

- Nice of him to send his regards anyhow.

Well, looks like we're through, war anyway.

Must be expectin' the Japs.

They were close enough last night.

Yes, too bloomin' close.

- Well, there's no use squawkin'.

The one thing we've plenty of in Australia is space,

so why not use it like the Russians did?

Scorched earth and space.

Oh, here, help yourself.

There won't be any big shots up here for awhile.

And don't bother about packin' that stuff.

Just rip it out and get it aboard.

- What about the cattle, Burt?

- Just shoot 'em where they are.

I've got some ammo for you here somewhere.

- I'm not gonna shoot those cattle, Burt.

- They'd make some fine dinners for the Japs.

- I won't leave 'em for the Japs, boy.

I'll overland them.

- You'd never get through, Dan, look.

This is just to stop you from committing suicide.

We're here.

You'd either have to make for Adelaide or Queensland.

Adelaide is 2,000 miles away.

Queensland is 1500.

- I'll make for Queensland.

- All right.

And when you crossed the Orde,

you'd be out of feed and water.

It's terrible country.

You know how long the Duracks were coming here?

Three years.

The war'd be over then.

- You can't tell me there haven't been

any big movements of cattle since the Duracks.

Listen, Bert, when I went down to Halls Creek to enlist

the sergeant there, Paterson, he said to me,

"In this war bullocks are more important than bullets.

"You stick to cattle," he said, "and you'll be doing

"a better job for Australia than bashing

"your spine in some army camp."

Then he knocked me back.

I was the only recruit that day,

so we went out and got drunk.

I've never forgotten what he said.

"Bullocks are more important than bullets."

- He was right in a way, but...

- But you want me to leave a thousand head of cattle to rot.

If I can get a plan together, will ya let me have a go?

- I'd have to have an official okay.

- Aww, don't give me that line of bull, Bert.

You know you've got authority for all I need.

Will ya back me?

- I can't stop ya, Dan.

I'll tell ya what I'll do.

Don't know why people make such a fuss of these things.

They always come unstuck on me.

I'll tell ya what I'll do.

I'll give you a personal contract

and try and have it okayed when I go south.

- Good on ya, Bert.

I knew you wouldn't let me down.

- Ya know what you're tryin' to do, don't ya, Dan?

You're tryin' to drive a mob of half-wild cattle

the distance from London to Moscow

in a bad season and the wrong time of the year.

- No wonder they call you old Gutsache.

Well, I'll see ya in Moscow.

- Woo! - And heads!

- It's heads.

For quid in the guts wanted.

Four quid in the guts wanted.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.

10 to set, place your bets, boys.

10 to set, place your bets, boys.

- Hey, Corky!

Hold on a minute, I wanna have a yarn with the boys.

- Not now, Dan, my boy.

If he throws another heads, I get a cut.

- This is important.

- What's more important than making dough?

Come on, stand clear.

Come in, Spinner, come on.

Fair go, boys, fair go.

Tails!

- Gentlemen, Mr. Dan McAlpine wants to say a few words.

- Listen, fellas, here's the story.

I want six men to help me drive

a mob of cattle to Queensland.

Well, what about it?

- You're too late, Dan.

- It's the wrong time of the year.

- You'd never get through the centre.

- That's my funeral.

- And it's likely to be.

- It's like this, Dan.

We're goin' to join up when we get south.

We want to sorta stick together.

- That's right, we oughta be doin' a war job.

- This is a war job.

Bullocks are more lmportant than bullets.

- And much bigger.

You can see them coming.

- Fair go, fair go.

Let's get this straight.

Who's coming with me?

- None of us, Dan.

We're going to fight.

Come and get it!

- You'll come with me, won't ya, Jackie?

- Where to, boss?

- Across three states, Western Australia,

Northern Territory, and Queensland to the sea.

- How long on the road, boss?

- Oh, a year, maybe two.

- Okay, I'll come with ya.

Wait till I tell the missus.

I'll be back in five minutes.

- I'll come with you if you'll have me.

- You're a sailor, aren't ya?

- Yes.

- There's nothing romantic about us, ya know.

We don't carry guns or shoot up rustlers.

We're just plain cattlemen.

Hard yacka and hard tucker.

I think you better stay by your ship.

- But I hate the sea.

My home's in Scotland.

My mother was killed in the Blitz.

I've been torpedoed twice.

Once I spent 19 days in a ship's boat.

I thought I'd got over it by now,

but the bombing out here has brought it on again.

I'm a coward, I suppose.

- Oh, I wouldn't say that.

Can ya ride a horse?

- No, I'm afraid I can't.

Well, not very well, anyway.

- Can ya cook?

- Yes, I can, and I don't mind hard work.

- Could you get a discharge?

- Yes, the skipper said I could on medical grounds.

- Ah, what's the good of you and me and Jacky?

We'd lose half the cattle the first night.

Well, I suppose I better start shooting.

I was dead set on getting those cattle through.

- And so you shall, Dan, my boy.

All is now well.

Dr. Corkingdale in person is coming with you.

- You are, Corky?

It means work, ya know.

- I've worked in my time.

- I thought you were all set for the city.

- Well, on sober consideration,

wasn't it tragic about the pub?

On sober consideration, I thought it wise

to avoid the bright lights of Sydney a little while longer.

We get paid for this trip, I hope.

- You bet.

- Yes, Dan, what are you offering?

- Standard drover's rate, six quid a week and tucker.

And a bonus at the end if we get through.

- That's all right, then.

You see, Les and I have got some pretty good horses

that we didn't like leaving, so if we can stick them in

with your plan, well, you can count on us.

- You beaut.

Moscow, here I come.

- Moscow?

I thought you said Queensland.

- Aw, that's just a fancy of mine.

Well, come on, let's get some gear together.

- Whoa!

- G'day, Bill.

G'day, Mrs. Parsons, Helen.

Gonna sell the waggon, Bill?

- No.

- Ah, well, I'll pinch it after you've sailed.

- We're not sailing.

We're coming with you.

- No you're not, Bill.

It's no job for women.

But thanks for the offer.

- Now, wait a minute, Dan.

Hold those.

Now look here, Dan.

You know that me and my family are better

with the cattle than any of these ratbags you got here.

- Come over here, Bill.

- Who's the girl?

- Bill Parsons' daughter.

But don't bother.

Her mother watches her like a hawk.

- Get out of here.

- Mary.

Here, dear, put this on.

- But Mother, Jeff never asked me.

- Yes, dear, I know.

But your father's set on making this trip

and it would be better for all of us

if the men think you're attached.

- Hello.

- Can I call you Sinbad?

He was a sailor.

- If you like.

- All right, then.

But there's one thing you'll have to get straight, Bill.

I'm the boss.

This is my idea and I'm gonna see it through as boss drover.

- That's okay with me.

Didn't think I wanted to take your plans over, did ya?

- You're such an argumentative old cow,

I wouldn't put it past ya.

- Oh, sailor.

Put that stuff on the waggon.

The Parsons are coming with us.

- Okay.

- The boy will give you a hand, Mary.

What's your name?

- Hunter, but your little girl has christened me Sinbad.

You see, I'm a sailor.

- This is my daughter, Mary.

- Hello, Mary. - Hello.

Glad to know you.

- Is that ship taking mail?

Mary wants to get off a letter to her fiance

in the Middle East.

- Oh yes, I expect so, Mrs. Parsons.

- Oh, Mother, you are the limit.

- Here's your contract, Dan.

Two bob a head for every hundred miles

and eight pound a day waiting money.

Oh, and there's just one thing.

This bonus, I can't promise anything,

but I'll do the best I can.

- Aw, that'll be all right.

The company doesn't come across,

I'll take it outta mine.

- Oh, that's just plain stupid.

- Hey, steward.

What about a bottle of whiskey?

- Sorry, all in bond.

- How about a bottle of beer?

- In bond, too.

- Have you got any fags?

- Got none.

- No business sense.

- Let's go forward, let's go aft.

- Bye, Bill.

And all the best, Dan.

And I still think you're takin' on too big a job.

- You'll be sorry, sailor!

You'll be sorry!

- Don't forget to tie him up fore and aft.

Tom, mix.

- What do you call him, Pharlap?

- It's a mare, not a horse.

- He wouldn't Know the difference anyway!

You'll be sorry!

- I wish I had some more experienced men.

- Aw, the kid's all right. - You'll be sorry!

You'll be sorry!

You'll be...

They were the last white people

we could expect to see for four months.

We only made four miles that first day, but it was a start.

We had 968 head of cattle and 53 horses.

You need about six horses per man on a trip like this

when you're workin' 'em night and day.

So, without Les and Charlie's 20, we'd have been very short.

That night we set our watches to drover's time,

that is sunset, six o'clock.

The cattle had settled down pretty well,

so I let Nipper and Les take the first watch.

Next morning we started the droving routine.

Sleeping cattle have to be awakened gently

or they're liable to stampede.

So, there are no crack of whips in the piccaninny dawn.

While the cattle were still wild,

I put Jacky on to give them a lead.

But soon, natural leaders from among the cattle

take over the job, and these stay in front

for the whole of the drove.

Les and Charlie, having the best horses,

rode the wings to prevent breakaways.

I put Mary on the tail with Corky.

I was paying her a man's wage, so I wanted

to see how good she was.

She seemed

to shape up all right.

With plenty of feed and water,

the plant and the mob settled down pretty well

and we made good time, but I knew this was the easy bit.

A usual day's drove is eight to 10 miles.

We sometimes did 15.

We were late and time was our enemy.

It took us a month to cross the coastal plains.

Then we started through the scrub.

There were 200 miles of that without a break.

This made the going a lot harder

because you must keep the cattle in a tight bunch

or you'll lose the stragglers.

But there was still quite a lot of surface water about

which helped to keep the gang cheerful.

- You know what a woman in Charters Towers said to me once?

"Corky," she said, "you're a magnificent hunk of man."

- And what happened then?

Then?

Then she pinched my wallet.

- Don't you think Sinbad is lovely, Mary?

- Yes, I think he's nice.

- I'm terribly in love with him, you know.

He's my boyfriend.

Are you in love with anyone, Mary?

- Oh, I don't know.

So, the second month went by.

Although the daily routine remained the same,

there were always little episodes to break the monotony.

- The black fellas know we're coming.

See the smoke signal?

- Look, Helen.

Myalls, wild blacks.

As we got inland, it got hotter and the drag got harder.

So, it was quite a thrill for us

to come on the brand new North-South Road built

across Australia to supply the fighting in the islands.

- Bit of a change from the old days, eh, Ma?

- My word.

I never thought I'd see a bitumen road in the Territory.

- They tell me it's gonna be like this

all the way to Darwin.

Takes a war, eh?

- It does.

- Well, we'd better get them across.

- Something coming, Dan.

- Dan, it's a convoy.

It's a convoy, Mum!

- Might get some news of the war.

- I wonder where the Japs landed.

- Look, it's a girl!

Take a gig at this sheila!

- You beauty!

- Hey, how's the war going?

They licked them at Milne Bay!

- They turned 'em at Kokoda.

- Wait till we get there!

- Good on ya, mate.

Good on ya, digger.

It was a week after crossing the road

that we came to our first big obstacle.

- That scared 'em at any rate.

- Well, what do you make of it, Bill?

- I don't know.

I've never seen so much water this time of the year.

It's a cow.

How far is Cootabulla Crossing, Jacky?

- About 50 or 70 mile.

- That means a fortnight to get back to the stock route.

We can't afford the time, Bill.

We'll have to swim.

- You think we can swim here, Jacky?

Sure, might lose all the cattle there, boss.

- Encouraging bloke, Jacky.

Well, Bill and I have just been down the main stream.

We'll have to swim.

The idea is I'm gonna cross over now

and have a look at the other bank.

If it's not too soft, Nipper'll follow with the horses.

Mrs. Parsons, you and young Helen'll cross over

in the waggon with the tucker.

Then we'll have a crack at the cattle, Charlie.

All right?

- Yes, okay, Dan.

- Good, let's get goin'.

- Hang on, Dan, and I'll come with you.

Now, this is a job for you, sailor.

You gotta make this waggon into a boat.

Empty out these canteens and lash 'em back and front.

- Fore and aft, old boy.

- So she'll float.

And you can use those drums as well, but lash 'em tight.

Got it?

- Okay, Bill, I've got the idea.

- Aye-aye, sir.

Okay, Bill!

Send over Nipper and the horses!

- Righto, push 'em in.

- I think she'll float, all right.

- I think she's a beaut.

- So glad you could come to the launching, Lady Parsons.

Now, if you'll take this bottle and propel it

against the stern, saying these words:

I hereby name thee the Saucy Sue.

And on... - For heaven's sake,

stop playing the fool.

There's work to be done.

Dan's waiting.

Gotta get it down to the crossing.

Right!

- Come on, Rusty, come along, boy.

- Righto, Helen, I'll take him in for you.

- Righto, Bill!

Now, take it steady, Nipper.

Straight and easy, Nipper.

- What's the matter, Rusty?

Help, Mummy, quick!

Sinbad!

- Let go, Helen.

Let go at once!

- Keep 'em going, keep 'em going!

- Nice shot of yours, sailor.

Thanks.

- Good on ya, Ma.

Now for the cattle.

Ya, ya!

Ha, ha, ha!

Ya!

Ha!

- Keep on going, Bill.

Don't let 'em check.

Lead 'em right in.

Ha!

- What about crocs?

- My boy, I've got such a wind up,

if they come near me I'll take off.

- Get up.

Go on.

- Good on ya, fellas.

We're on our way.

After we left the river, the feed started to get very poor.

This slowed us up a lot.

We were down to five miles a day

with a thousand still to go when,

one morning, a tragedy happened.

- Boss, boss, hey, boss!

- What's up?

- Wasn't my fault, boss.

The lead horse broke his hobbles

then went five, maybe seven miles.

- What happened to the horses?

- They ate poison weed, boss.

Poison weed!

- Helen, stay here.

- What's happened, Mum?

- The horses are poisoned.

- They're so lovely alive.

- There's nothin' we can do here, Bill.

- No.

- Get the hobbles and the bells, Nipper.

Any of yours among 'em, Charlie?

- No, not one.

- That's lucky.

- Yeah, we're gonna need 'em now.

- I hope he doesn't think he's gonna work

the guts out of our bunch.

- The worst of it is, half the horses we got left

are crook anyhow.

- Not less than Charlie's.

- Soon will be if we work 'em 24 hours a day.

Better rest up a couple of weeks, huh?

- Yeah, do the cattle good.

Lucky there's feed and water.

- We think we should move on, Dan.

- We've gotta rest the beasts up a couple of weeks,

Charlie, otherwise we're likely to lose the lot.

- Yeah?

Well, we're not staying.

You've seen what the country's like.

If we hang around here it'll be too dry to move.

Then the wet'll hit us

and we'll be stuck here till the winter.

We're going on.

- And we're takin' our horses.

- You realise that means standing us

and the cattle up here, don't ya?

- Well, we think this trip's crazy anyway.

You're likely to lose the whole lot, horses and all,

so we're getting out.

- You long cow.

- Here, stop that.

Stop that, both of ya.

While we're in camp I'm boss and I won't have fighting.

That goes for you, too, Dan MacAlpine.

Now, you can take your mate

and your precious horses and get out!

- But, Ma, we need... - Shut up!

We don't want dingoes in this camp.

We'll get along all right without them.

- Bill, I've got an idea.

There's horses at Brunette Downs.

Taking Jacky and Nipper, I could be back in a month.

- And wait for a fortnight for the horses to recover.

- Yeah, that's right.

- Can't we leave the cattle here

and pick them up after the wet?

- You don't wanna give in, do ya, Corky?

- Dan, my boy, I put myself to sleep every night

counting that bonus.

- Say, Dan.

I just saw the strangest thing.

You know that lot of trees we call Kangaroo Clump,

well, just at the back of it just now I saw

a big bunch of horses.

- Horses!

- They're brumbies, wild horses.

- Well, I better go out and shoot the brumby stallion

or he'll be trying to cut out our mares.

- But why shoot them, Bill?

Why not catch them?

- By crikey, the kid's right.

- How many's in the mob, Corky?

- About a hundred.

- We wouldn't need a hundred, Bill.

A dozen or so would do us.

- Okay, okay, Dan, you're the boss.

- What, you think it's no go?

- It's too big a gamble.

If you miss 'em the first time, they're gone for keeps

and we're back where we are now,

excepting that you'll have lost another three weeks

and that three weeks may mean losin' the cattle.

Too big a gamble, I tell ya.

- Isn't this whole trip a gamble?

- Going after brumbies at a time like this

is just something for nothing rubbish, that's what it is.

- Maybe you're right, but if we don't move soon

we won't get through at all.

And I'm gonna get those cattle through.

We've gotta take a chance, any chance.

So, we go after the brumbies.

- Okay, okay, Dan, you're the boss.

Sounds like a flaming wild goose chase to me.

- Bill, you've named the first one we catch.

Wild Goose out of Corky's Folly by Gamble.

That night, we watched the brumbies

come in to water.

Luckily, the waterhole was in the gap

in the hills which made it easier to make a trap.

- I can see Wild Goose.

The big stallion with white stockings.

- No, it's not.

It's the black mare with the diamond blaze...

- Quiet!

- Nice lot of horses, eh, Bill?

- Haven't caught 'em, yet.

- Our first job was to build a fence

with a slip gate in the middle of it

across the narrowest part of the gap.

While we did this, the others got the ropes ready.

These were to prevent the brumbies breaking back

when we started driving them towards the gate.

The bits of cloth made them show up in the dark.

The women didn't like tearing up their party frocks,

but it was all we had.

We finished the job in two days

and decided to go right ahead.

This is your job, Helen, and it's very important.

Ya see this rope?

Well, it's attached to the gate at that fence down there.

You'll see the horses pass and pause outside the stockade.

We're goin' to try and scare 'em through the gate.

Now, when they're all in, all in mind ya, not before,

you cut the rope.

Wham, the gate shuts and we got 'em.

All right?

- Yes, Dan.

- Good kid.

- Dan.

- Yeah?

- Suppose they don't go in?

- They don't go in, Helen, we're sunk.

She's all set.

- Good.

- Whoa, boy.

- Here they come.

- Yeah.

- All go in, please go in.

We've done it, we've done it!

Sinbad, we've done it!

- Okay, Dan, they're in.

- Well, so far so good, eh, Bill?

- Yeah, but now you've...

- Yeah, I know, now we gotta break 'em.

Well, that's got rid of the rubbish, anyhow.

- Breaks my bleedin' heart to see them go.

I bet you I'd get a fiver a head for them

at Anthony's Lagoon.

- We're not goin' to Anthony's Lagoon.

- But Dan, they got beer there.

You know, Dan, beer!

The stuff they make with hops.

Ah, I haven't tasted a drop since

they bombed the pub at Wyndham.

- Yeah, that's the trouble.

We'd lose you for a week.

You'd half kill yourself with the booze.

- What a fate.

Aw, come off it, Dan.

You like a drink as well as the next one.

- I know I do and so does Bill and the sailor.

And what happens to the cattle then?

We're not goin' to Anthony's Lagoon.

- Wowser.

- How is he, Jacky?

- Pretty strong, boss.

I think he'd buck the pants off ya.

- Yeah, we'll see.

- I'm glad we're going on.

- Are you, Sinbad?

- Of course, Mary.

You know why.

- Look, look, Dan's up.

- Right, Jacky, let her go.

- Stick to him, Dan.

- Mary, Mary, Sinbad!

I've broken Wild Goose in.

- But I... - Come and see.

- If you don't feel like a beer after that,

you're not human.

- Look, isn't he lovely?

Much nicer than the other wild gooses.

- Helen, why didn't you let him go with the others?

- Oh, but he's coming with us.

Corky and I have got to enter him into the Melbourne Cup.

Haven't we, Goosey?

Helen got round me, of course,

and Wild Goose became a member of the plant.

We'd lost a week breaking the brumbies,

and they were still hard to get any real work out of.

But they saved us overworking our trained night horses.

Everyone was glad to be on the move, even Corky,

who seemed resigned to missing out on the beer.

- Nice to get a letter, wouldn't it, Mary?

- Oh, wonderful, Corky.

Isn't it a shame we can't go to Anthony's Lagoon?

- I'd speak to Dan about it.

- Hm, I think I will.

- Good girl.

- You going to check your contract at the Lagoon, Bill?

- We're not going there.

- You oughta see your contract, Bill.

- Why?

- The whole family might be working for nothing.

- Hm, I never thought of that.

- Supplies running low, Mrs. Parsons?

- Yes, they are a bit, Corky, but I expect we'll manage.

- Wonderful supplies at the Lagoon.

- Have they got milk?

- Tonnes of it, my dear, all kinds.

- Mum, we might run out.

Wild Goose drinks and drinks.

- Sensible creature.

- Your missus tells me she's a bit short of stores, Bill.

What about calling at the Lagoon?

- Well, I think we oughta have a look

at that contract, ya know?

- There may be some letters.

- And news of the war.

- Milk for Wild Goose.

- Everybody seems very keen all of a sudden.

What about you, Corky?

- Huh?

Oh, it's immaterial to me, Dan.

You know the cattle come first with me.

So, anything you say.

- You sound too good to be true.

Anyhow, I'll think about it.

- Anthony's Lagoon!

Wine, women, and song.

Lead on, MacAlpine!

- Any letters for Parsons?

- Or MacAlpine?

- Or Corkingdale, miss?

- Just be a minute.

Just get this telegram off.

- Oh, can ya just see if there's any mail?

- First come, first served, ya know.

That gentleman's from Camooweal.

- Well, we've come all the way from Wyndham.

- That's a long trip.

- Yeah, fair trot.

Best part of a thousand miles, I reckon.

- Cattle all right?

- Wonderful, Nick, wonderful.

They need to be for the next bit.

- Bad is it?

- Terrible.

Startin' to bring all the cattle down

from the gulf country.

- Bad as that, eh?

- They're eatin' the heart out of the Stock Route.

Water's short, too.

- Oh well, we'll get through all right.

- Hello, hello?

What names did you say?

Is that you, Milly?

It's Glad here.

I've got a telegram.

19 words ordinary, to the Carters.

What's that?

Is he?

Oh, the poor dear.

All right, I'll wait.

Her baby's crying again.

Always does when the phone rings.

What names did you say?

- Parsons. - MacAlpine.

- Corkingdale, J. Claverhouse Corkingdale.

- Oh, Corky, you never told us.

It's terrific.

- Looks beautiful on a check.

- MacAlpine?

- Yes.

- Mary Parsons.

- Thanks.

- Corkingdale.

- No.

- Anything for Maxwell?

- Yes.

Captain Hector Maxwell?

- That's right.

- Oh, thank you.

Another branch of the family.

- It's the straight contract, Bill.

- Well, it's something anyway.

- But no bonus?

- No bonus, Corky.

- That's gratitude for you.

Well, I always knew Malone was all belly and no heart.

Forgotten men, that's what we are.

Save his rotten cattle from the Japs and then he forgets us.

- You'll get your bonus, Corky.

Mary hasn't been neglected anyhow.

- Aw, he's only writing because he's

having a good time with the English girls.

- Lay off.

- Now, I was in the last war, and every time I slipped

I used to write to my girl.

Remarkable the number of letters she got.

- Oh, shut up, Corky.

- Okay, okay, come and have a drink.

- See ya later, Mary.

♪ Hardships, hardships ♪

♪ You don't know what hardships are ♪

- Get up, you lot.

We've got to move the cattle in the morning.

Ma, you're wonderful.

The stages towards the Queensland border

were everything the Camooweal bloke had said.

No feed, no surface water.

Dry as a bone.

The only water we got was from government bores,

and they were few.

Being shorthanded made it worse and tempers got a bit edgy.

- Get up, come on!

Go on, get up!

Get up there!

Get up, get out of it!

- Why the hell didn't ya keep them outta there?

What do ya think I was doing?

- Haven't I told you the only way to haul them back

is to get off your horse and face them?

A man on foot scares 'em stiff.

Don't try to be a cowboy, just get off your horse.

- Oh, shut your trap!

Go on, get up!

Go on!

It's a funny thing in such dry country

that bogholes are one of the greatest dangers to cattle.

At last, the sight of the border hills of Queensland

promised easier going.

I was worried about inoculating the cattle,

it's a strict law when you cross a state border,

but the rest of the plant got quite cheery.

♪ Oh there ain't no rest in the great nor'west ♪

♪ Where the shade is best near the white ant's nest ♪

♪ Hardships, hardships ♪

♪ You don't know what hardships are ♪

♪ In summer it's dust and heat and grime ♪

♪ With a wet behind in wintertime ♪

? Hardships, hardships? - I don't know how Corky

can sing in this.

What?

I said I don't know how Corky can sing!

Why not?

We're getting near the border.

Won't be long now.

♪ I've just come down from Darwin town ♪

♪ Where the men are black and the girls are brown ♪

♪ Hardships, hardships ♪

- Helen, stop that.

I won't have Corky teaching you such things.

- But Mum, he only teaches me the clean verses.

- I should hope so.

- Aeroplane comin'.

- Him come this way.

- Hey, Corky, Jacky says there's a plane coming.

- Maybe it's Mr. - Curtin come to congratulate us.

Maybe he'll give us a medal.

- Maybe it's a Jap.

- Blimey, I never thought of that.

- Rough country to take cattle over.

- There they are.

- Mr. MacAlpine? - That's me.

- Gosport's my name.

- Glad to know ya, Mr. Gosport.

- You made good time.

- Not bad.

- The minister sends his congratulations.

- Oh, thanks.

Now, these are the members of my plant.

There's Bill...

Hello, boy.

- It's a bleeder bullock.

- My flamin' oath, it's a bleeder.

- What's the matter with your friend?

- Oh, you don't wanna take any notice of him.

He thought you were Jack Curtin.

For inoculation, eh?

- Yeah, it's the law, ya know.

- That'll be all right, Mr. Gosport.

Gonna be a job yardin' 'em, though.

- There's that old mustang camp at the 20 mile.

- Mr. Gosport, Bill Parsons.

- How do ya do?

- Well, that sounds very good to me.

- Yeah?

Well, you'll have to make it snappy.

There's not much water there and our limit's two days.

- How long will it take to go to Wyndham?

- In this?

Oh, about six hours.

- Do you know how long we've taken?

- How long?

- Six months!

- Six months?

- Mm.

Hey.

- Open the gate, Mary.

Righto, boys, bring on some more!

Got another log, Bill?

Yep.

- How about debentures?

- Oh, I wouldn't worry about them yet, Corky.

- What are you cooking up now, Corky?

- My friend here was a stockbroker in Civvy Street.

He's advising me on my company.

- What company?

- Like to see my prospectors?

Here.

"Northern Territory Exploitation Company.

"Capital 100,000 pounds.

"J. Claverhouse Corkingdale, managing director."

Sounds good, eh?

- "Objects of the company.

"To exploit the vast potential pastoral

"and mineral wealth of Australia's Northern Territory."

- Hey, what's the game?

You can't do that.

- I've done it.

- Well, what's wrong with it?

- There's just one thing wrong, Corky.

That word, exploit.

We've exploited our south for a hundred years

and torn the heart out of it.

Territory's far too valuable to be messed about

by get-rich-quick schemes like yours.

I say let's save the North

from what we've done to the South.

- You mean leave it to the cattle kings.

- No, I mean leave it to Australians,

ordinary Australians like Bill and his family.

National job, Corky.

Too big for little people like you.

- Oh, rubbish.

Your supper's ready, Sinbad.

- Thanks.

They've settled down all right.

- Good.

- Decent sort of night, isn't it?

- Lovely.

- See the cockatoos?

Dozens of them.

I wonder what Jacky's singing about.

- About the time his people owned this land probably.

When they were happy.

You'd better go now, Sinbad.

- Yes, I suppose so.

Well, goodnight, then.

- Goodnight, Sinbad.

- Oh, by the way, would you like this horse?

- All right, he's good on night work.

Riding real bushman style these days, Sinbad.

Long stirrups, eh?

- I've wanted to do that for a long time, Mary.

- So have I, but it's silly.

- Why is it silly?

- Because we both know it's the stars.

And because we've crossed half Australia together.

- I think it's more than that, Mary.

- Do you, Sinbad?

I wonder.

- Are you still in love with Jeff, Mary?

- I think so.

I missed him terribly when he went away.

- I've loved you ever since I saw you

riding up with the waggon.

- Have you?

I saw you, too.

I pretended I didn't.

The cattle!

I'll try and stop them.

You keep out of this, Sinbad.

- They've headed north.

Yes!

Straight for the blasted scrub.

- If they get too far into the bog they're gone for keeps.

You take the right wing and try and head 'em.

- Mary.

Good on ya, Mary.

Now we've got 'em.

What do ya make, it Bill?

- We lost four.

No, make it three.

- Mary and Jacky did a good job.

- Mm, and he's the man who didn't want women in his plant.

- What's the black horse doing down there?

Sinbad.

- Here, boss!

Good, hold the horses, Jacky.

- He's hurt bad.

I think it's a leg and this arm.

- Oh, Dad, it's all my fault.

I took the night horse.

- No, you should have.

It was your watch.

- Poor kid.

We'll have to get him to hospital.

- And forget that mob at the back of us?

You've got to shift the cattle today.

- Yeah, I know.

But two of us'll have to stay with him.

- The aeroplane!

- Good girl.

We better get him ready.

- What do you think we ought to do, Mrs. Parsons, wait?

- No, better go while the going's good.

We don't want this young man's contraption

frightening the cattle again.

- Well, goodbye, Mrs. Parsons.

Thank you very much.

- Goodbye.

What's the matter, Mary?

- Sinbad's hurt!

Stop, stop, stop!

Stop!

- Did you turn the cattle, Mary?

- Yes, Sinbad, they're all back.

- That's good.

Dan'll be pleased.

I'm afraid I'm not much of a cattleman, Mary.

- You should never have tried.

- Good luck, Mrs. Parsons.

- Thanks, Dan.

- Well, bye-bye, Meg, old girl.

It's a rough road, so don't forget,

plenty of brake on the hill.

- I'll be all right, Bill, but watch out for those cattle.

- Ah, don't start worrying, Mother.

You know we need the money.

Look after the little 'un.

- Goodbye, Daddy.

I'll be okay.

- Righto, Nipper, let him go.

- Come on, Tiger, Dolly, get.

Come, come on!

Get up, Tiger. - Cheerio, sailor.

You'll be all right.

Look after him, Helen!

- I did want to come with you, Sinbad,

but I just couldn't ask Dad.

He's too shorthanded.

We hoped they would reach Naracoota Station in time,

but it would mean a hard day's driving.

They'd a pedal wireless there so they could

call up the flying doctor.

Now, our main job was to get the cattle

onto the next water, two days ahead.

Cattle can't go more than three days without water,

so we had to hurry 'em along.

I sent Nipper ahead with the horses

to make sure that the bore was okay.

When a bore goes dry on ya like that, you're in a mess.

Did you see any surface water?

- No, not a drop, boss.

- Are ya sure the bore is busted?

- She's busted all right.

- Well, it's no use goin' back.

That other mob'll be there.

- With Nipper's news, it's no use going on.

- How far is it to Argadargada?

Should be water there.

- Three days at least.

- That's no good.

It's water within two days or there'll be no mob,

just a thousand stinkin' carcasses.

We'll have to take 'em over the top.

You'll never do it, Dan.

- What about the old Micah Road?

- They're bullocks, not goats.

- Yeah?

We'll have 'em climbin' ladders

before we're through with 'em.

Aw, come on, Bill.

Let's give it a go.

- All right.

- Hang on, here's another.

Come on, Tiger, get up, get up.

Come on, Dolly!

While the others drove the cattle

towards the old track I'd remembered,

Bill and I took our bearings.

Then, we started our big gamble.

Cattle bred in the plains are bad hill climbers,

so I put Mary in front to give 'em a lead.

Once they start, the one thing you must do

is keep 'em moving.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!

That meant punching 'em up all the way.

But if ya let 'em turn back or bunch, you'll lose the lot.

Ha, ha!

- Dan, Dan!

Dan!

- What?

- There's a tree over the track.

- Damn.

Right, try and hold the cattle.

Jacky, see if you can get up there with a rope.

- Okay, boss.

- Whoa, bully.

Whoa, bully, whoa, bully.

Whoa, whoa.

Steady, steady, bully.

Whoa, bully.

Whoa, whoa.

Steady.

They got the tree away just in time.

It had cost us some bullocks,

but the main mob was over the worst of it.

- There you are, now you'll be all right.

- Narwietooma Station calling flying doctor base.

Narwietooma Station calling flying doctor base.

Over to you.

Flying doctor waiting.

Go ahead, please.

- Drover badly injured.

Fractured arm, injured leg.

Possible injuries to the skull.

We got down the other side

easier than I expected.

So, Bill and I rode ahead to check the water

at the billabong we were making for.

There was plenty in it and it looked as though

our luck had changed.

- Lookout!

- You know what that means.

- Yeah, it's a bog.

If ya let the cattle rush this hole,

you might just as well have left 'em

to rot on the other side.

- Yeah, once saw it happen at Katharine.

They'd been dry for three days.

Smelled the water and rushed it.

Mob behind kept pushin' the leaders deeper and deeper,

and in about 10 minutes, there wasn't more

than 20 bullocks in sight.

- Yeah.

You'd never hold 'em in this heat.

There's only one thing to do,

and that's to keep 'em back in the bush until the evening.

- One good thing anyhow.

Not enough wind to give 'em a smell of the water.

We had bedded down the cattle in the bush

to wait for the cool of the evening.

Then we'd planned to water them in small batches,

a hundred at a time.

It was a stinking hot day, and all of us were dead beat,

but we daren't let them near the water yet.

After three days dry, the smell of water sends cattle mad.

- Ah, rich golden brown.

Might almost be beer.

Ah, nice cool breeze.

- They've smelled the water!

Get back to the water as quick as ya can.

- Look out over there.

There's not enough of us.

Get back to the water.

Hold 'em as long as ya can, Jacky.

Okay, boss.

- Get back to the water.

There's only one thing might hold 'em now.

We get off and face 'em.

- Don't you think they're too thirsty?

- We'll give it a go.

Hold the horses, Mary.

- I'll come, too.

- You do as you're damn well told.

Come on, Corky!

- All right, all right.

What the hell's he waiting for, the whites of their eyes?

Now!

Jacky!

Nipper!

That was close, eh?

- Yeah.

Exciting while it lasted.

- Exciting?

Blimey, did ya see the dirty look

that big steer gave me?

That was the end of our travels.

With good feed and water, we delivered okay

to the resting paddocks by the sea.

In eight months, we'd driven a thousand head of cattle

1600 miles and lost 53.

We all went to Brisbane to pick up the sailor.

He'd recovered well, and it was good

to have the whole plant together again.

The city life doesn't suit us much,

so we were quite glad when the sendoff came.

- You mind saying a few words to the camera, Mr. Minister?

- Why, certainly.

- Over here, please.

Right, Joe?

Okay.

- Now?

Go ahead.

- At this moment, the largest mass migration

of cattle the world has ever known is taking place.

The government, realising that Australia

will be looked upon both in the wars and the peace

as one of the world's largest food reservoirs,

is being to safety the vast herds of the North.

But the initiative of this idea belongs

to one man and his little band of helpers.

- What are your plans for the future, Mr. MacAlpine?

- Well, they tell me they need drovers up North.

I'm a drover, so I'm gonna get me another mob of cattle.

- Where can I write you, Mary?

- Oh, Wyndham will always find me.

Or Anthony's Lagoon on the next trip.

- I see.

- All passengers aboard, please.

- Well, goodbye, Mary.

It's been lovely knowing you.

- It's been lovely knowing you, Sinbad.

- Mary!

Come on, quickly, the plane's going.

Goodbye, Sinbad.

You're all covered in lipstick.

Come on, Mary.

- Best of luck with your next mob, Mr. MacAlpine.

- Well, if it's anything like this one, I'll need it.

Goodbye, sailor, thanks.

- We've started something, eh, Bill?

- My word.