Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Working with animals is arguably the best aspect of cattle station life. Whether it is dogs, horses, poddy calves, or cattle, animals add colour and character to our lives. However, as with all things worth-while, working with animals can also be […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Communication is key on a cattle station. In this job, things can – and do – change in an instant. It is easy to forget that everyday terms for us are a baffling journey into the unintelligible for those not used […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Lisa Sentfleben – Backpacker/Stationhand, Dampier Downs. Lisa worked for us last season – one of our many successful backpackers. Below is her experience in her own words. We – the boss, his sister, an English farmgirl, and me – work ten to twelve days in a row, then drive […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Lisa Sentfleben – Backpacker/Stationhand, Dampier Downs. Lisa worked for us last season – one of our many successful backpackers. Below is her experience in her own words. Red dust. Shimmering heat. Endless dry landscape. Silence. A chirping noise every now and then. Underneath the rabbit skin cowboy hat my […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Working on a cattle station is a complex job that requires a diverse skill-set. Working cattle, building and maintaining fences, operating machinery, servicing equipment, and keeping water flowing are all essential tasks that must be performed on a regular basis. In […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. I breed cattle for slaughter. It’s the business I’m in and it’s what pays the bills. To me, this is not extraordinary I was raised on the land and from a very young age understood that my choice to eat meat […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” While this quote is most commonly attributed to Charles Darwin, it was actually coined by […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Women are the back-bone of the cattle industry. Admittedly, it is still a very male dominated world with the vast majority of managers and head stockmen being men. However, alongside every successful cattleman you will find a busy, hard-working woman whose […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. There are endless ways for cattle to be classified when drafting in the yards. Some of the most common categories are: Breeders – mature cows whose job it is to have a calf hopefully every year. Heifers – young cows being […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. A lot happened in 2015. Our infrastructure development plan is well and truly underway with the completion of many new paddocks that will allow us to implement better herd management strategies. New bores are pumping and additional pipe-lines have enabled us […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Cattle producers in northern Australia have had a tough few years. Fortunately, this year is shaping up to be one of the most promising in recent times. Prices are up, large parts of the north have received life-giving rain, and our […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Fifty years ago last month my parents were married in New Zealand, my mother’s home country. For my mother, this meant moving to the Australian outback, first to the family property near Kynuna, Queensland and then to a small, undeveloped station […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Peta Anderson – Dampier Downs Station. Hi my name is Peta Anderson and I am here to tell you about my recent adventure in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Filled with fun, animals, and a small amount of sleep. Last school holidays, for about two weeks, I visited Dampier Downs […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. As another busy year kicks off there will undoubtedly be many first time jillaroos and jackaroos heading north to try their hand working on a cattle station. For most, it will be a huge change and, despite what you may think […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Only in this industry could a part-time milliner from Broome meet a fashion designer from Belgium, who would design her a fabulous dress for New York Fashion Week on the back of an empty pizza box, all at the local rodeo. […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Well, this certainly came around fast. It feels like only a few weeks ago I was putting the final touches to last year’s blogs, but here I am again. In truth, I scratched my head a bit as to what to […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Manager, Dampier Downs Station. Earlier this year I wrote a blog about what it takes to be a ringer. As the year draws to a close and employers and employees alike are beginning to think about what next season will bring, I thought I would write […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Manager, Dampier Downs Station. There aren’t many days off in the middle of the cattle season. When I lived in town, weekends were a chance to sleep late, maybe wander down to the local coffee shop for a lazy breakfast and a leisurely peruse of […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Manager, Dampier Downs Station. Many of the recent stories on this site have detailed the excitement – and hard work – that is part and parcel of a standard mustering round. Here on Dampier Downs, while we do use helicopters as well, we also use […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Manager, Dampier Downs Station. You’ve heard about the big horizons, the scrub bulls, the good horses, and all the adventure of living and working on a remote cattle station. You’ve got the Wranglers, the boots, and the ute and you’ve decided to head north to […]
