Australian stockmen used to lives of absolute isolation, controlling cattle for months on end, going into small towns infrequently. Drovers spending their lives in pubs drinking beer was a myth.
Today, the Internet has allowed people who live and work in outback stations to stay in contact with friends and relatives. Businesses are run using computers. Information flow is now immediate, where in the past getting a newspaper only a day or so old was a luxury.
People now know if rain is on its way. This was always an unknown factor years ago. The horse is not the only mode of transport. Motorbikes are used on stations. Some people even own and fly a helicopters and planes.
Processing of cattle now day just a few days. Few animals are missed with transportable trapping devices placed at strategic points. Staff has been halved. Workers can usually get back to the station every day. Drovers no longer work 100 hour weeks; they used to give stamped letters to passing motorists for posting somewhere along the way.
Most cattle these days are transported by road. It is more cost-effective and faster. Repairing fences is still one of the chores, but aircraft make the job more efficient and much quicker to do. Country people will still tell you that life is harder than in the cities. The sun beats down as hot as it used to.
Conservation by Ty Buchanan
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