OUTBACK STATIONS
21st century pioneers
Story and photos John Denman
Another long
day is almost over on Kendall River Station. The last of the late afternoon
sun is fading through the dust from the yards and there's a fire in
the "donkey" for showers.
One by one everybody - from the contract musterers blokes to the boss - gets a shower, some clean gear and a cold stubby. They sit back in the chairs around the table in the kitchen and the talk turns to the events of the day. Owner, John Bock, takes a good swig from his stubby and turns to one of the contractors.
"What'd y'get today Alan?" The bloke tells him and
Bocky grunts. "Not bad." Later in the evening Bob Argent gets
out his clarinet, and Stranger on the Shore provides an unlikely diversion
on a warm dry season evening.
At 1200 square miles, or 888,000 acres (nobody talks about hectares there),
Kendall River Station, half way up the western aside of Cape York Peninsula,
may not be the area's biggest, but it's big enough for this country
with an almost unlimited water supply and no lack of feed. The main problem
is mustering.
One
of the very things that makes Kendall River attractive is also one of the
things that can hamper mustering: the cattle can take their pick of any
amount of watering points and it takes every ounce of skill available to
pull decent figures from each muster.
The Bocks have owned Kendall River since 1986.
Between the early 1980s and late 1990s it was de-stocked in the course of the northern tuberculosis and brucellosis eradication campaign. John Bock took over a property that had virtually nothing in the way of improvements - no roads, yards or buildings.
As a start he shot all the rough feral cattle he encountered, sold any
half-decent Peninsular Reds he found and bought in some good quality Brahman
breeders. 
Full story: Issue 20, December 01 / January 02
