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Family Information

‘…mum cooked for them down there in the hut – a pretty primitive sort of place – and they just lived there and he (father) did all his fencing work while he was there’

Cliff Mottram

 

Generally, it was the men who journeyed to the coast with the cattle and the women remained on the home properties. Their workload increased greatly with the men away. They were saddled with the responsibility of looking after the farm in addition to their everyday tasks. In the early days, there was no electricity and there was a lot of manual work to be done.

 

The woman had an important role in preparing the food and supplies for the men to take with them. Due to the lack of communication, it must have been an anxious wait for them to return home safety.

 

For the women that did make the trip to the coast, it was a memorable experience. Bev Mottram was about 12 years old the first time she went and recalls being amazed by the hills and vegetation on the coast and how different they were to the farm. On the way to the coast, she followed the cattle on her horse through the wind and pouring rain.

 

‘My daughters also did droving to the coast and also came mustering as well. So they knew what the story was. They loved it really…I remember on day out there in Parson’s paddock the rain was so heavy you could hardly see the horses head and yet my daughter was riding along in those conditions.’

Jim Muir