veale.com.au/genealogy
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Tom Edward Raines (the grandson of my 2nd Great Grand-Uncle), was born 1912 and was employed as a boundary rider for McKinnon Station in Kennedy's Creek, Gulf of Carpentaria Queensland Australia from 1933 to 1936. Below is an anecdotal account of his life as relayed to his daughter LLa'Rah Star on 18 January; sent to me by Kathy Myles, a RAINES cousin, on 10 August 1999.Stories of a Boundary Rider, Tom Raines - in the Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD, Australia from 1933 to 1936
Location and Environment
"The hut was located near Kennedy's Creek off the Red River. It was part of the McKinnon Station, at the Gulf of Carpentaria. The manager lived in Cairns and the McKinnon family lived on their various properties. The dingo fence was nearby and the hut was built on a small rise about 3 miles from the beach. Mornington Island could be seen from the beach.The land was fairly flat. The soil was red but near the beach it was sandy. The weather was usually very hot. It used to get up to 130 degrees. There were many Eucalyptus trees, Baobab trees and one other tree that was used for polished timber.
There were many creeks and water was available. Some creeks were salt water. In the wet creeks used to rise but did not flood. The area was effected by very severe thunderstorms and wind and dust storms. Droughts and bushfires occurred as well.
Crocodiles were plentiful. It was best to avoid swimming. Horses were often taken by the crocodiles as they went to drink. The crocodiles would break their legs. There were not many snakes but plenty of mosquitoes. "
Life at the Hut
"The hut was built of rough timber and tin. It had a corrugated roof and was very hot. It consisted of one room. The bunk was propped against the wall. It was made from fork sticks with a chaff bag spread across them - similar to a hammock. The floor was dirt and a hessian bag covered a window opening. The fireplace was at one end.The hut had a horse yard and there usually 6 or 7 horses occupying it. The nearest hut was 20 miles away and the nearest occupied hut was 40 miles away.
Food was brought in by plane every month. Fresh meat was obtained by shooting kangaroos and rabbits. There were so many rabbits that you could hit them with a stick. Flour and salt were used to make damper. Salt was used to preserve meat. There was plenty of timber to be chopped for the fire.
There was no radio or recent newspapers. Reading was the main relaxation. The monthly plane would sometimes bring in books and these could be swapped with those of the other boundary riders. "
Clothes
"Tom usually wore jodhpurs and a bush shirt - a heavy flannel shirt that kept the heat out. Mostly he went around without a shirt. He wore a big sombrero - a cowboy hat and laughing-side boots - elastic sided. He had his own saddle which was carted everywhere. "Boundary Ride and Duties
"Each boundary rider was in charge of a 40 miles strip. On the first day Tom would leave his own hut at daybreak to ride 20 miles along the Dog or Dingo fence to the next hut. The fence was a three stringed wire fence with wire netting attached to it. It was 10 feet high. Some days Tom would be as busy as hell and on others Tom might not even touch the fence. The ride, without stops, took only three hours at a horse's walking pace. But, there was no time limit. It depended on what he found along the fence. Sometimes a tree would have fallen across the fence or there were holes to mend and this could take him some hours to fix it.During the rabbit plagues there would be millions of rabbits running at the fence. They would pile up smothering each other until the pile was as high as the fence. some rabbits would manage to mount the pile and climb over the fence. when this happened the mounds of dead rabbits had to be burnt where they fell.
Tom would spend the night at the hut meeting up with the other boundary rider who came in from the opposite direction. They would swap rations and books and on the second day would separate and return the 20 miles back to their respective huts. If they ever got out of rhythm they would fail to meet each other. If one of them failed to turn up the other would often go out and search in case of an accident._
On the second night Tom would sleep at his own hut again and the next day - the third day - he would set out once more, this time in the opposite direction, to cover the 20 miles to the next hut. Tom would sleep the night here and then return to his own hut. this was a non-stop routine.
Once a year tom had a months holiday. He would be picked up by the station's plane and taken to Cairns where he caught the steam boat - the Manunda - to Sydney. From there Tom caught the train to Melbourne."
The Aborigines
"The nearest camp was only a few miles from the hut. There were 20 aborigines in this tribe. they were friendly if Tom gave them things. tom would give them sugar and salt and as he did not drink but preferred to trade his beer ration with the other boundary rider rather than give it to the aborigines. They were wonderful riders and could ride anything - even cattle."The Muster
"The cattle ran wild but once a year they would be rounded up. Men would come out to help with the mustering. There was one head of cattle to each couple of square miles. Often tom would not see the cattle then one day a large mob would appear at the creek."Malaria
"Tom caught malaria - but unfortunately it never prevented him from doing his job. An old travelling man from India, who used to sell shirts and things from his wagon, called into the hut one day while Tom had a malarial attack. The old man took him down to the beach, just after the tide went out, and buried him up to his neck in the sand. Tom was told to do this for over a week. The salt in the sand dried out the malaria.In Darwin, a few years later, Tom told a doctor, who was experimenting with malaria, about this unusual cure and the doctor tried it on some patients and wrote a thesis on it. He won some fame but tom never received anything for imparting this story."
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