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Ivan Jimmy: They get bogged in the muddy water, the swamps and the little creeks, and
then they all die away. In the days we worked there, we go around and check every
waterhole and little creek. With the car from the station, and pull them all out. They get
bloated and they drink too much water. Then they won‟t get out of the bog.
Marcus Barber: So you are worried that if there is not enough water, then the bogs happen
and the cows get caught?
Ivan Jimmy: Mmm.
Marcus Barber: What about the bush animals? Does the changing rain affect the goannas?
Ivan Jimmy: Yes. They need the rain so that they can get, so that they can have bush feed,
and eat and feed what they want grow, and be a big goanna, and breed, with the female
partner water goanna. Because they need food too. It‟s a cycle, for each animal, just like
us, we can hunt them and kill them and they got to look for their food and eat their food.
And then we come along and kill them and eat them.
Water is clearly a crucial factor in the abundance and distribution of animals in the
landscape. Abundant water can drive the dispersal of pigs but also concentrate the presence
of other large introduced animals such as cattle and horses in higher elevation areas. The
degree of impact that changing flow patterns have on animal distributions depends on the
species, but what is also suggested by the material above is that local native animals are
less affected by regular changes in flow regimes than are the hard-hoofed introduced
animals. The above comments also emphasise terrestrial animals. Given the significant
ecological roles played by aquatic animals and their value to human beings, the impact of the
flow regime on animals like fish, freshwater crocodile and turtles is an important issue to
address. Key questions include the dispersal of aquatic species during flood periods, the
duration of connectivity between major permanent pools, and mapping the presence or
absence of particular species across the water bodies of the station.
2.6.2 Cattle mustering patterns
The establishment of Oriners cattle infrastructure and the changing patterns of ownership in
the stations surrounding it were important in shaping the movement of cattle, and therefore of
the cattlemen, through the area. In the early decades, Oriners was mustered and managed
from Koolatah:
Marcus Barber: So, when you got those cattle, did you take them back to Oriners
[homestead]?
Edwin David: Yeah they got the paddock there.
Marcus Barber: Where did you take them from there? To Dixie or Koolatah?
Edwin David: We used to bring them back down to Koolatah.
Marcus Barber: Did you ever take them to Dixie?
Edwin David: No, not there. We never used to take them up there much. Take them back at
Koolatah. We used to camp near Jewfish.
Marcus Barber: Is Mosquito down that way too?
Edwin David: Yeah.
Marcus Barber: So when you were taking those cows back to Koolatah, was that still
raining then?
Edwin David: Oh, it was just getting a bit, a bit after the wet then see. The rain just settle
down. We used to take them back to Koolatah. When he get a bit dry, we used to do
mustering there. We used to go out there, camp out there, hobble the horse, go out there,
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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