When the “sun-downers” arrive at a station they call upon the manager, demand food, and always get it. They are so common that custom has fixed their ration at one pound of flour, half a pound of sugar, and two ounces of tea. In some places little shanties have been put up to accommodate them overnight. Some of these tramps are men who have made a failure in Australia, but many of them are rovers from all over the world, ship deserters, and adventurers, who, after a season or two, move on to some other land.
Many a sheep station is a community in itself, with its carpenter and blacksmith shops, its laundry, and its outlying houses and native huts clustered around the dwelling of the owner or manager.
From the time he can be lifted to a horse’s back, the Australian is an enthusiast about riding and racing. Even a small meet may be the signal for a general holiday and an exodus from work.
The boundary rider is much away from home, spending his days in the saddle and many of his nights in the open. It is his job to see that the rabbit fences are intact, the gates closed, and the flocks secure.
CHAPTER X
RABBITS AND DINGOES
SIR HARRY LAUDER tells a story of a Scotchman visiting a farm in the Australian back blocks. Said he to the farmer: