Hauling the loads: A history of Australia's working horses and bullocks by Malcolm J Kennedy

Publisher: Melbourne University Press, 1992.

Hardcover.

Condition - Good, wear to dust jacket edges.

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About the Book.

The bullocky, cursing at his team; twenty or more horses harnessed to a towering load of wool bales or wheat bags, inching their way along a dusty track: these are central, enduring images of Australia's past, immortalized by Lawson, Paterson and Furphy. Malcolm Kennedy is the first, however, to explore the essential part that beast of burden actually played in Australia's development. From the arrival of the first horses and cattle with the First Fleet, Kennedy gives a remarkable picture of Australian life. He reveals how the horse was the "secret weapon" used against the Aborigines. He describes the growth of that uniquely Australian livelihood -- droving. He even investigates the pollution problems of horse-powered cities: what do do you do with over 200 tons of manure every day? With exemplary and painstaking research, Malcolm Kennedy has produced a record of part of our history that is now lost. "Dr Malcolm J. Kennedy teaches history at Monash University College Gippsland. He is co-author of "Safely by sea" (University Press of America, 1990). His father, a skilled horseman, fostered his abiding interest in horsemanship. Kennedy retains a passion for riding and has been a successful show competitor. He also rides and bushwalks in Victoria's high country.".