28 | Go CampinG australia Go CampinG australia | 29

I’m not ashamed to admit that I like to fit in to a crowd. Sure, I’m a follower when it comes to fashion – not a trend-setter. So it was with a certain level of smugness and surety

that I packed for a weekend at the Mountain Cattlemen’s Get Together at Hinnomunjie in north-east Victoria in early January.

Being a horsewoman since before I reached a double-numbered birthday, my Wrangler jeans are well broke and sport a belt and buckle showing a well-weathered patina; my Ariat boots are creased and scuffed just so; and my Akubra hat’s suitably grubby with a sat-on, kicked around, rained-on shape. Yep, no doubt I was going to fit in with these born-and-bred country folk oozing journalistic credibility, but would the dog be my undoing?

The annual Get Together is a dog-friendly event, providing you keep your pooch on a lead and clean up after it. In its thirty-fourth year, this weekend of high country horsey hi-jinx is the primary fund-raising platform for the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria.

In a nutshell, the Association needs a healthy ‘fighting fund’ if you like, to maintain its protracted campaign to continue a tradition of cattle grazing in the Victorian high country, which is national park.

This is no ordinary bland farmer versus government debate. It’s deeply entrenched in romance, drama, culture and tradition; and that’s what’s being fought for. Cattle first grazed this country on the snowline of the Australian Alps in 1834. A B (Banjo) Paterson, himself nicknamed after a favourite horse, wrote an ode to the mountain cattlemen that was published in 1890, The Man from Snowy River, and, one hundred years later, thanks to the iconic 1982 Australian flick of the same name starring Sigrid Thornton and Tom Burlinson, a further generation of Australians became enamoured with the notion of fearless blokes, resilient women, and tough brumbies.

The Greens side of politics may be lobbying to preserve the environment, but punching just as hard in the opposite corner is a none-too-small group intent of preserving a notion of heritage and a belief that well-managed grazing is necessary for sustainable land management.

However, political argy-bargy aside, any excuse for a party is a good excuse and these mountain folk sure know how to have a good time!

Each year the Get Together is held at a different location within the Victorian high country district; sometimes private property and

High CountryGet TogetherWords: andrea Ferris

sometimes public reserve. This year the venue was the most-difficult-to-pronounce Hinnomunjie Recreation Reserve. That’s Hin-o-mun-gee for out-of-town folk such as myself and the other half (TOH) and it’s about ten minutes’ drive from Omeo in north-east Victoria.

Gates to the somewhat ‘tree challenged’ racecourse reserve opened strictly at 9.00 am on the Friday and apparently vehicles lined up for kilometres down the road itching to get in and score the prime camping spots.

Around 3000 people camp at the event in all manner of set-ups from a bit of old truck canvas thrown over a tree limb (literally) to the fancy fifth-wheeler outfit. The campsites are separated into two sections: ‘family’ and ‘general’, which loosely translated means ‘get plastered and stay up all night listening to loud music’ section.

We conservatively chose the family section and there were slim pickings for sites even at 2.00 pm when we arrived after slowly savouring the summer vistas of Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain en route.

Our site of choice was to nestle snugly in between event first timers Dave and Lyn’s flash off-road caravan and ardent long-time Get Together followers from Melbourne, friends Frank (tent) and Julie (hired camper trailer) on the far

the mountain cattlemen of the Victorian high country gather every year to celebrate their heritage – and have a very good time.

back fence with no campers behind us. It was about a five to eight-minute walk to the events, stage and food vans depending on whether one chose to visit the loo trucks on the way.

The Get Together is all about horses and horsemanship. TOH, being more into horsepower of a different kind, commenced the weekend with a kind of resigned deference to my passion. However, by Sunday afternoon he had a whole new respect for the skills of genuine horsemen and women and was infected with a desire to saddle up and see the country pioneer style.

During the three days (the fun began on Friday evening with a wild brumby catch) riders put their horses through a series of events to qualify for a run in the Cattlemen’s Cup – the pinnacle challenge to prove a bushman’s mettle. They rope wild brumby ponies; ride an obstacle course complete with whip cracking, hay bale jumping, tarp dragging and horse float loading; cut cattle out from a herd; and eventually ride hell for leather around the track having to stop and open a gate and leap hay bales on the run home – heroic stuff on some tough, well-mannered horses.

There’s also packsaddle races where competitors saddle a horse, ride it a hundred metres to a pack horse (being held by a helper), pack the packsaddles correctly and load them

onto the pack horse, and then ride a ways up the track and back without breaking any eggs, which have been loaded in padded cartons in between each pack.

Melbourne banker Kristy McGrath was the credible runner-up in the ladies event – considering she packed her first packsaddle less than twenty-four hours before the race and has only been riding for two years! Along with husband Joe, Kristy went on a droving trip with the well-known Forge family from Oxley, Victoria and was hooked. The McGraths now have two horses and, with a bit of mentoring and encouragement from Graham Forge, made the trip from Leongatha to get amongst the competition and ‘have a go’.

When the horses are having a well-deserved rest, Get Together goers are treated to whip cracking, bush poetry, wood chopping, and dog high jump competitions, plus some hilarious novelty events like hay bale stacking, tug-o-war, the Bushman’s Challenge, and the Mulga Bill Bike Race. There’s also a MCAV merchandise pavilion with all manner of logo-emblazoned shirts, hats, jackets, stubbie coolers, stickers and other paraphernalia, and a number of stall holders and sponsors selling camping gear and horse-related products.

As the sun set on Saturday evening and the temperature plummeted from thirty-five degrees to freezing (that’s what it felt like for a Queenslander!) the truck-mounted stage lit up and Wrangler-clad boys and girls danced to country rock bands Red Dirt Cartel and The Wolfe Brothers into the wee small hours.

Back in the family camping section there were plenty of partying families, but with the aid of some decent ear plugs we slept soundly.

All the fresh country air and watching other people exercise works up a decent appetite. Tired of our own cooking, we were intrigued enough with a vintage caravan sporting Hardcore Carnivore signage to order a gourmet pulled pork roll, which I can only describe as heaven in a Turkish roll. Country folk don’t do vegetarian or salad sandwiches – calorie-laden spuds, wood-fired pizza, hamburgers, chips, steak sangas, and those curly deep fried potato thingys are standard fare – washed down with beer or bourbon from the popular Cattlemen’s Bar.

The Mountain Cattlemen’s Get Together is hot and dusty. Kids run wild in a safe environment and are catered for with a supervised kid’s activity area, but mostly they played in the hay, chased each other around the paddock and danced to their own rhythm. Older kids in the ubiquitous

Clockwise from left: Jumping hay bales in the Cattlemen’s Cup race. Photo: Dale R. Wickberg. It was a privilege to meet John and Di Wright from Simpson, Victoria. Seventy-eight year old John and his granddaughter rode their horses for four days to attend the Get Together. Photo: Andrea Ferris. Up and over! This red heeler gets some encouragement from its owner in the dog high jump competition. Photo: Andrea Ferris. The ladies’ Bushman’s Challenge race. Sit on a saddle in a wheelbarrow holding a bucket of water and have a friend wheel you over a plank on a log – hilarious. Photo: Andrea Ferris.

30 | Go CampinG australia

FaCT FIleGetting thereHinnomunjie is 15 km north-east of Omeo in Victoria on the Benambra-Corryong Road. There is nothing at Hinnomunjie apart from the racecourse reserve, however Benambra, a few kilometres further on has a general store and fuel.

The 2015 Annual Get Together will be held on private property on the shady banks of the Mitta Mitta River in north-east Victoria from the 9 – 11 January 2015.

Where to campCamping is available at the Get Together venue and is suitable for whatever your set-up large or small. In 2014 a weekend ticket was $100 per person. Camping is divided into ‘family’ and ‘general’ areas. Port-a-loos and truck-mounted amenities are plentiful. Attendees are given wristbands on entry. Security is also provided. Dogs are welcome on a lead.

When to goThe Get Together is held every year in January. The weather can be very hot in the day and quite cool at night.

Further informationFor more information about the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria and the annual Get Together event visit www.mcav.com.au or telephone (03) 5779 1747.

Omeo Region Tourism: www.omeoregion.com.au

Forge’s Farm at Oxley – packsaddle trips, droving, mustering and trail rides www.forgesfarm.com or telephone (03) 5727 3675.

blue singlet and big hat with a perpetual Bundy rum in hand ran amok too, but were pulled up when necessary by a bevy of burly security staff and a modest police presence.

This is a family event to be sure – it’s supposed to celebrate tradition passed down through the generations. And nowhere was this more evident than a chance meeting we had with John and Di Wright and granddaughter Shamley, dairy farmers from Simpson in south-west Victoria. Following some general share-a-lunch-table casual chit-chat I discovered that John and Shamley had spent four days with a few mates riding their horses across the high country to the Get Together from Tawonga. A trip that John has done for many years, with Di as the support crew, because they’re keen supporters of the MCAV ‘cause’.

It’s not possible to describe what a privilege it was to spend an hour in this family’s company as TOH and I propped against their horse float in the cooling late afternoon watching the horses have their evening feed and hearing about a loving fifty-five-year marriage, the lifetime toil to build a successful farming enterprise; the raising of a family; and the philosophy of ‘getting on with it’ after a family tragedy. Topped off by an impromptu performance of John’s own bush poetry that, I willingly confess, had me more than a little teary-eyed. Such a treat!

What a living, breathing metaphor of our Get Together experience, I thought, as we waved goodbye to the Wrights and meandered back to camp, dog at heel. My dog, Skipper, the potential undoing of my casually confident country persona. Why? Because I don’t have a kelpie or a blue heeler with lolling tongue and pricked ears in anticipation of a sheep to herd or cow to chase. Nope, my dog of choice is a whippet – tall, skinny, sleek, doe-eyed and absolutely freaked out about whip cracking, not to mention very surprised how difficult it is to cock his rather aged and wobbly legs against a Scotch thistle!

Willandra

R

R

Manunda

Ck

River

R

GoulburnR

Lachlan

Nep

ean

MURRUMBIDGEE

Sho

alha

ven

R

Sno

wy

Ovens

Ck

R

R

Yanco

Hop

kins

R

R

Gle

nelg

Hunter

Creek

River

R

Hunter

R

Macquarie

Murray

Lach

lan

MURRAY

RIVER

RIVER

MU

RR

AY

RIVER

Lake Hume

Lake Eildon

Lake Eucumbene

Lake Dartmouth

Lake Burragorang

LakeAlexandrina

Garnpung Lake

Lake Tyrrell

LakeGeorge

Lake Mungo

LakeVictoria

Mulurulu Lake

LakeHindmarsh

Travellers Lake

Lake MindonaPopiltah Lake

Lake Bonney

LakeBurrandong

Pitarpunga Lake

Lake Ballyrogan

Lake AlbacutyaThe Coorong

Moornanyah Lake

RocklandsReservoir

Lake Wellington

LakeCowal

933

1805

1986

2228

16191913

King Island

Flinders Island

Hunter IslandThree Hummock I

Robbins I

Phillip Is

land

Botany Bay

Broken Bay

PORTPHILLIP

Lacepede Bay

Corner Inlet

Port Jackson

DISCOVERYBAY

Shoalhaven Bight

Ninety

Cape Howe

Cape Otway

Cape Banks

Cape Wickham

Stokes Point

Cape Frankland

Portland Bay

Mallacoota Inlet

WESTERN PORT

South East Point

Mt Bryan

Mt Buller

Mt Bogong

Bimberi Peak

Mt Kosciuszko

Tinderry Peak

Roto

GR

AM

PIAN

S

YOUNGHUSBA

ND

PEN

Dargo

BiggaMaude

Trida

Buchan

Hattah

Kulwin

Coombah

Forrest

Burcher

TerowieDarnick

Booligal

Balmoral

Alawoona

Meringur

Naradhan

Hill End

Peebinga

Whitemark

Pooncarie

Padthaway

Wanganella

Mount Hope

Lake Bolac

Robertstown

Swifts Creek

Patchewollock

Hotham Heights

RankinsSprings

PalanaGrassy

Kent Group

FURNEAUXGROUP

B A S S S T R A I T

MALLEE

WIMMERA

D I V I D I N GG R E A TR A N G E

CO

CO

PAR

RA

RA

RIVERINA

WILSONS PROMONTORY

Wreck Bay

MileBeach

Waratah

Bay

N E W S O U T H W A L E S

V I C T O R I A

JERVIS BAY TERRITORY

A C T

OTWAY RA

THE

BLUE

MTN

S

CanopusCanegrass

Boree Plains

Oakbank Outstation

Hay

Bega

Keith

Junee

Burra

Nhill

Ouyen

Berri

Terang

Kerang

Temora

Kaniva

Loxton

Morgan

Yeoval

Finley

Goroke

Penola

Yarram

Currie

Birchip

Trundle

Ivanhoe

Heywood

Dunkeld

Jeparit

Rainbow

Lameroo

RenmarkMerbein

MerriwaAberdeen

Holbrook

Bermagui

Charlton

Mathoura

Meningie

Culcairn

Oaklands

Sea Lake

Riverton

Hillston

Hopetoun

Waikerie

Pinnaroo

GrenfellGoolgowi

Berrigan

St Arnaud

Rochester

Millicent

Tintinara Woomelang

Ardlethan

Text

Warragul

Tullamore

Casterton

UnderboolNyah West

MerimbulaColeraine

Red Cliffs

Apollo Bay

Cann River

Canowindra

Bordertown

Swan Reach

Wedderburn

NaracoorteKingston SE

TailemBend

Murrayville

Coleambally

Derrinallum

SussexInlet

West Wyalong

Peterborough

Port Campbell

Port Macdonnell

Eden

Yass

Omeo

Robe

Yenda

LorneCowes

Euroa

Henty

Urana

Cohuna

Foster

Orbost

Tathra

Bright

Donald

Cobram

Moruya

BarhamWakool

Mannum

MolongKandos

Denman

Murtoa

Text

Marybo rough

Oberon

Picton

Batlow

Maffra

Cobden

Koroit

Bruthen

KynetonBombala

DunollyNarooma

Boorowa

Kapunda

Tahmoor

UngarieBlayney

Gulgong

Barmera

Adelong

KilmoreDelegate

Mortlake

Willaura

Numurkah

Tocumwal

The Rock

Lockhart Gundagai

Coolamon

Dimboola

KaroondaBundeena

Talbingo

Corryong

Edenhope

Beaufort

Barmedman

Wentworth

Leongatha

Warburton

Inglewood

Jindabyne

Khancoban

Moulamein

Huskisson

BalranaldRobinvale

Jamestown Peak Hill

Coonalpyn

Text

CANBERRA

Wangaratta

Rutherglen

Nuriootpa

Crookwell

Braidwood

Adaminaby

Berridale

Rushworth

MansfieldAlexandra

Penshurst

CamperdownWinchelsea

Myrtleford

Jerilderie

Bungendore

Narrandera

Gerringong

Condobolin

Wellington

Tumbarumba

Nimmitabel

Beechworth

Daylesford

Tallangatta

Manangatang

Forest Hill

Paynesville

Mount Beauty

Tuross Heads

Warracknabeal

Lake Cargelligo

Thredbo Village

Harden-Murrumburrah

Forbes

Griffith

Portland

Ulladulla

Moe SaleColac

Tumut

Kiama

Mallacoota

Hurstbridge

CorowaYar

rawonga

Young

Cowra

Nowra

Cooma

Echuca

Camden

Ararat

Leeton

Bowral

Parkes

Mudgee

Morwell

StawellSeymour

Benalla

Kyabram

Horsham

Goulburn

Pakenham

Richmond

Cessnock

Hamilton

Mittagong

Swan Hill

Moss Vale

Singleton

Traralgon

Bairnsdale

Deniliquin

Castlemaine

Cootamundra Helensburgh

Kurri Kurri

Healesville

Muswellbrook

Bacchus Marsh

Mount Gambier

Lakes Entrance

Bridgewater

DUBBO

MELTON

ALBURY

ORANGE

BENDIGO

WODONGA

MILDURA

SUNBURYBALLARAT

BATHURST

QUEANBEYAN

SHEPPARTON

Text

WARRNAMBOOL

Murray Bridge

Point Fairy

AngleseaTorquay

WAGGA WAGGA

PortlandPortlandPortland

Katoomba

DrouinCranbourne

Howlong

LithgowPortla nd

Ocean

Wonthaggi

Inverlo

ch

WOLLONGONG

GEELONG

Port Kembla

GOSFORD

Toronto

MELBOURNE

SYDNEY

Grove

DarlingtonPoint

Mossy Point

St Georges Basin

4000

2000

200

200

2000

4000

200

S O U T H E R N O C E A N

T A S M A N S E A

© C

om

mo

nwealth o

f Australia (G

eoscience A

ustralia) 2012

Hinnomunjie

Nevertheless, my concerns were as unfounded as they were slightly disloyal to my canine buddy. As it turns out whippets have quite a following in the bush; they’re actually ‘cool’ dogs, revered for their turn of speed and rabbit catching prowess, remembered fondly by old-timers, who couldn’t resist stooping for a pat, and the best conversation starter.

As the sun set on Sunday evening the horses were rugged and fed, whips and ropes coiled and hung up, and sweaty, tired cowboys and girls showered and shampooed, the thinning crowd gathered at the Cattlemen’s Bar to have a last steak sanga and beer and to reflect on a fun weekend.

At the risk of being cliché and unimaginative, I can’t help but haul out a stanza from Banjo’s famous ode to sum up our Get Together experience:

‘He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko’s side,

Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough,

Where a horse’s hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones every stride,

The man that holds his own is good enough.

And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their home,

Where the river runs those giant hills between;

I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to roam,

But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen.’

(The Man from Snowy River, A B Paterson, 1890)

Winner of the 2014 Cattlemen’s Cup Chris Connley in action. Photo: Julie Marland.

www.campsaustraliawide.com | Ph: (07) 5474 2542 campsaustraliawide

Available at most leading Book Stores, Outdoor & 4WD Centres, Caravan Dealers or Online.

Hit the road with Australia’s

leading camping and caravanning

guide books or our Camps App