Qld Outback Tour - Stockman's Outback Show

Lockie Cossor

Pretty relaxed day today.

This morning we went to the Outback Stockman's Show, put on by Lockie Cossor. It's held at the Stockman's Hall of Fame, in a specifically built outside arena.

Cossor is a former King of The Ranges (Murrurundi), proof enough that he is the real deal in his ability to ride horses and manage stock. This show sets out to tell the story of life for the old time stockmen, from training their horses and dogs, setting up their pack horses, equipment they needed and what life was like. He interspersed those practical demonstrations with his own stories of characters he had met and experiences he has had droving cattle. He uses a lot of humour and animals who have been trained to do tricks, like the pony which pulls the saddle rug off so he can't place the saddle.

He also throws in a few songs for the complete picture of the Australian singing cowboy.

It was an entertaining show and well worth attending.

We didn't go into the Stockman's Hall of Fame, having seen it twice and our opinion that too much is placed on walls to read being echoed by those who were seeing it now.

We had an excellent coffee at The Lazy Sheep in Eagle Street before heading home or a quiet afternoon.

Click to see today's photos

In the early evening, we went back to the Woolshed - the entertainment/eatery of the Longreach Tourist Park - and enjoyed listening to John Hawkes. Unlike last night, he sang mostly his own songs and what a difference that made. Each came with a yarn about their origin which added to what was good song writing.