22 Australian Life 



manager upon the state of the fences, the amount 

 of water in the water-holes, and the general con- 

 dition of that portion of the run. Every station 

 has its cook, generally a man, and sometimes a 

 Chinaman. In his kitchen is a large brick oven 

 for the baking of bread and "brownie," the latter 

 a station delicacy made by mixing brown sugar 

 and currants with the bread dough. A large 

 colonial oven, with wood fire on top and beneath 

 it, is used for roasting, and no station kitchen is 

 complete without a mighty frying-pan, for the 

 preparation of the inevitable fried chops which 

 are the staple station fare. 



Another important person on the station is the 

 storekeeper, who is usually bookkeeper as well. 

 The station store is an interesting place, contain- 

 ing a little of everything, from spare parts of the 

 sheep- shearing machinery and fencing wire down 

 to slop-made clothes and tobacco. The store 

 transactions are sometimes complicated, for they 

 include the issue of clothing and tobacco to the 

 hands as part of the wages earned, and also the 

 issue of flour or tea, according to the bush system 

 which is explained elsewhere, to the swagmen 

 who may call. The storekeeper keeps the wages 

 book, issues groceries and other supplies to the 

 cook, and exercises a general supervision over the 

 domestic expenditure. There are usually a few 

 1 ' station hands ' ' in permanent employment, in ad- 

 dition to those already enumerated, but not very 

 many. It is estimated that on a well-managed 



