Squatters and Stations 27 



dition is attached to many at the races, excluding 

 stable- fed horses. Better sport could not be af- 

 forded than the struggles between these hardy 

 grass-fed "walers," many of which have never 

 known the shelter of a roof. No programme is 

 complete without a race for shearers' horses, with 

 owners up; and though the costumes of the riders 

 are unorthodox to city eyes, close finishes and 

 skilful horsemanship are the rule rather than the 

 exception. 



Station life provides other amusement besides: 

 long drives through open paddocks and over 

 rough bush tracks, where the clear air is aromatic 

 with the scent of the eucalyptus and fragrant with 

 the perfume of the wattle, wild rides through the 

 scrub after dingoes and kangaroos, or madder 

 gallops still after the long-tailed wild horses that 

 shelter in the fastnesses of the hills. Such diver- 

 sions only take place during the intervals between 

 the busy seasons. The real life of an Australian 

 station can best be observed, however, at these 

 periods of activity, when numerous extra men are 

 employed, and the whole machinery of station life 

 is working at high pressure. 



