On the Wallaby Track 71 



firewood or the carrying of water. Others give a 

 ration of flour and of uncooked meat, while the 

 few adhere to the old order of things by provid- 

 ing a hut for the men's accommodation, and tea 

 and sugar and even tobacco as well as flour and 

 meat. The station-owners whose treatment of 

 the swagman is based on so liberal a scale argue 

 that the expense is justified in many ways. On 

 their runs, lighted matches are not likely to be 

 dropped in the dry grass, gates are not left open, 

 nor fences broken down, and in many other ways 

 the friendly feeling of the swagman saves them 

 from annoyance and loss. 



There is, of course, a class which abuses this 

 hospitality, loafing from station to station and 

 sponging upon all who will encourage them. 

 Many of these ' 'sundowners" have a regular 

 round, and show some ingenuity in evading the 

 danger of work; but the normal condition of the 

 pastoral districts does not encourage their ex- 

 istence. In Australia, the natural habitat of the 

 professional idler at the present day is in one of 

 the big cities, and the sundowner, as a rule, is a 

 survival or a tradition of a past era. 



The man in search of work in the bush has his 

 own title for himself and for others similarly situ- 

 ated. He may be a man of some substance, who 

 rides a good horse, and leads another on which 

 are packed all the necessities for travel. He 

 may strap his heavy swag to the handle-bars of 

 a bicycle, and hanging his other impedimenta 



