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Patrol Car being Towed by a Horse Team

John Flynn (1880–1951)
Patrol Car being Towed by a Horse Team, Dunbar, Queensland
[between 1912 and 1951]
digital print from coloured lantern slide, printed 2007; 8.2 x 8.2 cm nla.pic-an24651223

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Ever since the land was first settled by Europeans, Australians have relied on transport, powered by animals or by their own feet: horses, horse-drawn vehicles, bullock teams, camels, bicycles, and of course shanks’ pony, the swagman’s method of conveyance.

Although a few horses arrived with the First Fleet in 1788, during the colony’s early years most people had to walk. As horses increased in number, they became an invaluable part of agriculture, and were used to transport goods, often pulling loads that today seem extraordinary. Horses were extremely versatile: they were used for mustering stock; they drew family carts, elegant carriages, and public transport such as cabs, trams and buses; and they were an essential part of the coach services that covered most settled areas.

Bullocks were useful for their strength and docility. The bullock teams that carried supplies to outlying stations and townships created tracks that often later became roads, and overnight camps that sometimes grew into settlements. Camels, with their soft-padded feet and ability to manage on meagre supplies of feed and water, went where bullocks and horses could not go.

Itinerant workers and swagmen often covered great distances on foot, either looking for employment or simply following a wandering life. Cyclists, on the other hand, have tended to have a purpose to their journey: whether sightseeing, sport or exploring a particular route. Drovers travel to move stock, and bushwalkers take to the trail to experience the glory of nature.