Droving is the usual Australian term for moving stock by road, especially on long journeys
Reproduced from Australian Encyclopaedia, circa 1950
In spite of rail and motor transport, droving is still an important factor in Australia’s pastoral industry.
Frequently stock is still moved in considerable numbers by this method. Sheep on the move are usually limited to flocks of about three thousand, and if a larger lot is to be moved it is usually divided accordingly, with two men, with dogs, in charge of each flock. By law, sheep travelling on stock-routes must travel a minimum distance each day - in most parts of Australia, 6 miles.
In the back country the stock may stretch, as they move, for half a mile on either side of the road, so that they have considerable space in which to feed. In ordinary conditions, the sheep are watered every day.
At night, while on the road, the sheep are kept in temporary enclosures known as “brakes”.
Originally a semi-circle of fallen trees was used as a half-yard in which to keep the sheep at night, the open space in front being occupied by the cook’s dray, the men’s swags, and wood fires. A man on foot was kept on watch. Wire-netting was tried but it lacked stability, it was difficult to handle, and the sheep could not see it in the darkness. Various other methods were used, but the need for night-watching remained.
Ultimately a rope brake, known as the McMaster brake, was evolved. It consists of five strands of light rope, laced at intervals so that it forms a netting with a large mesh. It makes a perfect temporary fence, is easily carried, durable, and cheap, and can be quickly erected on stakes. With the evolution of this type of brake the bugbear of night-watching came to an end. Sheep are let out of the brake about sunrise.
At intervals, when it is thought necessary, the drover counts his sheep out of the enclosure through a specially-strengthened gate.
Sheep which have been on the road any length of time lose much of their timidity. They quickly become accustomed to new sights and acquire a cunning which makes them difficult to handle other than at their own pace and as they incline.
Transport of sheep by motor vehicles and, in certain parts, by road-trains (q.v.) is becoming more common than it was. Airplanes are sometimes used for the movement of stud stock and, in times of emergency, of flock sheep.
