Bore Runner or Conservationist – You Be The Judge
Host: Soudan Station
Written by Mark Sullivan – Bore Runner, Soudan Station.
The primary focus of our role as Overseer is to produce high quality beef cattle; for this to happen we need to ensure our cattle have a constant supply of two very important things; feed and water. Our Bore Runners/Water Technicians/Pumpers (their title changes depending what day it is), are an integral part of our team and a job (you’ll see) they take very seriously.
I was asked if I would like to write a blog about my job as a Bore Runner that I excitedly accepted, even though I had no idea what a blog was. So after a few questions asked and a bit of an idea given, here it is.
Hi all, my name is Mark, I work on Soudan Station in the Northern Territory in outback Australia. What is a Bore Runner? It’s a person that looks after the water for the cattle on the station.
‘How cool is this guy’, Mark Sullivan; Pumper No. 1.
My day consists of driving around the station starting bores that fill turkey nests (above ground dams). Our water comes from deep in the ground and is pumped to the surface with a mono pump that pumps the water into the turkey’s nest. The water then gravity feeds into the trough for cattle to drink. I also make sure the trough is scrubbed clean each time I visit the bore to ensure the cattle have the freshest of water available; if I wouldn’t drink it, I don’t expect the cattle to drink it!
Bore 142 Turkey Nest.
This is what I do every day of the week; some people would think of this job as pretty boring but not me. Being the animal lover that I am, I get to see some of the best things whilst driving the hundreds of kilometres I drive daily. Things like Black Headed pythons; easily the most beautiful python in Australia, I’ve seen many different types of reptiles that I’ve taken photos of plus many birds from brolgas to budgies. This year I had the pleasure of photographing Whistling Kite babies whilst they were still in the nest, how cool they looked. I’ve seen the biggest goannas that I’ve ever seen plus dingoes and emus.
Brolga.
I live with the most amazing people that I’ve sure must get sick of me talking about the awesome Mulga Snake or Lizards that I’ve seen that day but they’ve become used to it now. So there you go my attempt at a blog, I hope you now understand what a bore runner is and how bloody good it is to do this job. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Cheers,
Mark.
Baby Whistling Kites.
Dancing Goanna.