Gold Coast via Springvale Station
Host: Yeeda Pastoral
Written by Cynthia – Caretaker/Domestic, Springvale Station.
Hi my name is Cynthia and together with my husband Peter we have been privileged to have spent the past three months living and working at Springvale Station.
Peter and Cynthia.
We had been traveling around Australia for nine months and were on our journey back home to the Gold Coast when I spotted a caretaker position on the internet, well being the type of person who is always up for a new and exciting adventure, I told Peter I had found us a really cool job (he said didn’t know we were looking)!!
As caretakers our duties include maintenance of the lawns and gardens of the homestead, the daily feeding of the poddy calves, the station dogs, and the two pigs (If they don’t have Christmas in July here the pigs will have a reprieve until Christmas). We collect the weekly food supplies from Hall’s Creek and Peter usually does the Avgas run from Hall’s Creek when required. Being a chef by trade Peter has also managed to find himself in the kitchen from time to time and has enjoyed cooking for the crew.
Our new family.
During our time here we have had the opportunity of watching weaners and calves being branded, cattle being loaded from the yards onto the road train, and visiting three other Yeeda properties (Texas, Mabel Downs, and Alice Downs). We are still hopeful of riding in the bull catcher before we leave.
Branding and trucking.
Our experience here has also been enriched by the people we have met and worked with; we have a real united nations going on with French, German, South African, English, Indigenous Australian, and Australian.
I would now like to introduce everyone to Hank, when we arrived we were introduced to this little boy who immediately stole my heart (maybe not Peter’s), I can admit that I probably spoilt him from day one and in doing so prevented him from being a working cattle dog! But that’s okay as he will now be leaving with us for his new life on the Gold Coast. Poor Peter he now has 4500km of worry as Hank takes up residence on the back seat of the Jeep Grand Cherokee!
Hank.
In finishing Peter and I would like to say thank you to Jack and Vicki Burton, owners of Yeeda and a huge thanks to Dave Deighton, Station Manager and all round good guy. If I hadn’t answered the ad we would never have had this unique opportunity. If more Australians could have this experience I am sure there would be a lot more appreciation and understanding of the extremely hard work that goes into our beef and lamb industry.
Dave.