Why do I do this?
Host: Liveringa Station
Written by Zarrah Blackwell – Ringer, Liveringa Station.
Zarrah.
Working at Liveringa Station in the Stock Camp is one of the best things I have done. There are not many industries around that you get so much variety and experience on a daily basis as what you do working on a station.
I started at Liveringa in 2014 and am now in my second season. It is a place you want to come back to and I thought I would share some of the things we do that make it a great place to live and work.
Zarrah during a muster.
Camping out . . .
Liveringa heads out to Stock Camp at the start of May each year. We have two sets of yards that we base ourselves at, McCreas and Hardmans. They are both located about an hour from the homestead so instead of commuting we set up our “Gypsy Wagon” and “Properties” (tents, etc) and stay out in the bush. It is a great thing that everyone seems to enjoy (most of the time . . .)
Stock camp set up.
Camp Cook . . .
Linda is our camp cook and by jeeeeze does she cook some great fare. Linda arrived from NSW at the end of April this year and leaves us sadly, at the end of September. We will probably try to kidnap her for next year as it was such delicious food (Just ask any of the stock agents, vets, pilots, and visitors that we have call in to our camp).
Linda lighting the “donkey” to heat water for the shower out at camp.
Station Cook
Sue has been with Liveringa station for nearly two years. She does an absolutely cracking job feeding us all and you may now realise why Cookie from Nerrima announced at a local rodeo not long ago that’s why we are in such “good nick”!
Location
Liveringa’s location also makes it a great place to be. An hour from Derby and two and a half hours from Broome makes it pretty damn handy if you ever want to have a social life or just have a break.
Camp Drafting . . .
We are very lucky here to have a fully-fledged camp draft arena with rodeo chutes and a bulldogging box. Complete with our very own “rodeo coach” Wayne Stanley. It is a pretty common sight to see us down there practising and hopefully picking up some money at the local rodeos.
Zarrah and Wayne practising for the next rodeo . . .
Zarrah attempting to rope a weaner.
Social Events . . .
Well we have a slightly quieter stock camp this year but our Rec Club still is making a profit. The “Re Bar” is the name of the club and it is a great spot for a quiet after work beverage or a Friday night Quiz, Mini Olympics, or “Liveringa Has Talent” competition. At the end of each season we have an outing to Broome which is sponsored by the proceeds from the Rec Club and is a great couple of days. Last year we boarded a Catamaran and cruised the Indian Ocean for a few hours and then went out for the night. The accommodation wasn’t too shabby either with two nights at a popular Broome resort – one would begin to question how much money one had spent on beverages during the year to afford this awesome weekend, and then . . . not worry about it due to the amount of fun being had.
Not to get too wrapped up in the social events but we seem to get some pretty great perks to our job, including races, rodeos, general social events, and even “Fly boarding” on one of our station dams.
Zarrah fly boarding on “Erskine’s Dam” last year.
All in all we count ourselves pretty lucky to be able to work here. We make sure we get the work done but are aptly rewarded for what we do. Living and working in the Liveringa Stock Camp was a great option for my life and I look forward to the rest of the season here.
Zarrah coming home at sunset.