MODERN BUSHRANGING.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1920, Page 9 (Supplement)

MODERN BUSHRANGING.

AUSTRALIAN PASTORALISTS ALARMED. ' CATTLE "DU-FFJNG" IN T!IE NORTH, j (Sydney Morning HeraljJ.) The cattlemen of North Queensland are much concerned regarding the increase of cattle "duffing" in their country. in the remote region the holdings arc large, 100 square miles of land being quite an ordinhry area. A number of the squatters lease from the Government as much as 1000 square miles each, and such nn area is usually worked by «. few station bands. Naturally, only partial supervision of the stock can be maintained, and the dishonest settler has his opportunity. So extensive lias the stealing grown that the pastoral industry is said to be in danger of being undermined. Certainly, the development of the north is being retarded, for there are instances in which intending settlers changed their minds when Ihev learned of dlie experiences of others. The Queensland Government bus State station,s in that region, and these have not escaped the attentions of the thieves. The Government is now resuming the small holdings with, it is said, (he object, of excluding men of questionable character, and depriving them of bases for illicit operation!-. - . The methods of the "duffers" are different from those of the same class in closely settled country. In T) ,„ north the unbranded calves are their chief prey. It is a matter of who his brand on these first—the owner or the thief. The squatters say that it is not possible for them to brand all the calves at an early age, in view of the extent of the grazing area. They have to rely on the employees when mustering for the branding. The thieves often have confederates employed on the stations, ani it is a simple matter for these to leave behind small lots of young stock, to be picked up later on by the prowlers of the bush, who quickly clap their brands on them or dispose of them to other. The gangs are organised in a systematic way, and the pastoralists and police, are outwitted. It is difficult to obtain convictions in the courts owing to the conflicting nature of the evidence. The dishonest section of the community can'be divided into three classes:—(]) Confederates, unconsciously employed by the squatters; (2) those who prowl the bush in search of clean skins: and (3) the receivers of the stolen stock. The second class are really desperate characters. H is next to impossible to prove the guilt of the other two. however strong the suspicion of guilty knowledge. The real thieves are smart men. They know the | bush as a policeman knows his beat. Often picturesque iii ( \ "Munis in rough bush attire, slouch liaf, and mounted on ungroomed horses, (f quality, thes" men haunt the bush. They seem to know every hoof within miles, and are frequently seen at mustering and ■branding yards, or wherever stock are assembled, even if their welcome is lacking iu warmth; and the cattlemen of Hie north are noted for their hospitality. Sharp, shrewd men arc these outcasts. Their knowledge of stock is undoubted, particularly of hack's. The,- are nearly all "liorscy" men. They 'live in the saddle. Day and night they will travel tlie lonely bush going from station to station. T.hey are not particular whether they partake of the hospitality of the manager, have a yarn with a boundary rider, or sleep in a gully away from the track. They have an intelligence department of their own. The .movements of the station hands are known to them—obviously throngh confederates at headquarters. They shadow the mob when mustering is in progress as a cow watches a dog. A beast with indistinct brand or one easily mutilated or altered to something else is a temptation, but clean skins are their special quarry. But these latter are too few on well-managed stations, unless young calves are included, and it is these ■that cause anxiety on the stations. Calves running with their mothers were avoided by the cattle duffers of olden times, l'or the cows would be likely to follow stolen calves. Not so now. The mothers are mercilessly shot in order that the thief may escape detect ion. It is a new development in the crine of the bush—that is for wholesale traffic such as that conducted in the north. Also it falls with double severity on the owner, who loses mothers as well as off-spring. These outrages on the stations are in reality a new phase of busliranging. The Kelly gang and their associates were less perfectly organised than the men who are hounding the pastoralists in the Far .North. The whole territory is honeycombed with dishonesty—industrially and even socially. Not unnaturally those living in remote parts are becoming connected more or less by marriage, and the suspected ones and'their sympathisers grow in numbers and in influence. Tile station owners are comparatively few in number, and year by year the situation gradually becomes more acute. Its present stage recalls the sensational developments on the goldfields of Western Australia when gold stealing from the mines reached alarming developments. A Royal Commission which investigated the matter reported that gold was being stolen to the value of one million pounds a year. This disclosure had the effect of reducing the value of house rents on the fields by over 30 per cent., owing to so many people living on the illicit trade losing their incomes. None the less interesting is the position of the great pastoral country, it in not possible to give figures to indicate with anything approaching accuracy the magnitude of the trade at present, but the squattefs are becoming alarmed at its growth. Already they are organised to resist the inroads on their industry; but so numerous, so cunning, and so skilfully organised' are the gangs that increased efforts are now being taken to protect the stock. Lawlessness has reached a point at which self-protection appears to be the only response. The authorities arc powerless to keep it within bounds. What the pastoralists intend to do is not known, but they are preparing to act, and they are men of resource and determination.'