Dad's From the Bush

Generation by generation dad's from the bush have passed down unshakable hardiness and resilience mentally and psychically. The children's rhyme 'what are little girls made of.. what are little boys made of' comes to mind as I'm sure that bush dads are made of grit, near-death experiences, sweat, stubbornness, bulldust and beer. It is so accurate that it is almost like they are born into this world with an Akubra hat on and worn in RM William boots.

I can speak freely as I know my own Dad, along with many others, wouldn't know how to find this website/blog, let alone know how to change the lock screens on their phones. Although, the rest of the world who needs phones to communicate, make money, organise, schedule and for what of a better word to function; a bush dad only has to show up for brekky, smoko, lunch and tea to update his family on any business on the farm and the day goes on

as per usual. In saying this there will be a day when everything turns to sh*t.

This appreciation blog for Dad's from the outback is necessary, as some new-age farming families might forget what the legendary bush dad heritage involves. Another

rather key part of this role is that everything is a lesson, whether underlying or not. An example between father and daughter,

"Now Charlley, did you close the gate from the right, where there was that blue tongue lizard about 50 metres from that tree, which would be next to that paddock where I left that heifer?"

"Ummm, umm, I'm not sure if I have closed the right one."

Now I'll save you the dialogue, but a lesson is about to be told. It will involve "you should of known", "what did I tell you about being observant", "how else must I explain myself", or "you should have asked". A talk that will well inform me about how I can apply this lesson to life and how being two steps ahead of anything is essential for preparedness. So there's this, or there's the slight shake of the head, and they'll do it themselves. Neither option is ideal.

Dad taking advantage of modern Ag machinery, going flat out to prepare paddocks for following days muster.

My dad's generation and those before him were wiry and lean with strong shoulders and backs. That is something you will see in every bushy history book- ropey veined string beans. Someone had pointed this out to me for their words were "there is an obvious contrast between fathers and their sons now, the father upright and strong and the son slouched and soft.. everything is air-coned, work is given to employees, not family and their Dads have already done the heavy lifting". Sadly I can recognise this, however, not something I will say out loud in public but behind a screen instead, as I don't have to look at the beguiled and offended mothers who have mollycoddled their baby boys.

I want to bring back what had brought us to the land originally and not dismiss it so quickly in this changing modern era of technology and ideology. Of course, there are perks to both sides, yet I find what seems like the past practices of hard work, more rewarding as blood, sweat, and tears always gave results for the improvement of the land and livestock, not new machinery or gadgets but man power/people power. So heres cheers to bush dads and what they've achieved, and may we continue to thank them for all their efforts, energy and longwinded preachings or for none at all, it was all for the sake of making our livelihoods easier.