Life on the stock routes

Born in 1924, Jo has been described as somewhat of an elusive character.

While he has achieved little in the way of public honours or distinctions during his life, it is his old fashioned ways and stories of an era most of us will only ever read about that make his story worth telling.

One of two sons to John and Ida Brabon, Jo grew up on the dry and dusty stock routes of North Queensland.

His father, a well-known drover and head stockman, was the bearer of three properties, located on the outskirts of Townsville; Seabeach Holme, Kathehul and Granit Vale.

“My father was highly regarded as a drover once walking a mob of stock horses 340km south to Newcastle,” Jo said.

Together with his brother, John Richard, Jo completed his primary education at Bohle School riding his horse seven miles to class each day.

“We were always late to school because we had a heap of work to do each morning before we were allowed to go,” Jo said.

Leaving home at the age of 14, Jo moved to his father’s Granit Vale property, helping work on the water and irrigation systems.

“My father grew everything as a farmer,” Jo said.

“The river used to run very well in those days.”

Reg Ramsay, a stockman under Jo’s father, helped drove the stations bullocks to nearby meatworks often inviting Jo along for the ride.

“I started going with Reggie to learn the droving trade, but we were never paid a cent by my old man,” Jo said.

“He was a very tough man; he wouldn’t give you any bouquets.”

World War II brought an influx of men to North Queensland, raising the local rodeo ranks.

“There was a lot of rough riding during the war years,” Jo said.

“I had plenty of thrills and spills, coming up against some of the best riders in America at the time.”

“The yanks knew how to ride and it was through them that I learnt how to hold on.”

In his late teens Jo fled the Granit Vale property, joining a fishing shipment until peace was declared.

Not long after returning to Townsville Jo snavelled a job with one of the north’s top drovers, Patty Chapman.

“He approached me at the pub asking if I had done cattle droving as he was looking for men,” Jo said.

“So I went to Lyndost with him, putting in a lot of years with his stockman Bob Moncrieff.”

Together Bob and Jo drove cattle from as far south as Clermont right up to Cairns.

“We drove fats to the meatworks as well as droving store cattle and Vesty cattle, you name it we did it,” Jo said.

“I remember one time we went from Lyndost to Ravenshoe with a mob of cows for the butchers, and on our way back we stopped in at Woodley station to see if they had any horses for sale.”

“All they had was one of Frank Butler’s mules and didn’t it go.”

In 1944, Jo married Townsville beauty Pauline Mainhard.

“I met her at the show, she was pretty handy when we first started going out,” Jo said.

“Pauline would come and meet us on the road and don’t you worry she could steer a mob of bullocks – a very handy horse woman.”

Together the Brabon couple have seven children; Norma, Lesley, Partricia, Aileene, Vernon Lawrence, Jennifer, Darryle John, Olive and Colin Frederick.

“We lived in a house on the Black River, a house my uncle originally built to be a dance hall,” Jo said.

“We lived there for most of the kid’s childhood, moving to town when our eldest reached high school.”

By the late 1940’s Jo had started his own droving plant, servicing grazier’s right up the Gulf.

“I did a lot of trips with different agencies, droving fats to the butchers and meatworks,” Jo said.

“Trips to Clermont and places further north meant six to eight weeks out on the stock routes.”

“Bush poet, Henry Lawson, was our bible with every drover having a copy of his handbook in their swag.”

In his early years a self-managed drover Jo liaised with family-friends and top cattlemen Eric and Cliff Robinson.

“The Robinson brothers were good mates of mine,” Jo said.

“Alan, Eric’s son who he named after me, currently lives in Boulia and occasionally comes up to visit.”

The introduction of cattle trains in the early 1950’s saw business plummet for many Queensland drovers with Jo making his last trip in 1951.

“My final drove was for the Atkinson’s, herding 850 head of cattle from their Wyandot property to the Ross River Meatworks,” Jo said.

“Willy Lane usually drove their Greenvale bullocks but he refused to take them as they were all about 12 to 13 years old.”

In the midst of a heavy drought, Jo and fellow drover Bill Bright knew it wasn’t going to be an easy trek.

“Right from the get go these old fella’s were sour and gave us plenty of trouble.”

“They rushed every night, sometimes right up to the top of Hervey’s Range.”

“But on our final night, we were about six-mile away from the meatworks and knew if they rushed traffic was going to be the major problem.”

“I couldn’t believe it. They slept the entire night and we got our well-deserved pay checks at the meatworks the next morning.”

As Jo’s years as a drover came to an end, he transferred into the timber industry.

“I worked under my cousins driving tractors and other big machinery,” Jo said.

“They paid me the big money, seven quid a day.”

Joining the team at Frost Constructions in the mid 1960’s provided Jo with the necessary skills to start his electric light-pole contracting business.

“I learnt how to fix machinery, welding, as well as the skills required of an electrical trade,” Jo said.

“The light-pole business didn’t make me a lot of money but it was enough to put food on the table.”

Jo later joined his eldest son Vernon on his crushing plant, officially retiring at the age of 69.

“I worked with Vernon for a while and I still sometimes go for trips with him in the trucks,” Jo said.

While his hearing may not be what it used to be, Jo’s spunk and charisma are still intact.

He greets everyone warmly and genuinely with a hearty “call me Jo” and always has a firm pat on the back and handshake for his gentleman friends.