Bullock Yoke/Bullock Driving Unit: Travel and Transport

In many parts of Australia, when people wanted to transport a heavy load they used a team of bullocks.  A bullock is a strong type of bull that is trained to pull loads and respond to commands.

A bullock team could only travel about 5 to 10 miles per day, compared with 12 – 18 miles a day with a horse and cart.  Bullocks were better than horses for long distance trips as they fed off the land.

The yoke (small picture) was used to harness two bullocks to each other.  The wooden beam rested across their shoulders, and was held in place by the ox-bows (the adjustable metal ‘collar’ piece) looping under their necks.  The pair of bullocks were then connected to the rest of the team by attaching a strong chain to the large metal ring. 
The bullock driver - or bullocky - might use up to 20 pairs of bullocks in a team, depending on the weight of the load they had to pull. 

The lead pair were the most experienced, whilst the polers (at the back, harnessed to the pole) were the strongest.

Bullocks had to be given names that would sound good and distinctive when “sung out”, so the driver could command the team.  In the main photo, Charles Frederick (Fred) Blundell is in charge of the bullock team, with lead bullocks called Smut and Smiler.

As seen above, the bullocks were harnessed in pairs.  The pairs were two bullocks that worked well together, so they often had matching names.  Here are some examples:

Saint and Sinner
Boomer and Bonney
Star and Planet
Dusty and Draper
Traveler and Rattler
Farmer and Sailor
Snowy and Shine
Dunn and Gilbert (after two bushrangers)

It was also common to name bullocks after political figures or their colouring or markings, hence Cherry or Plum (colouring), Saddle, Star, Spot (markings), Barton and Parkes (public figures).

Main photo source: Canberra and District Historical Society pictorial file.