Desert Droving, Saddling and Shooting
The outback lives of Marie and Snowy Brosnan
As told to Marion Hercock
ISBN 978-0-85905-542-0, (2012), A4, illustrated, 79pp, 240 grams
$30.00* + POST
At the age of twelve Warner ‘Snowy’ Brosnan had a longing to ride horses, and when he saw Chips Rafferty in The Overlanders he vowed that one day he would be a drover. Snowy’s dream came true, with all the thrills and falls, the blood and boredom, and rough and tumble of droving cattle.
Now in his seventies, and one of the last surviving drovers of along the Canning Stock Route, Snowy Brosnan shares his memories of a vanished way of life in the Australian outback. A life on the land that started when he became a ringer, and later graduated to stockman, drover and saddler.
At the age of eight Marie Brosnan loved reading cowboy books, and when she met her cowboy – Snowy – she found out that the real life cowboy was far removed from the romantic character in the story books. She became a first rate shot and ‘head stockman’ at Hooley Station, but never lost her stylish looks or waivered in her loyalty.
The contrasting voices of Marie and Snowy Brosnan are brought to life in this lively memoir.
Geographer Marion Hercock has travelled and worked in the outback of Western Australia. That background and her experience of horses, riding and shooting supports the Brosnans’ stories. She has ensured that Desert Droving, Saddling and Shooting is not only a book to be read for pleasure, but one that it is a reliable and worthwhile record of an Australian way of life.