{"id":11881,"date":"2013-02-20T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T14:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/nothing-rusty-about-this-outback-legend\/"},"modified":"2013-02-20T14:24:00","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T14:24:00","slug":"nothing-rusty-about-this-outback-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/2013\/02\/nothing-rusty-about-this-outback-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing Rusty About this Outback Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: Erica Harrison \/ Australian Geographic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

by Roderick Eime<\/p>\n

\u201cPut the billy on Jimmy we\u2019re just bringin\u2019 \u2018em in Quick quick. Lock \u2018em up. Whoa, steady, steady!\u201d With the jangle of cowbell a motley flock of sheep ambles in, then a horse, a pack mule, a sprightly sheep dog and even a brace of ducks. This is Rusty Frame\u2019s grand entrance and Act One of his much-loved R.M. Williams Outback Stockman’s Show at Longreach\u2019s famous Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame here in Central Queensland.<\/p>\n

To some, Rusty\u2019s well-choreographed entourage may seem a trifle jingoistic and clich\u00e9, but Rusty is the real deal and his short, playful rendition of life on the land is a derived from his own lifetime of experience \u2013 from drover and cattleman to rodeo clown. You don\u2019t get animals to behave that way by accident.<\/p>\n

Despite years under the harsh Australian sun and in the saddle, Rusty\u2019s in great shape, sharp as a tack and authentic to the bone. He\u2019s proud of the show because he knows exactly what\u2019s distilled into it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of old drovers in there, a lot of old pioneers,\u201d says Rusty, gesturing toward the museum, his lips barely moving beneath his wide-brimmed Akubra hat, \u201cYour Sid Kidmans and your R.M. Williams, and…lots of ’em. My grandfather, he was a drover all his life, and as a kid I\u2019d be out there whenever I could ridin\u2019 and drovin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look past the words and you\u2019ll see it in his eyes, especially when he recounts his time with one of the most famous Australian outback legends ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I couldn\u2019t get down to grandpa\u2019s, I\u2019d head to over to a friend\u2019s property down near Chinchilla where I come from, a place called Rockybar,\u201d says Rusty, a note of emotion clear in his tone, \u201chis name was Reg, R.M. Williams. I was part of the workin\u2019 team back then and he was a great man and taught me many things I remember to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reginald Murray (R.M.) Williams OA CMG, passed away in 2003 at the ripe old age of 95, a lifetime\u2019s hard work, struggle and tenacity behind him. Despite growing up amid the hardship of the early 20th century droughts and the Great Depression, his skills in horsemanship and craftwork, fuelled by a \u2018never quit\u2019 attitude, set him on a course for commercial success. The R.M. Williams brand is world-renown and synonymous for durability and dependability.<\/p>\n

R.M. Williams touched people at all levels and walks of life. He was unscrupulously honest, forthright and commanding, yet remarkably humble and left those he met with an indelible, if simple lesson in life: never look behind, keep your eyes ahead.<\/p>\n

Then Prime Minister, John Howard, never shy to embrace an Australian ideal, nevertheless summed RM up to a tee. \u201cHe was a shining example of the great Australian adventurer, an uncanny bush craftsman and generous sponsor of outback ethic and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rusty remembers one of RM\u2019s bush lessons. \u201cEven today I still suck a gumleaf while I\u2019m musterin\u2019. What that does is stop me lips gettin\u2019 sunburned. There, that\u2019s somethin\u2019 I learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 to coincide with bicentenary celebrations, the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre is located right in the middle of the great outback – in the town of Longreach. The centre’s five painstakingly constructed and authentically themed galleries display the history behind some of Australia’s greatest and bravest explorers, stock workers, pastoralists and Aborigines. It has been the recipient of numerous awards and continues to draw visitors by the thousands.<\/p>\n

Some would say this is the spiritual heart of the outback. The birthplace of Qantas is celebrated with a museum right across the road and just down the way a bit is Winton which, if you believe the legend, was the inspiration for the famous Banjo Patterson ballad, \u201cWaltzing Matilda\u201d. The neighbouring towns of Charleville, Blackall, Barcaldine, and Cloncurry each have their own unique historic attractions and complete the outback heritage pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

As for Rusty, no matter where he finds himself in the world, his heart is always in the outback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outback is fantastic place – I wouldn\u2019t wanna be anywhere else. Wide open spaces, friendly, friendly people \u2013 it\u2019s God\u2019s country,\u201d he says with a wink, \u201cwe might be rough, but we\u2019re loving people. There\u2019s always a bed and a feed if you\u2019re \u2018ungry and no-one\u2019s gonna ask for money.\u201d<\/p>\n

But while Rusty remembers the past fondly, he knows the world is changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there\u2019s cattle and stock,\u201d he says defiantly, \u201cthere\u2019ll always be stockmen and I just want to be part of it until me toes curl up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breakout<\/b><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to travel to the middle of the outback to sample some of our \u2018dinkum\u2019 bush fun and games. Right in the heart of Queensland\u2019s Gold Coast you\u2019ll find R.M. Williams Australian Outback Spectacular. A little bit of Hollywood excitement mixed with a lot of true-blue Aussie fun and laughs, the show is a choreographed stage performance drawing on the myths and legends of the outback, accompanied by a great meal and show.<\/i>

<\/i>
Australian Outback Spectacular, Gold Coast
outbackspectacular.myfun.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach
www.outbackheritage.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Queensland Heritage Trails
www.heritagetrails.qld.gov.au<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Erica Harrison \/ Australian Geographic by Roderick Eime \u201cPut the billy on Jimmy we\u2019re just bringin\u2019 \u2018em in Quick quick. Lock \u2018em up. Whoa, steady, steady!\u201d With the jangle of cowbell a motley flock of sheep ambles in, then a horse, a pack mule, a sprightly sheep dog and even a brace of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[378,379],"class_list":["post-11881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-roderick-eime","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11881\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}