Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 – 1947), Saturday 22 August 1908, page 3
Trekking Australia.
Thirteen Months on the Road. Northern Territory to Charleville.
Mr. George du Moulin, a well known Queensland drover, who recently completed a droving journey which commenced at Hodgson Downs, and ended at Charleville, at present is in Brisbane.
Hodgson Downs, it may be explained, is a station on the Roper River, in the Northern Territory, and is 1,750 miles distant from Charleville. This remark able journey was commenced on 9th. May, 1907, and the cattle were delivered at their destination on 21st June last. It speaks volumes for Mr. du Moulin’s bushmanship and his knowledge of cattle that 1,150 out of 1,200 of the beasts en trusted lo his charge reached Charleville.
The first 300 miles of the journey was through the trackless bush lying between the Roper and the McArthur rivers. Day after day the intrepid bushman and his party travelled southward. Some four months were occupied in traversing the country which lay between the starting point and the Georgina River. During that time beri beri made its appearance amongst the party, and several of the men had to give up the journey, their places being taken by others when they could he procured. Gulf fever also was prevalent at times, and Mr. du Moulin suffered his share of this common visitation of those miasmatic latitudes, it being nine weeks before he was able to shake it off.
Crossing the Gulf tableland, a portion of the route which is infested by the dreaded death-adder, the party had to pass through three dry stages, one of 65 miles and two each of 45 miles extent. Upon reaching the Georgina, however, the camp was brought to a complete stand still. Between September and December it was found impossible to face the long stretch of waterless country which lay between there and Charleville. Towards the end of the year rain fell. That is a portion of the country where things are not done by halves. From 60 to 100 inches is the usual rainfall during the rainy season. As a consequence, rivers run
bankers for weeks at a stretch, and every gully and waterhole becomes a rushing torrent or a veritable lake for the time being. March had come round before Mr. du Moulin deemed it prudent to resume his journey.
After this, excellent progress was made, and some three months later, as indicated, Mr. du Moulin handed the animals over to the consignees at Charleville. The consignors were the Eastern and African Cold Storage Company, for whom Bergl Australia Limited, are agents. Forty horses were used during the trip, and out of that number four were lost sight of one way and another, and one died from eating a poisonous hush.
The amount paid to Mr. du Moulin under the contract, it may be mentioned, was £1,600. Mr.Jack McLennan, another well known bushman, brought a similar mob over the same route at the same time.
Asked his opinion regarding the construction of a transcontinental railway through the country traversed by him or adjoining it, Mr. du Moulin said such a line would open up a lot of very valuable country. Between Cloncurry and the South Australian border lies a vast extent
of rich mineral country, and beyond that are thousands of square miles of the best pastoral land in Australia. The Roper River, Mr. du Moulin declares, is one of the finest freshwater streams in the continent, and although he is not a judge of agricultural country, he has heard
it very highly spoken of by those who are qualified lo speak on the subject. He also has seen how readily maize, vegetables, lemons, melons, and other tropical fruits grow in that fertile region, which at present is languishing for lack of communication. The gain to pastoralists, especiallv in times of drought, also, if such a railway were built, he considers would be enormous.
Some 8,000 cattle are coming down lo Queensland from Mr. Buchanan’s Wave Hill Station, in the Territory, this season. Mr. du Moulin states, and Messrs. Forrest, Emanuel, and Co.’s Victoria Downs Station is sending forward 5,000 head.
Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Qld. : 1874 – 1954), Tuesday 22 December 1908, page 6
CHARLEVILLE ITEMS.
CHARLEVILLE, December 15.
Mr. George Du Moulin, drover, who has now retired from the road, celebrated his entry into
hotel life by giving a dance to the young folk of Charleville at his Tattersalls Hotel, Newtown.
Such a dance has not been seen in Charleville for years. The hotel was crowded, and looking at it from Mr. George Espie’s store, the hotel could not be seen for the crowd. The Town Band turned up, and played all sorts of choice music dining the evening, whilst the dining room was so crowded that the Master of Ceremonies could not move, and was forced to retire to the bar, and had to give his instructions through a pigeon hole from that seductive portion of the hotel.
Dancing and singing was kept up fast and furious. All the Southern and Gulf drovers turned up in great style, and if "Georgie" gets all the good wishes bestowed on him, he is in for a good time for the remainder of his life.
I may mention that one large stock firm will retain the services of Mr. Du Moulin, to inspect various mobs of cattle coming in from the Gulf and Territory that may be in their hands next session.
The marriage of Annie Beatrice Preston and George du Moulin was celebrated at Pinewood Cottage, Charleville, in 1909. The Preston home was situated on the edge of the Pines, which lent its name to the cottage. Pinewood Cottage was moved from the block of land where the Hotel Corones now stands.
Image shows a large group of men on the veranda. The sign next to the building reads, Tattersall’s Hotel, George Du Moulin.
Sources
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
www.trove.nla.gov.au Telegraph Saturday 22 August 1908, page 3; Northern Miner Tuesday
22 December 1908, page 6