A brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although they are found in many areas around the country, the most well-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region in south-eastern Australia. Today, the majority of them live in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland. There are more horses in the wild in Australia than any other country. It is similar to the American mustang. A group of brumbies is known as a "mob" or a "band."
Brumbies are the descendants of escaped or lost horses belonging to the area's European settlers. The first horses imported to the Australian continent were "Capers" that arrived from South Africa. Later there were introductions of Timor Ponies from Indonesia, British pony breeds, various British draft horse breeds and a strong influence of Thoroughbreds and Arabians. With time this mixture contributed to the growing number of feral horses running wild in Australia, many on National Parks. Occasionally they are mustered and domesticated for use as working "stock" horses on farms, rounding up and droving sheep, cattle, and other livestock. Several voluntary organisations are attempting to rehome these horses.[1]
Origin of the term
The name brumby comes from the horses left behind by Sergeant James Brumby from his property at Mulgrave Place in New South Wales, when he left for Tasmania in 1804. The name may also have come from an Aboriginal word "baroomby" meaning wild in the language of the Pitjara people on the Warrego and Nogoa Rivers in southern Queensland. Banjo Paterson said in the introduction for his poem Brumby's Run published in the Bulletin in 1894 that Brumby was the word for free-roaming horses. A letter in 1896 to the Sydney Morning Herald also says that baroombie is the word for horse among the Aboriginal people of the Balonne, Nebine, Warrego and Bulloo rivers.
Another explanation is that the name comes from Baramba, which was the name of a creek and station in the Queensland district of Burnett, which had been established in the 1840s, and later abandoned, leaving many of the horses to escape into the wild. It has also been suggested that the name comes from the Irish word bromach or bromaigh.
The first recorded use of the term was from the Australasian magazine from Melbourne in 1880, which said that brumbies were the bush name in Queensland for 'wild' horses. In 1885 the Once a Month magazine suggested that brumbies was a New South Wales term.
The term "brumby" appears in American English, but its original meaning remains unknown. It is used to describe persons whose behavior is inexplicable or whose attitudes lie far outside the mainstream. It is believed to have arisen in the Southeastern United States, primarily in Georgia and Tennessee.
Culling
There is controversy over removal of brumbies from National Parks, with horse lovers and animal rights advocates seeking to oppose culling techniques and attempting to organise relocation of the animals instead. However, it has been argued that relocation, which often involves hours of helicopter mustering, would be more traumatic for the horses. The primary reason for the brumbies' removal is that they are alleged to be incompatible with fragile ecosystems and damage and destroy endangered native flora and fauna. Between 22 October and 24 October, 2000, more than 600 wild horses were killed in the Guy Fawkes River National Park by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. [2]
Brumbies are sometimes sold into the European horse meat market after their capture.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has commenced a plan to reduce brumby numbers by passive trapping in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.[3]
Other uses in literature and media
Brumbies, called "wild bush horses," are mentioned in Banjo Paterson's iconic poem The Man from Snowy River.[4] This poem was expanded into the films The Man from Snowy River and The Man from Snowy River II — (US title: "Return to Snowy River" — UK title: "The Untamed") — also The Man from Snowy River (TV series) and The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular.
The popular Silver Brumby books by Elyne Mitchell were written for children and young adults.[5] The stories describe the adventures of Thowra, a brumby stallion.[6] These stories were dramatised and made into a movie of the same name (also known as The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies), starring Russell Crowe and Caroline Goodall.[7]
The brumby was adopted as an emblem in 1996 by then newly-formed Brumbies, a Super 14 rugby union team based in Canberra, Australia.[8]
References
- ^ [1] Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse]
- ^ Save the Brumbies
- ^ "Feral Horse Management Plan Draft - Oxley Wild Rivers National Park" (PDF). New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. January, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Man from Snowy River" poem by Banjo Peterson
- ^ Prentice, jeff. "A Tribute: ELYNE MITCHELL, 1913 - 2002 MATRIARCH OF THE HIGH COUNTRY." Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults Volume 10, Number 3, Spring 2002
- ^ Amazon.com listing, containing a review from School Library Journal
- ^ [iMDB on The Silver Brumby
- ^ "Official site of Brumbies Rugby". CA Brumbies. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
See also
== Headline text ==i rock da world and i luv horsies
External links
