Beef Week, part I
Darlin’ strap in, we’re heading to cattle country for a week of cattle sales, steaks, farm visits and some boot scottin’ fun the old-fashioned way.
I’m writing this article on route to Beef Week (Beef2024) – one of the biggest events celebrating the cattle industry on the planet. Every airport in the country has cowboys and cowgirls plus the corporate cowboys (which I admit to being) moving through their terminals, removing fancy big hats, belts and boots at security check ins.
It’s a wholesome site – the people who keep us fed on high-quality home-grown beef have dolled up and are coming together to celebrate their industry, sharing knowledge, showcasing the latest innovations and enjoying a cold beer or two with mates that have driveways longer than the distance between most towns.
The country manners are never lost on me, the hat tilts, good mornings, gentlemenary gestures, offering to stow the luggage, a little wink… it’s soulful, appreciated and a lil’ bit sexy.
For the next six days my world revolves around cattle, bulls and beef at this iconic event that first started in 1988. Originally, I planned to write one article, but soon realised I needed two parts for this honky tonk adventure… part I is the inspiration and style I’m taking into the week, and part II will cover the boot scootin’ highlights.
My single girls have tasked me with finding them husbands and let me assure y’all, I will do my darndest to find them a farmer to ride horseback into the sunset with.. and once hitched will let me stay with them for long weekends until my own property dreams come true! 😉
Cupid duties aside, I’m so ready for the bull parades, cattle auctions, sustainability seminars, industry symposiums, gala dinners, farm visits, rodeo bucking and camp draft competitions… we’re in for one hell of a week!
I do feel obliged to publicly put myself on notice… I can not, repeat can-not, purchase cattle or a station.. despite the excitement and temptation. This feels like sending a recovering alcoholic on a wine tour – I need to stay strong! As much as I’d love to settle on 30 hectares with a handful of cows, a bull, some mango trees and a couple of buffalo on part floodplain country with good pastures. I’m not ready for that chapter yet and my current acre by the beach isn’t equipped for even a small mob or the home grown crops I’d like to feed them to keep our operation circular and local. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it? Days spent keeping the animals happy, baking scones, listening to country music, exploring the property on motorbikes with my saltwater cowboy…
Playlists and cocktails
My country 🎻playlist on Spotify will transport you there – and just sayin’, you won’t wanna leave.
While you’re there mix a Taurus.. a cocktail I designed that’s strong, a bit rough, dark and a little dirty like the bucking bulls of the rodeo.
In a cocktail shaker mix 2 shots of spiced rum, 1 shot of triple sec, a squirt of honey and dash of lemon. Serve over ice in a short crystal glass or in a panakin enjoyed by a fire.
Fashion inspiration
Styling for this trip has been a passionate affair - think Beth Dutton in Yellowstone, Meryl Streep in Bridges of Maddison County, as well as vintage pics of Julia Roberts and classic cowgirl moments in history.
My wardrobe for the week is built around bold country boots as well as my trusty RM Williams Lady Yearling boots, with feminine bias cut dresses, classic little black dresses and silk skirts and denim shirts, topped with my faithful black Akubra which I wear low and flat.
As a girl from the Northern Territory, I had to add some crocodile and pearls to my outfits with a faux crocodile handbag and Paspaley earrings to keep the feeling of home close by.
Cowgirls of the wild west
Another source of inspiration for Beef2024 was learning about the women of the wild west – the famous cowgirls, outlaws and gunslingers who ran riot in the late 1800s into the 1920s. The sass and style of these women is outrageous in the most spectacular ways! Many live on as legends immortalised in works of art and museums dedicated to their style, activism and antics.
Annie Oakley (1860-1926)
Known as “Little Sure Shot” Oakley, Annie Oakley, born Phoebe Ann Mosey, grew up to be an incredible sharp-shooter. At 30 paces she could split a playing card held edge-on, she hit dimes tossed into the air and shot cigarettes from her husband’s lips. Annie was a headliner in Buffalo Bills’ Wild West show, which she joined in 1885 and was also an advocate for women fighting in combat. Throughout her lifetime, she passed on the art of shooting to more than 15,000 women. Her desire to teach the ladies of the day how to “… handle guns as naturally as they know how to handle babies” was more than a century ahead of its time.
Belle Starr (1848 – 1889)
Belle, Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Star, was possibly the most notorious female outlaw and gunslinger of the Wild West. She was a classically educated young lady whose life turned upside down following an attack at her family’s home in the early American Civil War. Soon after she moved to Texas and married into a criminal gangs known to commit crimes of whiskey, cattle, and horse thievery.
Belle was arrested for horse theft twice and was known for a strong sense of style, which fed into her later legend. She rode sidesaddle while dressed in a black velvet riding habit and a plumed hat, carrying two pistols, with cartridge belts across her hips. Her felonious lifestyle led to the loss of two of her husbands in gunfights. Two days before her 41st birthday, Belle was ambushed and killed while riding home from a neighbor’s house.
Goldie Griffith (1893 – 1976)
Goldie sure knew how to wear a big hat! She was one of the toughest, albeit lesser-known cowgirls of the Wild West who was another showgirl working with Buffalo Bill. Hired without knowing how to ride a horse, Goldie soon learned to bust broncos for the show. Fuelled by her newfound skills, she also began working as an actress and stunt rider in Western movies.
Goldie proved she wasn’t to be messed with. When her husband crossed her one day, she opened fire on him with her shotgun in public.
Rose Dunn (1878 – 1955)
Rose Dunn, known as “The Rose of Cimarron,” was a famous outlaw who learned to rope, ride, and shoot thanks to her two older brothers. They also inadvertently introduced their formally educated sister into a life of crime and bounty hunting. In 1893 her gang was cornered by a posse of U.S. Marshals. Rose’s beau was shot in the street so she ran to the rescue with
ammunition and a Winchester rifle in hand. Thanks to her cover fire, her lover and outlaws managed to escape.
What a group of women to end part I of my Beef Week article on!
The tyres have now skidded to a halt on the Rockhampton runway, also known as the Beef capital of Australia. I’m strapped in the saddle for a week of learning, catching up with new and old mates and hopefully some country dancing in the paddock.
Can’t wait to tell you all about it in part II.
Giddy up!