MAX GORRINGE
Head Stockman

My Name is Max Gorringe. Here is a bit about myself.

As long as I can remember I have been involved in the pastoral industry. When I was growing up my brothers, sisters and myself would be out in the stock camp with our Dad and Mum. He was a drover and also ran stock camps in the Channel Country. This was a great way to spend our holidays and learn the basics of being a stockman.

My future was starting to swing that way. After I left school at 15, I worked for Kidmans on Durham Downs for 12 months. After my Dad died I went to Quilpie to be closer to my Mum. While at Quilpie I worked on some of the local sheep stations. In 1977 I began working for Kidmans again on Morney Plains (Queensland). Ted Brown was the Manager. In 1981 I married my little sweetie, Mabs. I had taken her to a few of the stations where I worked to test her out to the life of living in very isolated places. Lucky for her she passed the test with flying colours. For the first few months of marriage we were working in the Blackwater area. One night I received a phone call from Max Ferguson and Luke Taylor to see if I was interested in coming with them brumby running around Innamincka. Didn’t take long to decide…. so off to the Outback again. We were brumby running for about 12 months. During this time Mabs and myself started a family so we had to do some serious thinking and decide where we would settle. I got a job as a boundary rider at Tenneppera, on outstation of Naryilco Station (nsw), another Kidman property. We spent 5 years there until we decided it was time to move on. Didn’t go too far – just up the road to Kihee Station. One of Mick Gibson’s stations. We were there for 4 years when I asked for a job with Consolidated Press at Nockatunga. So once again we were on the move. We were there for about 8 months. During my time at Nockatunga I purchased an ultralight and started mustering on the station. A bloke that I had met 6 years before rang me from the Northern Territory and wanted to know if I was interested in being an overseer on Anthony’s Lagoon, a station on the Barkly Tableland. We were only there for 3 months when the manager was transferred to the station next door – Walhallow Station. We moved over there and I worked as head stockman and overseer for 4 years. While in the Territory I was hearing about all these aboriginal stations that were around so we applied for our first managers job. We were offered the managers job at Elsey Station in 1995. It was rundown but we could see the potential in the station. The challenge began…. We are still on Elsey Station and really enjoying the work. There is still a lot of development work to be done but we are getting there. One thing I am really proud that I have achieved is obtaining my helicopter license in 2002. This has been a big help in the day-to-day running of Elsey.

Even though I am getting older I still enjoy the station life and the kids have inherited my love of the bush.

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