The McCormack family: Preserving the history of the High Country

Join us as we follow a Merrijig family with 120 years experience for a weekend of cattle mustering through Victoria’s King Valley.

Pictures: Zoe Phillips

Every summer for the past 120 years, the McCormack family of Merrijig has saddled up their horses and guided their cattle towards the towering spectre of Mount Speculation for months of agistment in the mountains.

Using only horses, the family fords rivers, pushes cattle up dusty paths, and camps under the shady canopy of the King Valley forests.

This family tradition of mustering stock for a summer in the Great Dividing Range is a practice undertaken with a sense of place and pride, according to fifth generation producer Bruce McCormack.

His family first settled in the area in 1866, and have run cattle in the King Valley since 1900.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time. Our grandchildren are the seventh generation to do this, and to live here,” Bruce said.

From December to April each year, Bruce and his family spend three days with their horses pushing about 100 head of stock up towards Mount Speculation, where the cattle graze and maintain condition under a high country grazing lease, until they are driven home once more.

It’s a job always undertaken on horseback.

Bruce McCormack from Merrijig is a fifth generation cattleman and horseman from Victoria’s high country.

“It’s nice to get the cattle off the low country and to give the place a bit of a go,” Bruce said. “We take them up not to fatten them, but to keep the condition on them. They’re not spending the summer down here on dry grass.”

Stock are moved to mountainous country for a summer of agistment.

When he’s not caring for his self-replacing herd of Angus cattle, Bruce – the president of the Mountain Cattlemen Association – and his wife Debra operate McCormacks Mountain Valley Trail Rides, taking visitors on mounted tours of Merrijig and beyond.

“We’ve noticed with our trail rides, people know of the Snowy River film, they want to spend time out here, and they can pretend to be the Man from Snowy River,” Bruce said.

“That film gave us an opportunity to showcase the heritage and traditions of the cattlemen.

“It’s important to have that culture and heritage.

The McCormack family has been droving their cattle through the King Valley on horseback for more than 130 years.

“We’re very proud of what we do … I grew up with it. My Dad grew up with it. When you look at this country, we’re not very old.

“But we've been doing this for a long time.”