Music Notes
  From 'Snowy River Echo' Magazine

Brumbies or Basses... Whalers or Wailers?
By Paul Dion

These are the questions. 

To Ross Smith from Snowy Wilderness there is no question. “Just go for the lot, life’s too short to mess around.” He was brought up on a two million acre cattle station in the Gulf Country of far north Queensland and has a passion for both horses and music.

Horses have played an integral part of his life since he was first lifted into the saddle at the tender age of five.

Music too has always been an interest for as long as he can remember but at the age of twenty-two, he got serious and took up the double bass. Visit Ross at home and the first thing you’ll notice is a magnificent double bass hanging in pride position from the living room ceiling.

“It unfortunately was stepped on at a party and damaged beyond repair. So it now hangs there as a constant reminder to treat my new baby with kid gloves,” Ross said. And so he does. The new bass, (the one he’s playing in the picture) is also a magnificent instrument and is still being seasoned with the aid of a complicated humidifying regime.

"Ross Smith wails out some jazz on his new "Baby " double bass"

“The atmosphere is so dry in the snowy region that a new instrument could easily split if it were not “broken in” properly. It takes about a year,” he said.

“A split in the sound board pretty well ruins a double bass. And they’re not cheap. This one set me back $37,000!”

Guests at Snowy Wilderness are treated to musical delights at the end of a hard day in the saddle when the musical side of Ross’ personality comes to the fore. Accompanied by a selection of jazz tracks he’s happy to play into the wee hours. And enjoyable it is too with the log fire burning and the bass wailing.

 Snowy Wilderness is seven thousand acres of exactly that: “Snowy Wilderness”.

Ross took me for a ride to the top of the range, which is higher than Thredbo, (yes musicians can ride horses) to see the wild brumby stallion and I have to say it was an esoteric experience to see the Silver Brumby snorting and prancing with it’s tail in the air as it circled and tracked us for some ten kilometres.

“If you get between a Brumby Stallion and his mares, he’ll have a crack at you,” Ross said. “He’ll run straight over an unsuspecting bush-walker, which is one of the reasons we get them out of Kosciuszko Park.

  

 

Horses are a bit lazy and they tend to follow the bushwalking trails. When the numbers get up they can also do a bit of damage to the countryside. Especially around the riverbanks and also during winter they can move in for the grass on the Thredbo Golf Course, chop it up and terrorise the tourists. Now we can’t have that can we?” he laughed.

Like Ross, Brumbies are a spirited bunch and he has a great empathy for them. It’s best to bring them to Snowy Wilderness where they can be looked after and enjoy a good life, rather than have them destroyed. After all, brumbies once served this country well.

In particular the Walers, bred in New South Wales as a stock horse. They are a four way cross between: English thoroughbred, Clydesdale, Pit Pony and Timor Pony and don’t trot but rather go from a walk to a stride and then a slow gait canter, making for a very comfortable ride. They can also last three days without a drink. All of which made them ideal for the ANZAC Light Cavalry Brigade in the Boer War and significantly the Beersheba Charge enabling the British Army into Jerusalem in 1917 and ultimately the establishment of the State of Israel.

Unfortunately there was an over supply after the war and they were simply let loose to fend for themselves in the Australian bush and so we now have as part of our heritage the wild horse known as the Brumby.

Guided Tours

Snowy Wilderness is a tourist destination offering adventure style activities including brumby watching, fly fishing, 4Wdriving, trekking, camping under the stars and of course horse riding (but only for experienced riders because of the rugged terrain).

Snowy Wilderness offers days of guided touring taking in sights like The Rollercoaster, Mystic Lake, Hidden Lake, Lake Panorama, Bella Vista Lake, Twin Peaks, Mount Carlisle and the spectacular Rocky Range which offers the best view in the Snowy Mountains.

The views are breathtaking in this magical wildlife sanctuary with wild deer, brumbies, kangaroos, wombats, and of course trout.

Snowy Wilderness is situated on the Barry Way, Ingebyra about 28kms from Jindabyne. (www.snowywilderness.com.au)

 

 

 

 

 

"Ross Smith takes in the breathtaking views"

Paul Dion

 
© Paul Dion 2006.