Yokes like this one were key components used to control bullock teams. These teams were very important in Australia during the 19th century, hauling heavy loaded wagons of goods to remote settlements and rural produce to cities and ports over rough unmade roads. The bullocks were yoked together in pairs. Chains joined the yoked pairs. A heavy wooden bullock yoke with only one metal collar. One is missing. The fittings are iron. There is a small leather patch tacked on to one end. The yoke is made from a length of wood of roughly rectangular cross-section. It has been shaped to form curved depressions that allow it to rest across the necks of two bullocks and yoke them together. bullock-yokes transport

Part of bullock harness. Wooden yoke with 4 holes for the bows, and 3 for the centre metal ring supported by a metal plate bolted into the wooden yoke.

Iron pin 24.5cm long, attached to an iron ring of 12cm diameter, via an ovoid shaped hole in the pin.

Bullock drays were commonly used to transport heavy loads, such as the wool clip from a large property, across long distances.In the 19th century. The yoke is worn on the neck of the bullocks and is secured by a belt around the neck. The bullocks push the yoke with their shoulders, hump and neck; therefore, the work is performed.This yoke seems to be handmade on a farm. It was used in the Kiewa ValleyA wooden bar behind a harnessed horse. It is used to balance the pull of a draught horse or other draft animal (bullock) when pulling a vehicle like a plough. A yoke is an interface between bullock power and actual work to be performed.This yoke is timber with a shape to form curved depressions that allow it to rest across the necks of two bullocks to keep them together.The bullocks were chained to the steel oblong ring - one at each end of the yoke. The middle ring was attached to the bullock or vehicle in front of them.bullock yoke, swingletree, farm equipment, plough

This photo was taken in Penshurst in 1903 which shows the late David Brown, late of Colerain Balmoral and his son, Albert, now residing at Gritjurk, transporting a load of sixty bales of wool from “Yat Nat Estate” near Balmoral to Port Fairy —a distance of 108 miles.Black and white photograph from a newspaper article with a large wool laden wagon with 14 bullocks yoked up The above photo was taken in Penshurst in 1903 which shows the late David Brown, late of Colerain Balmoral and his son, Albert, now residing at Gritjurk, transporting a load of sixty bales of wool from “Yat Nat Estate” near Balmoral to Port Fairy —a distance of 108 miles.transport, rail, road, bullocks, wagon, carrier, penshurst, balmoral, albert brown, david brown, wool bales, yat nat estate, gritjurk

Sikh hawkers were a regular sight throughout the Wodonga and Upper Murray district in the early 20th century. The regular visitors to the area included Pola Singh and Gambil (Gamble) Singh. Gamble Singh often camped on McKoy’s Moorefield property in West Wodonga and several other places around the district. Gamble was also a horse breeder and had several draught horses to pull his wagon. Like many of the hawkers he worked hard to send money back to support family in India. He apparently returned to India about 1950, but left some money in the Bank of NSW in Wodonga in case he returned. He allegedly died soon after and the money was eventually able to be claimed by his nephews in India. A small overlooked park in Wodonga is named the “Gamble Singh Park” in his memory. J. Flanagan who operated the Halfway Hotel commented on having as many as seven or eight bullock teams “yoked” overnight to the fence outside the hotel as well as 100 or more Indian hawkers – led by the fondly known Pola (Pollah) Singh. The hawkers returned to Wodonga annually to renew their hawkers’ license and camped on the flats, or also came to Wodonga to collect orders at the railway station to stock up their supplies. Pola Singh was often based at the Colac Colac reserve near Corryong and had on board his compatriot Isar Singh. He often acted as an intermediary between the individual hawkers and the authorities. Unfortunately, it was Pola’s habit to walk in front of his wagon at the start of each day. On the morning of 23 June 1923 his horses were restive and hard to control. They took flight and ran Pola down on the road near Cudgewa. He was rushed to the Corryong Hospital but died there a few days later, aged 65. Pola was cremated, with some of his ashes scattered in the Murray River and some returned to his homeland to be scattered in the Ganges River. His cremation was listed in the Obituary page of the Weekly Times, Melbourne on Saturday 14 July 1923. A small memorial to Pola Singh is located in the Corryong Cemetery.These images are significant because they help to document the history of the Sikh Hawkers who plied their services to Wodonga and throughout rural Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.A collection of black and white images featuring Sikh Hawkers Gamble Singh and Pola Singh take in the Wodonga area.indian hawkers, sikh hawkers, gamble singh, pola singh

This yoke would have been used as a harness for a bullock team . Bullocks were used extensively in the 19th and early 20th centuries for cartage and haulage, particularly for wool in the Western District. This yoke was from the property "Rose Park" in Willatook and used about 1902. The property of "Rose Park" was owned by Stan Baulch who inherited the property in 1919. Up to his death in 1980 he was an active member of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society and had a special interest in the local history of bullock teams and bullockies.This is retained as a memento of early farming practices in the Western District of Victoria.The yoke has a heavy wooden curved piece shaped at both ends with holes along the piece to hold two heavy metal rings which protrude through the wooden section and have pointed ends. The holes also contain two large metal hoops. A short chain is attached bullock team and bullockies, stan baulch, rose park

The pulley block illustrates a moment in Harcourt history. According to the reminiscences of William Sanders the granite block for the Burke and Wills monument was of such weight that, in hauling it from the quarry, the weight split the yokes and snapped the chains of the bullock team employed in the task. "So Mr Blight got ropes and tackle, as, as there were plenty of trees along the route, they served as anchors to attach the ropes" Thus, with pulleys such as this, Joseph Blight moved the monolith, at snail's pace, to the Harcourt railway station in 1864.The object is significant for its connection with the explorers Burke & Wills and the foundation of the granite industry on Mount AlexanderA wooden pulley block designed for two ropes. Used for lifting heavy objects. A rope slung around the pulley block fixed the device to the rafters of the shed. Ropes were threaded over the pulley and used to lift heavy weights. Use of a pulley halves the effort required to lift or move an object. Possibly of nautical origin but applied to workshop use in later years.

Transportation of goods and material by bullock teams was a common feature of life in nineteenth century Australia. Bullock teams could comprise more than twenty bullocks to haul very large and heavy loads. They were the equivalent of large trucks on the roads of today. Many Australian country towns have very wide main streets to allow for large bullock teams to turn without having to unharness and reharness the animals. The bullock driver in this photo is thought to be of James Densley, aka Charlie (the ) Carter, who lived at Hopetoun, east of the township of Bacchus Marsh. He worked as a carrier with a bullock team in the later years of the nineteenth century. He had a reputation as a sober man who never used bad language. (Williams, W. A History of Bacchus Marsh and its Pioneers. 1836-1936. Reproduced 2015 BMDHS.p. 78.) James Densley died in 1905, supposed to be over the age of ninety.Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. The image shows a group of seven shorthorn bullocks in a paddock. Their yokes and a chain can be seen. Standing near them is a bearded man holding a bullock team leader's whip. He is dressed neatly and is wearing a very smart hat. On the hilltop stands a large hut, possibly with a bark shingle roof. A chimney is at the end of the dwelling. On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, bullocks, bullock teams