Donkey Power:

In the 1860’s donkeys were first brought to Australia as pack animals to replace horses that had succumbed to native poisonous plants. Now numbering 5 million, they have been declared a pest, owing to their damage to vegetation and erosion of soil.

As you can see from the following photographs the number of donkeys to haul a load was huge. I have seen up to 40 dinkeys in a single team. The amount of harnessing for this many animals must have been huge. Other animals were used for hauling loads, horses bullocks, and camels. These were expensive animals and donkeys were plentiful and cheap. When they were no longer needed when motorised transport came in they were just let loose in the bush and formed their own hurds.

Donkeys arrived in Australia in 1866 to serve as pack animals and in haulage teams. They were particularly useful in the Kimberley, Western Australia, and in Victoria River in the Northern Territory, where a toxic plant affected horses.
Motorised transport replaced donkeys throughout the early 1900s, and feral herds were first reported in the 1920s. By 1949 the donkey was sufficiently numerous to be declared a pest in Western Australia.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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