CHANNEL Country cattleman Charlie Rayment passed away peacefully in the Winton Hospital on July 26. His passing was an immense loss to his family and friends.
Charlie had made a long and interesting journey through life and had no regrets. He was part of a great spectrum of changes in the bush – pack horse droving to road transports and bronco branding to motor bike and helicopter mustering.
Charlie’s grandparents, Charles and Julia Rayment, were early pioneers of western Queensland. In 1881 they made the journey with horse drays from Farina in South Australia up the Strzelecki Track and settled in the Jundah/Isisford district.
Charles Herbert Rayment was the eldest son of Charles and Marion Rayment, born on September 3, 1925. His parents were then working their property ‘Mt Collins’ in the Windorah district.
Drought and the great depression destroyed this dream, and Charlie's father went back fencing and dam sinking. His mother built a house on her block of land at Gaythorne, Brisbane. Charlie and his siblings – Lilly, David and Shirley - attended the Enoggera State School.
Charlie’s father sent a telegram to his mother asking for Charlie’s help out west, and at 11 years old Charlie left the schoolroom and went by train to Quilpie. The plan was that he return to Brisbane after school holidays, but as times were tough he did not return for two years. He worked with his father building turkey nests, dams and fire-ploughing with a team of 32 horses around the Windorah and Winton districts.
Charlie returned to Brisbane in 1939 and completed scholarship year at Oakleigh State School.
World War Two was declared on Charlie’s 14th birthday –September 3, 1939.
He returned to his father and went horse-tailing and helping his father build the first dam at ‘Brighton Downs’ homestead. ‘Brighton Downs’ was managed by Laurie Luke – someone Charlie always looked up to. Laurie joined the army and became a P.O.W. for three-and-a-half years when Singapore fell to the Japanese.
Charlie did his first droving trip in 1940 from ‘Brighton Downs’ to Winton. It took about three weeks with four men and 650 fats.
About this time, Charlie’s father took up ‘Kurran Station’ at the Jundah Lands Office in Charles Herbert Rayment’s name.
In March 1942 before his 17th birthday Charlie caught the mail truck into Winton and enlisted in the Navy. His training commenced in Melbourne then to Sydney.
During 1943 Charlie graduated as a RADAR Operator on HMAS Australia and went straight into the battle in the Pacific. His group of six were the first Australians trained as RADAR Operators.
HMAS Australia was attacked by kamikaze planes in October 1944 at the battle for the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese. Charlie was at his RADAR post and had to force his way out of the wreckage. Fifty years on, Charlie was the flag bearer for HMAS Australia’s contingent when they received the Liberation Medal from the Philippine’s President.
In the navy Charlie saw the Statue of Liberty in New York, had his 20th birthday in Scotland and had shore leave in Durban, South Africa. In February 1946 HMAS Australia arrived back in Sydney after circumnavigating the world.
A few months after the end of the war, Charlie was still on duty in England. He received a cable c/- HMAS Australia which read “Going Droving – need a horse tailer. Signed Laurie Luke”. This cable was to change his life as he was considering a career in the Navy. When he was demobilized he came back to ‘Elderslie Station’ and broke in horses before heading to ‘Marion Downs’ to join Laurie Luke, after four years at sea.
After two years, 1948-49, as head stockman on Croydon Station at St Lawrence, he returned to Winton then onto Bedourie with his own Plant to do the mustering and droving for Jack Clanchy and Bob Lawton on Kamaran Downs for the next seven years.
He was one of the last pack horse drovers. One major trip was in 1952 when he took a mob of 1500 steers from Yaraka into New South Wales and trucked them from Trangie near Dubbo. This was said to be one of the last big cattle droving trips of ‘fats’ from Queensland into NSW. The era of cattle road transport was dawning.
In 1951 Charlie bought his first 100 heifers and walked them to ‘Kurran Stn’. Charlie had always paid the Land’s Department rent but it wasn’t until he cut back on his droving in 1957 that he began to work the lease and started to improve ‘Kurran’ which had no permanent water, roads or improvements of any kind.
On New Year’s Eve, 1957, Charlie met Pauline Gluyas, who was nursing in Brisbane. A mutual friend introduced them in a hospital room. Their love for one another grew and was never broken. Letters were exchanged and on July 25, 1959 they were married in Saint Mathews Church, Groveley, Brisbane. Pauline and Charlie were married 54 years to the day. They met in a hospital and said goodbye in one.
Charlie took his bride to ‘Kurran’ which was very remote and isolated to say the least. While living at Kurran over the next 10 years they had four sons, Laurie, Don, Bruce and Alan and in 1973, much to the family’s delight, they had a daughter, Elizabeth.
In 1970, Pauline and Charlie bought ‘Fairmount Stn’ on the Thomson River near Longreach. In 1972 they sold ‘Fairmount’ and bought ‘Eildon Park Stn’ Winton, which was Charlies home until his death. In 1987 they bought ‘Boolbie Stn’ in partnership with Bruce.
Charlie bought a house in Winton as a base to go to and from Eildon Park, Kurran and Boolbie. The house also served for Pauline to have a base for further schooling and later boarding school in Charters Towers for Alan and Elizabeth.
Charlie’s big interest in the later part of his life was his horses and competing in and encouraging younger people to compete in Bronco Branding events. He also enjoyed showing younger people including his grandchildren bush skills such as making greenhide ropes and hobbles.
Charlie competed in his first Bronco Branding competition in 1991 at Stonehenge and his last one at Longreach in 2012. During this time he placed in most competitions, winning many and was Queensland Champion Catcher three times and Australian Champion in 1996. Charlie competed everywhere and was a regular at Camooweal in the north and to Oodnadatta in South Australia. He also took part in an exhibition at the Brisbane EKKA in 1997 and at Tamworth in 1998. Charlie held Life Membership of the Qld Bronco Branding Association and the Camooweal Drover’s Camp Association.
Over the last 12 months he began his final battle with cancer only going into hospital on his last night.
On August 1 at the RSL area of the Winton Cemetery his family and friends gathered to farewell a true gentleman of the land and sea.
A riderless bronco horse led him, surrounded by his sons, daughter and grandchildren to his final resting place.
Charlie is greatly missed by his devoted wife, Pauline and family Laurie, Don, Bruce, Alan and Elizabeth, their partners and grandchildren (Maree, Julie, Bec, Max, Andrew, Cassie, Dan, Col, Clint, Megan, Doug, Curtis, Lilyana, Harrison, Jamie and Campbell) and great grandchildren (Brooke and Sahara). And always loved by his sisters Lilly and Allan (dec) and Shirley and brother David and Beth.