Jackaroo (trainee)
Encyclopedia
A Jackaroo is a young man working on a sheep or cattle station
, to gain practical experience in the skills needed to become an owner, overseer, manager, etc. The word originated in Queensland
, Australia
in the Nineteenth Century and is still in use in Australia
and New Zealand
in the twenty-first century. Its origins are unclear, although it is firmly rooted in Australian English
, Australian culture and in the traditions of the Australian Stockmen.
since at least the middle of the nineteenth century and passed from there into common usage in New Zealand
. Its use in both countries continued into the 21st century. The origin of the word is obscure and probably unknowable, but its first documented use was in Queensland. Several possibilities have been put forward:
at that time and suggests the derivation of Jillaroo from Jackaroo.
In 1878 ‘Ironbark’ stated "Young gentlemen getting their ‘colonial experience’ in the bush are called ‘jackeroos’ by the station-hands. The term is seldom heard except in the remote 'back-blocks' of the interior."
)http://www.atua.org.au/biogs/ALE1416b.htm says that a jackeroo must be paid 25/- [shillings] per week. If an ordinary jackeroo paid the station 25 shillings per week for the first twelve months, he would not compensate them for the damage he does (just through want of experience), no matter how willing he may be. It just happens that way, and all the Arbitration Courts, the curse of Australia, won't alter it."
Cotton was a self-made man and landowner (at Hidden Vale), who had left home at 14 to become a seaman. Later he became a member of the Queensland Club and included a thank you letter from the Governor of Queensland, John Goodwin, in the introduction to his own autobiography
Bill Harney
states that there was no division of rank in the outlying camps, "all ate around the same fire and slept in the open. But at the head-station
a change came over all this. The social strata of station
life, reading from top to bottom, was bosses, jackaroos, men and blacks. This was a carry-over from the early days, when a rigid caste system ruled the land."
This was most clearly evident in the segregated eating arrangements, "The boss and the jackaroos ate meals in the 'big' or 'government' house. [...] The men - that is, the stockmen, teamsters, blacksmiths, etc. - ate their tucker
in the kitchen and slept in the huts, while the Aborigines
were given a hand-out from the door of the kitchen and ate it on the woodheap [firewood]."
"And strangely enough, this division of caste
had caste bells which called us to our meals - a tinkling bell for government house, a horse bell for the kitchen men, and a triangle
for the blacks on the wood-heaps." ... "In keeping with this system, the bush towns maintained a social tradition of coffee rooms for the gentry
and dining rooms for the workers."
By 1936 Vigars said "A jackeroo may be called upon to do all manner of work on a station
, such as clerical work, boundary riding, mustering sheep and cattle, fencing [repairing fences], and generally any work there may be about the place, so that he not only needs a fair education, but intelligence and adaptability". Vigars continues, "A jackeroo is a title signifying a youth under training for the pastoral
profession, and corresponding to the midshipman
on a warship
- an apprentice in the Mercantile Marine Service - or in a commercial house
- an articled clerk
in a solicitor's
office, and so on."
, and this began to be replaced by programs of formal schooling. The Jackaroo, as a form of apprenticeship, followed the trend.
Dissatisfaction with the existing practices began to be expressed:
[1978] - "Jackaroos are, or were, sweated labour. The legend is that they are social equals with the station owners, and are virtually treated as belonging to the family. Because of this, they receive only about half the pay of a station hand, and are liable for duty at any time."
Most jillaroos returned to the cities after the 1939-45 War ended. But during the '70s, as a consequence of feminist thinking, a new source of jillaroos began to appear. Susan Cottam, an English woman, described her experiences in Western Queensland from 3 March 1966 to 3 March 1968, in the form of a journal.
Technical and further education
(TAFE) centres provides a certificate course of practical experiences for people who want to work as jackaroos or jillaroos on rural properties. The course covers practical aspects of farm work at an introductory level.
The jackaroo and jillaroo tradition was still active in 2010, with some training provided in dude ranches, where some students go on to paid positions on "stations
".
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
, to gain practical experience in the skills needed to become an owner, overseer, manager, etc. The word originated in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the Nineteenth Century and is still in use in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the twenty-first century. Its origins are unclear, although it is firmly rooted in Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, Australian culture and in the traditions of the Australian Stockmen.
Jackaroo
The word 'jackaroo', also formerly spelled 'jackeroo', has been used in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
since at least the middle of the nineteenth century and passed from there into common usage in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Its use in both countries continued into the 21st century. The origin of the word is obscure and probably unknowable, but its first documented use was in Queensland. Several possibilities have been put forward:
- An origin from an indigenous languageAustralian AboriginesAustralian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
term for 'a wandering white man'.
- Another suggestion (1885) was for an origin from the aboriginal word for a 'pied crow shrike', a garrulous bird, which the strange sounding language of the white settlers reminded them of. Meston explained his position in a newspaper in 1919.
- In this era the American cowboys were also called 'buckaroos', which was derived from the Spanish word 'vaqueroVaqueroThe vaquero is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that originated on the Iberian peninsula. Today the vaquero is still a part of the doma vaquera, the Spanish tradition of working riding...
'
- By 1906 Immigrants into Australia were often called Johnny Raws. From that it got to Jacky Raw.
- By 1925 it was said that the term jackeroo originated from the fact that "one of the earliest [...] was named 'Jack Carew'."
- A 'Jack of all TradesJack of all trades, master of none"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....
in Australia' (JackJack (name)Jack is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname.In English it is traditionally used as the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.The name Jack is unique in the...
+ kangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
), has much popular support.
-
- The Brisbane Courier newspaper, of QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, on 5 July, 1929, page 16, stated in answer to a question from a reader 'POMMY' of Toowong: - "A jackaroo (sometimes spelt jackeroo) Is a young man learning experience on a pastoral property. (2) In the English language 'Jack' is compounded with a lot of words, and in the early pastoral days it was compounded with the "roo" in KangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
to indicate, perhaps, the aimless rushing about of the inexperienced station cadet."
- The Brisbane Courier newspaper, of Queensland
- The Encyclopaedia of Australia stated in 1968 that it is "most probably a coined Australian-sounding word based on a [person] 'Jacky Raw'" Jackaroos (Jacky + Raw) were often young men from Britain or from city backgrounds in Australia, which would explain the pejorativePejorativePejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
use of 'raw' in the sense of 'inexperienced'.
- Arguably the most authoritative voice in 2010 was that of The Australian National Dictionary Centre of the Research School of the Humanities at the Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, which provides Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
with editorial expertise for their Australian dictionaries. They have explained their reasons for making no final judgment, and raise another possibility, that 'jackeroo' is derived from an aboriginal word for 'stranger' rather than for a 'pied crow shrike'.
- The spellings 'jackaroo' and 'jackeroo' were both used from about 1850 to at least 1981. In 2010, the more commonly used spelling was 'jackaroo'. However, between the years 1970 and 1981, a sample of Australian newspapers referred to 'jackeroo' 18 times and 'jackaroo' 29 times.
Jillaroo
The word 'jillaroo' for a female landworker was coined in the 1939-45 War and persisted into the 21st century. During the war it was necessary for women to take on all the occupations followed traditionally only by men. Jillaroos were the female equivalent of jackeroos. Jack and Jill was a widely known children's nursery rhymeNursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
at that time and suggests the derivation of Jillaroo from Jackaroo.
19th century usage, practice, and social conditions
An early reference to Jackaroos can be found in Tibb's popular song book, published between 1800 and 1899. This book begins by describing itself as: "Containing the latest hits on Busy in town, Australia's carsman, The Chinese and federation, Squatters' defeat, Australia's happy land, The Jackaroo, &c., &c.,"In 1878 ‘Ironbark’ stated "Young gentlemen getting their ‘colonial experience’ in the bush are called ‘jackeroos’ by the station-hands. The term is seldom heard except in the remote 'back-blocks' of the interior."
Early 20th Century usage, practice, and social conditions
In 1933, A.J. Cotton stated "Today the Arbitration Court (Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and ArbitrationConciliation and Arbitration Act 1904
The Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 was an Australian Commonwealth Government Act "relating to Conciliation and Arbitration for the Prevention and Settlement of Industrial Disputes extending beyond the Limits of any one State", and was assented to on 15 December 1904, almost four years after...
)http://www.atua.org.au/biogs/ALE1416b.htm says that a jackeroo must be paid 25/- [shillings] per week. If an ordinary jackeroo paid the station 25 shillings per week for the first twelve months, he would not compensate them for the damage he does (just through want of experience), no matter how willing he may be. It just happens that way, and all the Arbitration Courts, the curse of Australia, won't alter it."
Cotton was a self-made man and landowner (at Hidden Vale), who had left home at 14 to become a seaman. Later he became a member of the Queensland Club and included a thank you letter from the Governor of Queensland, John Goodwin, in the introduction to his own autobiography
Bill Harney
Bill Yidumduma Harney
Bill Yidumduma Harney is a senior elder of the Wardaman people whose homeland is near Katherine in the Northern Territory of Australia. He is also known as an artist, storyteller, and musician.-Early life:...
states that there was no division of rank in the outlying camps, "all ate around the same fire and slept in the open. But at the head-station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
a change came over all this. The social strata of station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
life, reading from top to bottom, was bosses, jackaroos, men and blacks. This was a carry-over from the early days, when a rigid caste system ruled the land."
This was most clearly evident in the segregated eating arrangements, "The boss and the jackaroos ate meals in the 'big' or 'government' house. [...] The men - that is, the stockmen, teamsters, blacksmiths, etc. - ate their tucker
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
in the kitchen and slept in the huts, while the Aborigines
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
were given a hand-out from the door of the kitchen and ate it on the woodheap [firewood]."
"And strangely enough, this division of caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
had caste bells which called us to our meals - a tinkling bell for government house, a horse bell for the kitchen men, and a triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
for the blacks on the wood-heaps." ... "In keeping with this system, the bush towns maintained a social tradition of coffee rooms for the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
and dining rooms for the workers."
By 1936 Vigars said "A jackeroo may be called upon to do all manner of work on a station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
, such as clerical work, boundary riding, mustering sheep and cattle, fencing [repairing fences], and generally any work there may be about the place, so that he not only needs a fair education, but intelligence and adaptability". Vigars continues, "A jackeroo is a title signifying a youth under training for the pastoral
Pastoral farming
Pastoral farming is farming aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, mixed farming is growing of both crops and livestock on the same farm. Pastoral farmers are also known as graziers...
profession, and corresponding to the midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on a warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
- an apprentice in the Mercantile Marine Service - or in a commercial house
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
- an articled clerk
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
in a solicitor's
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
office, and so on."
Late 20th century usage, practice, and social conditions
The traditional method for training young men for practical occupations had been the apprenticeshipApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
, and this began to be replaced by programs of formal schooling. The Jackaroo, as a form of apprenticeship, followed the trend.
Rapid changes in Australian agricultural society impact jackaroos
[1975] - Michael Thornton wrote a small book hoping to contribute "to the memories of what might well become a dying avenue of Australian tradition".Dissatisfaction with the existing practices began to be expressed:
[1978] - "Jackaroos are, or were, sweated labour. The legend is that they are social equals with the station owners, and are virtually treated as belonging to the family. Because of this, they receive only about half the pay of a station hand, and are liable for duty at any time."
Most jillaroos returned to the cities after the 1939-45 War ended. But during the '70s, as a consequence of feminist thinking, a new source of jillaroos began to appear. Susan Cottam, an English woman, described her experiences in Western Queensland from 3 March 1966 to 3 March 1968, in the form of a journal.
21st century usage, practice, and social conditions
Dubbo and KimberleyKimberley
-United States:* Kimberly, Arkansas* Kimberly, Alabama* Kimberly, Idaho* Kimberly Township, Aitkin County, Minnesota* Kimberly, Oregon, unincorporated community* Kimberly, Utah, abandoned town* Kimberly, Fayette County, West Virginia, unincorporated community...
Technical and further education
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
(TAFE) centres provides a certificate course of practical experiences for people who want to work as jackaroos or jillaroos on rural properties. The course covers practical aspects of farm work at an introductory level.
The jackaroo and jillaroo tradition was still active in 2010, with some training provided in dude ranches, where some students go on to paid positions on "stations
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
".
External links
- Macquarie Dictionary Online
- The Australian National Dictionary Centre
- http://trove.nla.gov.au/