Published Wednesday, 12 December, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
Harry Redford Cattle Drive on track for future growth
The annual Harry Redford Cattle Drive will benefit from a strategic marketing and event management plan, Premier Anna Bligh announced today.
Ms Bligh said the project would be supported by a $25,000 Regional Events Innovation Scheme (REIS) grant under the successful Queensland Events Regional Development Program.
"This remarkable event enables tourists to go beyond the traditional Queensland Outback ‘bed and breakfast’ or camping holiday and really experience life on the land," Ms Bligh said.
“It has overwhelming support from the local community, some of whom travel hundreds of kilometres to volunteer their time and skills over the three weeks of the Cattle Drive,” she said.
“Their involvement – from the locals who donate horses and time, to the farmer who cooks for the all the tourists, to the old drovers who come and play the harmonica around the campfire – make this event an absolute rarity among Queensland’s tourism experiences.”
"The REIS grant will fund strategic, marketing and event management plans to position the Drive as an authentic significant event in the Australian calendar, and I am very pleased to see the grant being used in such a practical way,” she said.
The Harry Redford Cattle Drive was created during the Year of the Outback in 2002 to commemorate the historic journey taken in the early 1870’s by renowned cattle rustler Henry Redford or ‘Captain Starlight’. He and four men drove approximately 1,000 head of stolen cattle including a very distinctive white English bull through unexplored country from the Aramac region in Outback Queensland to South Australia, where they were sold. The bull was recognised and Redford and the men who assisted him were arrested and brought to trial. The sheer magnitude of what the men had accomplished impressed the judges, who recorded convictions of ‘not guilty’.
The REIS offers targeted assistance to events that show potential for future growth through development or initiatives in a particular area. It is one of three funding streams under the State Government's Queensland Events Regional Development Program which has invested more than $9.7 million in some 460 events since the program began in 2001.
Media Contacts:
Premier's Office - 3224 4500
Queensland Events - Barry Duncan 07 3222 1027 / 0419 739 842
Ms Bligh said the project would be supported by a $25,000 Regional Events Innovation Scheme (REIS) grant under the successful Queensland Events Regional Development Program.
"This remarkable event enables tourists to go beyond the traditional Queensland Outback ‘bed and breakfast’ or camping holiday and really experience life on the land," Ms Bligh said.
“It has overwhelming support from the local community, some of whom travel hundreds of kilometres to volunteer their time and skills over the three weeks of the Cattle Drive,” she said.
“Their involvement – from the locals who donate horses and time, to the farmer who cooks for the all the tourists, to the old drovers who come and play the harmonica around the campfire – make this event an absolute rarity among Queensland’s tourism experiences.”
"The REIS grant will fund strategic, marketing and event management plans to position the Drive as an authentic significant event in the Australian calendar, and I am very pleased to see the grant being used in such a practical way,” she said.
The Harry Redford Cattle Drive was created during the Year of the Outback in 2002 to commemorate the historic journey taken in the early 1870’s by renowned cattle rustler Henry Redford or ‘Captain Starlight’. He and four men drove approximately 1,000 head of stolen cattle including a very distinctive white English bull through unexplored country from the Aramac region in Outback Queensland to South Australia, where they were sold. The bull was recognised and Redford and the men who assisted him were arrested and brought to trial. The sheer magnitude of what the men had accomplished impressed the judges, who recorded convictions of ‘not guilty’.
The REIS offers targeted assistance to events that show potential for future growth through development or initiatives in a particular area. It is one of three funding streams under the State Government's Queensland Events Regional Development Program which has invested more than $9.7 million in some 460 events since the program began in 2001.
Media Contacts:
Premier's Office - 3224 4500
Queensland Events - Barry Duncan 07 3222 1027 / 0419 739 842