Proud Riverina jackaroos gather for long-awaited reunion

The restoration of the Conargo Pub was recently the cause for celebration and bringing together old mates from across the country who had not seen each other for nearly half a century.

There was beauty in that nostalgic trip, beauty caused by distance and time.

Time was when we were young and the only care we had was to be back at the station on Monday morning ready for another week in the saddle or the sheep yards.

We were keen and trying to take in as much as we could while jackarooing on the many Merino studs and large stations dotted across the Riverina.

Time has also given way to creeping nostalgia with many of the Merino studs which were once industry names now a footnote to history.

We worked hard and we never thought our years on the studs had been easy - floods, bushfire, falling ram prices all made the business of running Merino studs precarious.

And while we enjoyed the camaraderie and the work, none of us ever thought we were living through the demise of the great Riverina studs.

READ MORE: Where were all the Merinos?

We stood against the bar and wore the studs proudly on our sleeves - Wonga, Mungadal, Uardry, Boonoke, Wanganella, Goolgumbla, Pooginook, Willandra, Caroonboon, Coonong.

So few would survive the disintegration of the Merino industry.

And those that do carry the burden of history - the Riverina was the crucible for the emerging wool industry from the 1860s when a special type of Merino was bred for the hot and dry plains.

And that was what our nostalgic trip was about.

The reunion recalled those halcyon times during the 1970s when we thought it would go on forever.

It could have been our finest moment - with the wind against our backs, we thought there would be endless opportunities, given time.

How wrong we were.

But we made our lives and kept our friends despite time and distance.

On that night of many trips into the past, we were trying to balance nostalgia and regret in equal measure.

It was an enjoyable night when we were all looking for fond memories rather than the reality of age.

We didn't all stay in the bush and we formed new social networks, but the heart of our careers, the core of our existence would be found in the camaraderie of jackarooing in the Riverina.

That we were there on that wistful night says a lot for the spirit of jackarooing on those acclaimed studs.

Alas, the timeless and now almost forgotten essence of being a jackaroo means the lore of the Merino studs is almost lost.

There are so few studs in operation and even fewer take on jackaroos.

And those of the new generation who are keen on the Merino industry and confident in its future can take some comfort in knowing they are training under men who had the benefit of jackarooing during their youth.

Take your time, as we did and you will also look back in 50 years and be proud to say - you were a Riverina jackaroo.