Page 4 - National Poultry Newspaper

As Kim ‘Big Bird’ Hutchinson prepared a barbecue on the first night, little did the nearby Coodardy cock know his early morning crowing might soon put him on the menu.
Three old roosters enjoyed a cold beer at Lake Ballard, home of a unique art installation of 51 sculptures by British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley, spanning 10sq km of white salt plain lake about two hours drive from Kalgoorlie. The author is flanked by Big Bird and Big Kirkalocka.
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cause for many years he
Roosters on a road trip
WHEN three school- friends set off from Perth on a 2200km weeklong road trip in October, little did they know that a few days in they’d be upstaged by a very cocky old rooster.
down the road from Mt Magnet, a gold mining town 60km to the north and home to two clas- sic outback pubs, one of which Gavin was raised in and both of which the three of us refreshed at on this trip.
boots and thongs barely hitting the red dirt – up came a confident, proud, handsome and assertive rooster, supposedly of distinguished Araucana breed descent.
Such was the case when your’s truly, Kim ‘Big Bird’ Hutchinson and Gavin ‘Big Kirkalocka’ Lee pulled up at Les Price’s Coodardy Sta- tion, 32km west of Cue and 650km northeast of Perth.
Cant Comment by BRENDON CANT
On arrival at Coodardy Station in Gavin’s ute, covered with outback dust on the outside and our bulldust on the in- side, we were warmly greeted by Les, whose family has been associ- ated with Coodardy since 1908.
Said rooster joined us for the next two nights and days, boldly strutting his stuff in and around the flash new shearers’ quarters Les built as part of a station revamp.
Before I venture too deep into the story of the ‘Coodardy cock’, I must explain my friends’ nicknames, in case you’re a tad curious.
When we had a barbe- cue, he was there too.
When we had a beer, he was there.
Kim is affectionately known as Big Bird be-
was national chair of the accounting firm RSM, known back in the day as RSM Bird Cameron.
Covering 166,000 hec- tares and 90km at its longest point, back in the day it was regarded as one of the prime sheep and wool producing sta- tions in Western Austral- ia’s Murchison region.
In fact, in the manner of the infamous Chicken- man radio series, “he’s everywhere, he’s every- where.”
Prominent architect Gavin was labelled Big Kirkalocka by me many moons ago after Kirka- locka Station, located
As we alighted – our
Surprise, surprise, when we were contented- ly tucked up in our swags snoring away and on the
* continued P5
Queensland farmers encouraged to register now for Farm2Plate Exchange
QUEENSLAND farmers looking to capitalise on the op- portunities that agri- tourism could provide are encouraged to at- tend the national agri- food networking event Farm2Plate Exchange run by agritourism and agri-innovation experts Regionality from May 18-19, 2021.
liage experiences were being increasingly sought after, as con- sumers desire to better understand where their produce comes from, learn how it is created and experience the en- vironment where it is made.
change will give farm- ers looking to diversify and take a more active role in the producer to consumer value chain an opportunity to ex- change ideas and learn from others through a variety of insights and experience.”
Supported by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Farm2Plate Exchange is being held in the Scenic Rim re- gion and will provide an exciting platform for ideas exchange be- tween people working in food, farming and agritourism throughout Australia.
“Many of Queens- land’s farmers are em- bracing new agribusi- ness ventures and agri- innovations, which are adding value to their produce with a growing network of agri-pro- cessing occurring on farm,” Dr Davis said.
“This year’s event has the theme of re- newal and is aligned with ideas of adapta- tion and resilience – we want people to think differently about how they approach the con- cept of farm to plate and the connection be- tween agriculture and consumer, particularly in a regional context.”
QFF chief execu- tive officer Dr Geor- gina Davis who will be speaking at the event said food, fibre and fo-
“In addition, farm- ers are becoming in- creasingly tech-savvy, strengthening new direct marketing and sales to consumers through new online platforms, agritourism and agri-experiences.”
For more information about the Farm2Plate Exchange and to pur- chase your ticket, visit regionality.com.au/ farm-2-plate-ex-2021
“The Farm2Plate Ex-
Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, January 2021
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