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| Open Forums for ExChristian.Net > Totally Off Topic > Australia May Say Goodbye to Cowboy Hats |
| Posted by: nivek Nov 16 2004, 12:20 AM |
| Australia May Say Goodbye to Cowboy Hats Mon Nov 15, 2:33 PM ET By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer CANBERRA, Australia - The sweat-stained felt hats worn by Australian cowboys, as much a part of the Outback as kangaroos and sun-baked soil, may be heading for the history books. They fail modern industrial safety standards. It all stems from the death of a cowboy, who suffered massive head injuries after being trampled in a fall from a horse while mustering bulls in July 2001. His sole protection was the tattered hat provided him for shading from the sun. The New South Wales state government brought charges against the ranch owner, who employed 23-year-old Daniel Croker, convicting and fining the company $72,000 last month for breaches of safety, including failure to provide the horseman with an equestrian helmet. Ranch manager Nicholas Ennis told investigators he knew of no ranch in Australia that made cowboys wear helmets except while mustering on motorbikes. Since the tragedy at the ranch in Merriwagga, about 300 miles west of Sydney, helmets have become compulsory for working in the saddle there, but ranchers are calling for industrial laws to be changed to reflect the differences between working in the Outback and in a city factory. News South Wales Farmers' Association president Mal Peters warned that substituting helmets for broad-brimmed hats would increase the hazards of skin cancer and heat stroke. He said there is no helmet a farmer can use when the temperature reaches 113 degrees. "For a farmer who's mustering a mob of sheep, moving very slowly behind them without any air circulation, he or his employee may be subject to heat stroke," Peters said. Since the tragedy, the dead cowboy's father, Neil Croker, has become a campaigner for safer work practices on farms. "I think we can still have that fantasy of romantic, wild west-type attitude but with safety added on," Croker told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio National Farmers Federation chief executive Anna Cronin said Australia's leading farmers' association supported initiatives to develop lightweight, broad-brimmed hard hats as an alternative to helmets. But ex-cowboy Hayden Bostock blamed apathy in the ranching industry for inadequate safety equipment for cowboys. Bostock said he has been developing a lightweight, broad-brimmed hard hat that met Australian safety standards but has failed to attract enough support in the cattle and sheep industry to get the hat into production. "The stockman's hat is an icon of Australia. You can't replace it with an ice-cream container on the head," Bostock said. "Being a bushman myself, we're not going to wear anything that doesn't look any good. |
| Posted by: Fweethawt Nov 16 2004, 03:22 AM | ||
After reading the above quote, the first thing that comes to my mind is, "So, they have stupid rednecks over in Australia too, huh?"  |
| Posted by: woodsmoke Nov 16 2004, 11:55 AM |
| A number of years ago, one of the neighbor boys was walking alongside my Grandpa's tractor while we were doing silage. He tripped on something in the road, fell beneath the rear tire and was killed. It was a tragedy, but it was an accident. His death did not occur through negligence of any kind. It could not have been foreseen, and helpers are now told to stay a safe distance from the tractor to prevent another tragedy, but this was hardly justifiable grounds for a lawsuit against my Grandparents. Thankfully, the neighbors realized that and didn't make it any worse than it already was. I wonder how many ranch hands have suffered a similar fate. My gut automatically leads me to believe it's not many. Methinks this is another case of the paranoid and vengeful masses overreacting. |
| Posted by: Reach Nov 16 2004, 12:03 PM | ||
Woody, methinks you inadvertantly omitted one word... ignorant. Methinks this is another case of the ignorant, the paranoid and vengeful masses overreacting. |
| Posted by: woodsmoke Nov 16 2004, 12:19 PM |
| Methinks you are right. Me also thinks we use the word "methinks" a lot.  |
| Posted by: Reach Nov 16 2004, 12:28 PM | ||
Methinks, mayhaps, we like the word. Nice to see ya, Woody! Hugs and kisses, Auntie Reach |
| Posted by: sexkitten Nov 16 2004, 12:41 PM |
Methinks you are both silly.  And, methinks there is a perfectly http://www.bunchco.com/The%20Durango%20Cowboy%20Hardhat%20from%20The%20Bunch%20Company.htm solution to the problem... |
| Posted by: woodsmoke Nov 16 2004, 01:42 PM | ||||||
Methinks you are right again.
Me also thinks we like it that way. 
Me thirdly thinks you are being entirely too reasonable.  |
| Posted by: sexkitten Nov 16 2004, 01:46 PM | ||||
Quite right. I should be spanked for being too reasonable. please? |
| Posted by: fortunehooks Nov 16 2004, 02:39 PM |
| well, it's unfortunate that the guy died that way. i do concur,that the cowboy hat will be missed in the "down under." |