Tilterweira - my experience at the 2008 Youth Camp
by Rylie Cherrey
We left St Marys Shooting Range at nine o’clock on Saturday September 27 and kicked off the 2008 Tilterweira Youth Camp. Travelling by bus, it took us two long days to get there, thankfully with no unplanned stops.
On the way, we pulled into the Orange Rifle Range for a shot and tried a new way of shooting using aperture sights. It looked uncomfortable at first, but we soon got the hang of it. We then headed on to Dubbo, had a good rest there that night and on Sunday morning, we resumed the trip to Tilterweira.
At Bourke, we said goodbye to the asphalt and commenced the last bumpy stage of our journey: three and a half hours of brain-rattling, gut-jumbling dirt road! All went well until we were just 1km short of the station and the bus died. With no mobile phone reception available, we used the radio to call for help and 15 minutes later, we were towed into the shearers’ quarters on Tilterweira. We’d finally made it!
That night, we dined on a nice hot stew, were given an introduction to the camp, then went straight into an insightful workshop on tracks, scats and sign. This showed us a lot about both native and feral animals and how to track them by keeping your eyes open and knowing what to look for. We ended the evening with a bit of chatter and a good sleep, knowing that we had five good days in front of us.
On Monday morning, we were divided into two groups: one would do a navigation course, while the other did shooting on the range. After lunch, we swapped around. That evening, we did a workshop on bullet placement.
Our first hunts were on Tuesday morning. There were five hunting groups and we were all taken to different parts of the property where we were shown different hunting techniques and were able to use our newfound tracking and navigation skills that we’d learned on Monday. The hunts started in the early hours of the morning and we were all back in camp at about 11 o’clock. Some of us shot goats and others shot pigs, while some people didn’t shoot anything at all, but we all enjoyed the morning in the field. When we finally got over our excitement about the morning’s events, we were shown how to cape a goat for mounting by a taxidermist - and found out it wasn’t as easy as it seemed!
By lunch-time, all of the horns had been cut off and our knives were blunt. After lunch, we did a knife sharpening workshop, then watched a goat carcass being butchered before going down to the river to set our yabby pots.
On Wednesday morning, we all went down to the hut on the Paroo River where we had a walk around the clay-pans and looked at Aboriginal stone artefacts and tools. Then we did some water-quality testing with a representative from the Catchment Management Authority and caught some water bugs as part of a monitoring program that is being established to keep an eye on the health of the river.
Thursday began with another morning hunt and by the time we all arrived back, everyone had something to take home. Before lunch, we were shown how to field dress and skin a goat for meat. In the afternoon, we went swimming, did a bit of leatherwork and shot muzzleloading rifles on the range.
Friday was a nice and relaxing day. We finished off our leatherwork projects, which included belts, knife sheaths and hat bands. Late in the afternoon, we had heaps of fun shooting clay targets on the range, before finishing the week with a barbecue tea. Then we were into the camp presentations where everyone who had completed their worksheets was presented with a certificate that enabled them to apply for a Game Council R-Licence.
During the week, camp supervisors were adding and subtracting points for our behaviour and participation, with the winner receiving a custom-built Dewey knife on Friday night. Other prizes were awarded to other people as well.
On Saturday morning, it was time to pack up and head for home. Our week at Tilterweira Station had gone very quickly and we’d all found out just how fast time flies when you’re having fun.
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