Pinched or Planted?: The Cungelella Cattle Mystery

By Susan McDonald

A modern day, outback Australian real-life Whodunnit.
Accused of a crime he did not commit, it appeared as if the system was manipulated to point the finger at Graeme and away from other suspects.
The case went to committal and the real perpetrators stood back regardless of the fact that this accusation had the potential to incarcerate Graeme for years.
Two mobs of high profile cattle were planted on our property. They came from paddocks on the main road close to the Cungelella homestead. Neighbours under the protection of the Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad, overran our property causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Little effort appeared to be made to look for evidence of how the cattle came to be on Albeni. Graeme had neither the motive, opportunity or the means to get them to where they were found.
However, they did not get there unassisted.
Despite Australia’s pride in its democratic society, the assumption that an individual is innocent until proven guilty was not extended to my husband.
It appeared that every man and his dog were invited to give their interpretation, however we were not given that same courtesy.
This is our story.
Susan McDonald

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mulga Mob Publishing
• Release date: Jun 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476047423

Susan McDonald

Susan McDonald was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, eldest daughter of Don and Jessie Fowler.With her parents and sister Jillian, she emigrated to Australia in 1971. After completing her schooling in Lithgow, NSW she moved on to the Guild Teachers College, Sydney where she completed her teacher training.Marrying Graeme McDonald, shortly after completing her studies, they worked hard to acquire their dream of an outback cattle station.Their family became complete with the addition of four sons and a daughter.Susan taught all the children through their primary years, while feeding station staff and helping with the running of the business.Helped Establish the Capricornia School of Distance EducationAs the distance education model de-centralized, she put time into the establishment of the Capricornia School of Distance Education. Actively involved in the isolated Children’s Parents Association, she also did a stint as State Councillor.In her spare time, which does not occur very often she loves photography, patchwork, sewing, reading and walking her dogs.Family and true friends are her life, and combined with her faith, she is grateful for the strength they have given her over her life so far.

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Foreword

27 February 2006

Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Luke 6:27

The day dawned in a manner befitting one where our innocent, trusting lifestyle would be shattered forever. Overcast, clouds hugged the mountains that had stood sentinel over our lives for more than twenty years. A protective mantle against the ensuing storm that was to break in more ways than one. Humid and foreboding, a warning of the nightmare that was about to begin.

Our neighbours, friends since we had first arrived, contributed to that sense of safety, peacefulness and trust. An aura of sanctity we felt, living in this area.

In recent years, social contact with our neighbours had become less regular. Growing enterprises and extending families had us all going in different directions. Still we felt that our friendship could transcend these circumstances. We believed there was a trust and familiarity, acquired over the years as we all battled to develop our virgin properties into what they had become, despite drought and high interest rates. Equipment could be loaned and borrowed, lifts given, children looked after, help offered and received. We all worked and played hard together. Graeme and I were under the illusion that our neighbours would always be there for us in our times of need as we would be for them.

How wrong could we have been? We were both blind to what must have been tension, boiling under the surface, ready to erupt at any minute. There is no way I can describe the feeling of utter betrayal, as our trusted friends and neighbours rallied together into what we perceived to be a vendetta, aimed solely at us.

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Chapter 1: The Challenge

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

Max Ehrmann

Albeni was to be a dream come true for my husband Graeme. Married as soon as I finished teachers’ college, we both worked and saved so that one day we could buy our own property.

In 1975, my ambitions of travel were put on hold when Graeme proposed. It was always understood that we would fulfil my dream of going to Canada together later. I am still waiting

As a young man, Graeme held down a number of jobs enabling us to get ahead. He worked in the mines; share farmed his father’s block with his father and brother Phillip and did casual deliveries for the local hardware shop. I too contributed to increasing our immediate wealth, teaching at the local school, babysitting, dressmaking, as well as helping Graeme where I could.

Both our families were wonderfully supportive, encouraging us and helping where they could, but could help neither monetarily nor by going guarantor. It was all up to us so we worked hard to realise our dreams.

During our first year of marriage, we borrowed money to buy a house in Moura. It took a bit of persuasion to convince the bank that we would be able to meet our commitments. The bank manager virtually extracted a promise from us that we would not start a family within the next few years. The house had a granny flat at the back with a tenant already in residence. From memory, we received twenty-two dollars a week, which covered our total living expenses and spending money. Everything else earned we saved.

We did a few improvements including painting the place and putting in an inside toilet. After twelve months, we were able to sell the house and use the money to make a deposit on the lease of a 2,500-acre block, Donkeys’ Hollow, just north of Banana. Sammy Couples who had originally drawn the block, named because wild donkeys often congregated there, had arrived to take up his ballot with just an axe and wheelbarrow. A proud man, he was remembered for always dressing well when he went in to town. When money was short he stayed home living on rabbits and pumpkins. During these tough times he was digging a well when the explosives went off too early, resulting in him becoming ‘different’.

When we first leased the block, the only dwelling was a rock block, three-roomed building with no water, power or bathroom. Sammy had a meat safe, his only food storage. Convinced his neighbours were dropping ticks and fleas on his country, he took the roof off the building and poured poison into the rock block crevices.

Sammy had run the place as a dairy, but the yards were run down and needed replacing. This meant a lot of work for us. As it would be some time before we were financially able to erect a home, we lived in town. Life became a case of wants versus needs.

Over the next few years, we pulled scrub, built yards and developed the land into cultivation and pasture. I stopped teaching to look after Alexander, our firstborn. Living in town, we commuted to the farm and Graeme continued share farming for his father. Eventually we saved up enough money to build a home and shortly after, we extended the original shelter into a shed. In 1981 and 1984, we welcomed two more little boys into our family, Benjamin and Nicholas.

In 1984, after selling Donkeys’ Hollow as a fully functioning cultivation block, we bought 40000acres (6290ha) between Springsure and Tambo, part of Beauchamp,. As both pieces of the original holding were referred to as Beauchamp, we renamed our half Albeni, using the first two letters of our three boy’s names, Alexander, Benjamin and Nicholas. With the purchase of Albeni, we were on the way to achieving our dream.

It was with trepidation that I left our comfortable rural existence to take on the challenge of isolation. Not as adventurous as Graeme, I felt uncomfortable leaving our family and friends behind. Graeme did promise that we would move closer to town before the boys started high school. Silly me believing we would or could have that sort of control over the weather and commodities prices.

New Years Eve 1984 - we arrived in the late afternoon at our new home, a shed. After making sure all beds were ready, it was back to basics. The children needed feeding, as did the removalists and my brother-in-law, Rod, who had come out to help. We also invited the sharefarmer, his wife and baby daughter to join us. They were living in a caravan and had started working the land before we arrived. The BBQ, consisting of bread and sausages was very basic as everything else was waiting to be unpacked.

Albeni is one-hundred and forty-one kilometres west of Springsure. At the time of purchase, most of the road was dirt, (it still is), thus necessitating the purchase of a four-wheel-drive. Once more we were starting with virgin Brigalow scrub, no house, power, water or phone. The only yards were portable. My biggest challenge was that there was no school. It wasn’t the teaching that fazed me, but rather it was teaching my own child with two ankle biters at foot. This was to take place simultaneously with normal household duties and cooking for employees who lived with us in a shed. To further complicate matters it was often expected that the whole family would pile into the ute or truck to go fencing or trapping scrubber cattle.

The party line phone gave us access to an exchange on a neighbouring property, Mantuan Downs. This service was not fully manned. However, if two or three people on different properties turned their handles simultaneously, enough power could be generated to reach the exchange in Springsure. As a result, we had spoken to the neighbours, but it was months before we actually met them.

Nicholas turned one on 14 March making an ideal excuse to invite all the mothers and their children down for afternoon tea. This was to be the first of many happy get-togethers. The road became a close-knit community with Albeni hosting many BBQs on Saturday afternoons when the mailman came. Money was scarce in our household, so the party often consisted of just home brew and steak. No one appeared to mind, or if they did, it did not stop them coming.

The Speed boys, who were single at the time, often popped in after work to have dinner with us. Johnny and James used to call our boys the Albeni Animals, a name we still use in our business today. In return, our boys called them the Goodliffe Gorillas. Alexander, our eldest, loved all things to do with aviation and for his birthday, Johnny and James brought an old truck over for him to make a space shuttle with. Over the following years the boys spent countless hours, with their screwdrivers, trying to make it fly.

Karen and Harold/Mick were regular visitors. They would often call in on their way home from town, or just pop over for company. With two little boys, similar in age to ours, we had a lot in common. Karen and I got together regularly for ‘Mum Talk’ while the children played. When Karen’s children became old enough for school, we would travel in convoy to School of the Air functions in Charleville. We were supportive of each other through the trials of teaching our own children and were there for each other during subsequent pregnancies. Both of us added two more children to our respective broods. Our last children, both daughters, were particularly close, being the first two girls to be born into the immediate district for about fifteen years.

Allen and Carolynn Nobbs, though not popping in as often as the others, were very friendly. They came to some of the BBQs and the bigger parties. Their daughters, though older than our children, often came with their governess and helped when we had playgroup days and get-togethers. We went to parties at Cungelella and were invited to go skiing, which was very exciting. There always appeared to be friendliness between our families and I could never have foreseen the animosity that was to come.

Other families came to live on the Nobbs properties and as a combined group, our little community had enough people and children, to organise regular playgroups, rotating around our homes.

All the blocks in the area, consisted of virgin country habited by wild scrubber cattle. Everyone was busy with clearing and cattle trapping. We all kept in touch, learned from each other and helped each other in any way we could. Developing the country was not easy, though it was very satisfying to be able to see the results from all the hard work.

Over the years, the Speed boys got married and one moved away. Children grew up and left to go away to boarding school. Though not seeing each other as often, I always felt we would be there for each other if needed.

Life went on. We all got busier, buying more land and commuting between blocks. Spontaneous parties happened less often, but I still felt safe and protected within our close family-like community.

Albeni Map

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Chapter 2: End of Innocence

Bigotry’s birthplace is the sinister back room of the mind where plots and schemes are hatched for the persecution and oppression of other human beings.

Bayard Ruskin

Monday 27 February arrived with the promise of rain. Graeme was to travel to Blackall, for a meeting with Mick Alexander, a consultant and the manager of our Blackall aggregation to learn about a new farm management and mapping program. As the weather looked unstable, he decided to drive. Although I would have loved to go with him, the imminent arrival of a young couple who were about to start working for us meant that their quarters had to be cleaned. In addition, because of the dodgy weather and no one else on the place, we could not risk both of us being away in case we did not get back to attend to the animals.

The air was hot and humid. Dust hung oppressively in the atmosphere. To complicate matters further there was no power for most of the day.

A lack of the mundane buzzing of household appliances made the outside noises more acute than usual. Around 7.00am, I heard the buzz of a helicopter. This in itself is a common occurrence as our neighbours have always used them for their mustering. That morning the chopper was working close at a low level. I assumed from the direction of the sound that it could have been the Ergon chopper looking for the fault in the power line.

After completing the obligatory household chores at the homestead, I walked up to the quarters to do what jobs I could without power. Finished, I walked back to the house to wait for the electricity to come back on.

At approximately 1.00pm, power was restored so I threw the vacuum cleaner into the ute and drove back to the cottage to finish off. As I worked, I heard the sound of a chopper again, so went on to the veranda to look. This helicopter was flying exceptionally low, coming from the direction of Cungelella. It flew adjacent to the cottages and very close to the power lines, before continuing in the direction of the yards. It then veared towards Devil’s Elbow and Cattle Creek paddocks on Albeni.

Helicopter Over Cattle Creek Paddock

At the time, I had forgotten that Graeme had taken the heifers out of the cell grazing system and placed them into Bauhinia Holding Paddock, next to the yards. Even had I remembered, I wouldn’t have been worried as the cattle were very quiet and used to aircraft coming and going. The helicopter was flying with purpose and definitely not flying in a search pattern. With storms all around, my first thought was that the chopper was picking a way through the bad weather on his way home. The day was not one that most pilots would voluntarily fly in.

A little while later I heard the helicopter again. This time it appeared to be flying in the middle of Albeni. As I was busy completing my jobs and storms were brewing in the direction of the noise, I did not investigate. This was a decision I would live to regret.

Shortly after, I noticed a storm coming toward the cottage. Quickly shutting the windows, I jumped in the car to drive back to the main house. Barely had I finished closing everything up and tying down the plane, when a most spectacular dust storm hit. Grabbing the camera, I raced outside to record the event. Unfortunately as often happens; the camera could not record the vision of raw, natural beauty that I witnessed. I sent up a silent prayer that the chopper I had seen earlier was not in its path.

While at the house, I checked the phone for messages. There was one left at 2.33pm, from Brett Nobbs. Recording the message in the station diary, as I do all messages, important conversations and incidents, Brett’s message read:

We’re a few cattle short. Disappeared Hobblers way. Fifty cows and calves. Fence was open the other day so going for a fly before alerting anyone. Cattle have been missing couple of days.

As there was also a message from Graeme, I rang him and passed on Brett’s message. He told me not to worry, as he should be home that night and he would contact him then. Neither of us was unduly concerned as we knew there were no cattle in the paddocks next to Cungelella. With the waters in our paddocks turned off, it would be easy for them to find their animals if they had escaped into Albeni. With nowhere to get a drink they would be hanging around the fenced dams looking for water.

I started to prepare the evening meal, even though I couldn’t be sure that Graeme would get home. Narrow yet heavy storms had been around all day and he had to travel through the Great Divide, on a dirt road. During this time, I again heard a helicopter flying low heading in the direction of the Cungelella/Goodliffe/Albeni boundary.

I rang Graeme again to see how he was travelling and told him about the helicopter. He suggested I take a run down the boundary and check that the open fence Brett had mentioned had been fixed and that the helicopter had not pressured any of their cattle into our resting paddocks.

With trusted hounds on board, we set off. There was no evidence that there had been any substantial rain, however there must have been a fall upstream. This had caused a flow down into Box Creek crossing, about half way along the Albeni/Cungelella boundary. As I drove cautiously across the gully, the Ute slipped and sank. I tried to reverse out, gunning the engine, but I was well and truly bogged. Despite carefully placing logs and sticks under the wheels I sank deeper and deeper.

Being unsure as to whether Graeme would even get home, as there appeared to be more storms in the direction of the gorge; I unloaded the dogs and started on the long walk back to the house.

Sunset over the mountains is a sight that never fails to astound me with its magnificence. The cliffs of the Great Divide phased through a kaleidoscope of colours: white, pink, red then purple. I watched in awe as I walked, witnessing my own private miracle of nature.

This feeling quickly turned to one of apprehension. The sky was cloudy and there was no moon. With frightening haste the darkness enveloped me. Walking in front with a purpose were the five dogs. They knew their way home. As the night closed in around us, one by one they kept coming back to nuzzle my hand. Before long the road became invisible, as did the boundary fence. My lifeline was Maverick, our white border collie, who I could see most of the time. The other dogs were only visible if they turned in my direction, a bit of their white fur shining like a beacon in the darkness.

We appeared to have been walking for hours when the road became quite rough. In the dark, I had come across another creek crossing where the road had been washed away and relocated. Having missed the detour, I started to stumble. The dogs had taken the shortest route home, a straight line: their keen eyes and sure footedness an easy match for the conditions. Before long I was on hands and knees after having tripped into a ditch. The dogs kept backtracking, encouraging me to get up and follow them. I soldiered on, tripping over logs and falling down holes. My faithful hounds kept returning to nuzzle me, not understanding why I could not keep up.

Falling several times, I became more disorientated by the minute, unable to target anything to give me direction. The probability of being able to find my way home decreased as all the dogs became reluctant to leave my side and lead the way.

I started to resign myself to a night outside when to my relief I looked up to see car lights travelling slowly towards me. As the lights became closer, I issued the dogs with the directive to ‘jump up’. At this command they ran towards the vehicle. I could see their tails wagging with excitement at the thought of a ride home.

Graeme saw the dogs first as they ran to meet him. Getting out of the car, he was able to hear me call and direct the headlights so I could find my way.

How wonderful to finally arrive home, especially in one piece. The dogs were made a fuss of and given extra for tea. I think they were as relieved to be rescued as I was.

A road meeting had been scheduled for the next day. Graeme and our neighbours had been planning to put forward a proposition to have the road straightened to make it more trafficable and to take out a dangerous corner. Before ringing Brett he quickly rang Mt Vexation and Goodliffe to make sure they were all still on track to go to the meeting. Neither Harold/Mick nor James Speed gave any indication that anything was wrong.

Graeme rang Brett before it got too late. He opened the conversation by asking if they had found the cows. Brett wouldn’t talk and simply said there was someone who wanted to speak to him and promptly handed the phone over to a policeman, from Longreach SARCIS. (Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Service) The Longreach Officer informed Graeme that Brett had located Cungelella cows and calves in the middle of Albeni. Graeme replied that he couldn’t see how that could be the case and invited them to come over first thing in the morning to have a look at the map of Albeni and work out the best way to investigate. Graeme hung up the phone under the impression that the police officer and Brett Nobbs would be at the Albeni homestead at daybreak to work out what was going on.

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Chapter 3: Potts Bubbling

The further backwards you look the further forwards you will see.

Winston Churchill

On Tuesday 14 February 54 freshly processed cow and calf units had been placed in One Tree Paddock to await dipping. They were then to be trucked to the Cungelella Special Dispersal sale, in Emerald. One Tree Paddock is a small narrow holding paddock on Cungelella in, full view of the homestead, running adjacent to the road.

It appears that on Saturday 25 February, after dipping some of the sale cattle, Jason Collins went to check the NAPCO steers in Squire Paddock. Donna Collins, Kerrie and Zane set out to muster One Tree Paddock. According to statements and evidence at committal, there is discrepancy as to when this muster took place. Both Jason and Donna Collins claimed it happened in the late afternoon while Kerrie and Zane believed it happened before lunch.

Riding around the periphery of One Tree Paddock, with the intension of pushing the cattle on to the dam, it did not take the riders long to realise that most of the animals were missing. After a thorough search, six cow and calf units were found, plus three bulls. This meant that 48 cow and calf units were missing. The gates were all closed, fences intact and there was no evidence to indicate where the cattle had gone. Jason Collins claimed that Donna, Kerrie and Zane saw tracks around the gate into the lane, but they could not tell if cattle had gone through.

The few remaining cattle were taken the short distance to the yards. Here there is discrepancy in evidence as Jason claimed he saw the small mob walking towards the yards at about half past five or six o’clock in the evening as he was returning from checking the steers. Donna agreed the animals were yarded late in the day and she recalls telling Jason about the missing animals when he arrived home that night. Kerrie and Zane however both believe they had the remaining cattle in the yards before lunch. After telling Jason Collins, they both recalled that he went to One Tree Paddock to look while they mustered elsewhere.

After several unsuccessful attempts on the evening of Saturday 25 and the morning of Sunday 26 February, telephone records indicate that Brett was finally contacted on his mobile at 10.10am on Sunday 26. Brett was rung several times before Allen was contacted at 7.15pm; that Sunday, some 30-36 hours after the cattle were discovered to be missing.

Evidence reveals that after unsuccessful attempts to raise Allen or Brett on the evening of 25 February, there was a long phone call placed to the phone number of a person who had been working on Cungelella a short time before. Collins also later named this person, as being involved with him in the removal of cattle from the Salvator Rosa National Park. The next evening a similar long phone call to this same number was in evidence on the telephone records.

According to his evidence, Brett instructed Collins to thoroughly search the property to see if he could find the animals. It appears that Collins drove through, checking the cattle in the paddocks surrounding One Tree Paddock. Collins reported in to Brett at 1.36pm. Phone records indicate that at 7.15pm (26 February) Allen was raised for the first time. He also spoke to Brett after speaking to Allen. Allen gave Collins until 10am on 27 February, the next morning, to find the cattle before he called the Stock Squad. Evidence indicated that Allen also told Collins that he would come out to take charge and find the cattle himself with a helicopter. In effect, Allen gave Collins just over 16 hours, which included overnight.

Allen testified that he rang James Speed to ask him to check up the gorge on the Tambo road and he also rang his brother Harold/Mick to get him to check the Nogoa River to make sure the cattle had not been walked that way. He also instructed Collins to look for any signs that someone might have erected portable yards in order to take the cattle.

At the appointed hour, 10am on 27 February, Collins made two attempts to get Allen on his mobile before reaching him on the landline. Brett claims he also received a call, but phone records do not verify this. Allen’s evidence indicated that Brett was not home and he did not know where Brett was. Just as Allen was about to leave to meet the helicopter, Brett arrived and offered to go instead. Between ringing Allen and Brett arriving, calls were made from the Cungelella phone to TEYS Brothers meatworks, Harold/Mick Nobbs and attempts were made to contact Speed.

This is where times stop making sense.

Just after 10.00 am, Allen received the phone call from Collins. He then claimed he contacted the SARCIS member from Longreach and after this conversation, ordered a helicopter so he could go and search for the cattle himself. According to the Police Officer attached to SARCIS Longreach, Allen did not contact him on his mobile, until 1.30 pm. This was three and a half hours after Collins rang Allen and Brett took over to meet the helicopter in order to commence the search. Claiming to not know how Allen acquired his mobile number, the Longreach Officer reported that Allen complained of cattle missing between 13-16 February. (The cattle went in to One Tree Paddock on 14 February and Allen arrived at Cungelella on 16 February. Graeme was at his sister’s birthday on 16 February and Collins alleged he saw cattle on the road on 17 February.)

Brett drove 186 kilometres from Inverrio to Blackwater. Getting into the chopper, they flew approximately 115 miles, which in a R44 would take about 68 minutes. Under oath Brett claims that they entered over Myola and did a quick search of paddocks and Squire Yards, before landing at the homestead.

After speaking to Collins, Brett alleged they did a more thorough search of the Cungelella paddocks and the boundaries. He claimed that this search was completed before he left a message on Albeni’s answering machine informing us that he was about to do an aerial search of Albeni. Phone records show this call to Albeni was made at 2.32pm (It was before I retrieved this call that the helicopter flew past the quarters at about 20 metres above ground level.)

At 3.10pm, Brett again rang Allen. He claimed to have searched Albeni and located the cattle in the middle of the property. He alleged they were in a mob near a gate that led into a lane, close to the yards

Several phone calls were made to Allen, Harold/Mick Nobbs and Speed with the last one being at 3.38pm. Brett claims he also made a phone call to a senior police officer from Rockhampton SARCIS, expressing concern that Graeme might take the cattle after being alerted by the phone message. He stated that he asked him for permission to go on to Albeni to keep an eye on them.

In his statement, Brett claims that the pilot flew Jason Collins and himself to the cattle yards adjacent to the paddock where he had located the cattle. The helicopter left him there and he assumed it went back to Cungelella.

Very little of Cattle Creek Paddock can be seen from the yards and the specific area Brett claims he found the cattle cannot be seen at all. We made this observation to a few of the neighbours. Could this have been the reason that at the committal, Brett changed the position he had already recorded in his statement to another spot. Surprisingly this new observation point gives no view of the area also, as a hill is in the way.

Cattle Creek is a large paddock, 1406 HA, that runs parallel to the laneway connecting the Bentonite Yards, in the middle of Albeni, to the House Yards. At the time, this paddock was being spelled and all the troughs were turned off. The only available water was at a dam in the corner closest to the House Yards. A gate that Graeme uses when taking cattle to the House Yards is also in the corner near the dam. From the air Brett should have realised this and deducted that if Graeme was going to move the cattle he would have taken them through this gate. Neither gate nor the House Yards can be seen from either of Brett’s alleged vantage points.

Leaving Brett, on lookout Collins and the Pilot took the helicopter to Goodliffe. After their visit, as last light approached, it was alleged, under oath, that Speed asked if he could go with them to pick up Brett.

The pilot flew Jason Collins and James Speed back to collect Brett. It appears that after picking Brett up, the helicopter went back to Goodliffe to drop Speed off. At committal, Speed had a lot of trouble remembering that he went to Albeni. Declaring that as he was in and out of helicopters all the time he claimed it was too commonplace for him to recall all flights. After cross-examination, Speed managed to recall going for a joy flight though denied picking up Brett Nobbs.

Back at the homestead, between 6.19pm and 9.22pm, Harold/Mick Nobbs, Bruce Brandt and Speed were contacted. The Longreach SARCIS officer did not arrive until sometime in the evening, just before Graeme rang at 9.03pm. Judging by the phone records, it appears that Brett had jumped the gun and already had the Posse organised.

As the SARCIS officer drove into Cungelella, he stated under oath that he observed cattle tracks going towards Mt Vexation and Salvator Rosa National Park. To notice tracks in the dark, on a strange property before being briefed on the situation must be regarded as super human detective work. Why was nothing done to follow up on these observations?

After arriving at Cungelella, Brett informed the Longreach SARCIS Officer that the cattle had been located 25 kilometres, eight fences and two gateways away from their original location. The Longreach SARCIS Officer alleged he spoke to the manager’s wife and the contract musterers, but made no records of what they said. Both contract musterers claimed in their evidence that the officer did not speak to them that night. He also spoke with Brett and had a conversation with Graeme on the phone.

The conversation with Graeme was not recorded even though Brett Nobbs had indicated that he considered Graeme a suspect. No notes were taken of the conversation, but the Longreach SARCIS officer did make a statement on 28 October, eight months later, documenting the content of the conversation to the following effect. The SARCIS officer agreed that on the telephone and at all times, Graeme was cooperative. He acknowledged that Graeme offered to help and have a map available for them the next day.

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Chapter 4: Martial Law Mob Rule

Better an Honest enemy than a False Friend.

German Proverb

Tuesday 28 February 2006

Graeme and I were up before dawn. After breakfast we fuelled the ute and bike and prepared the dogs. The computer was booted up and the mapping program open in preparation. We anticipated having to spend a bit of time with Brett and the Longreach SARCIS Officer, working out what was going on, but we were confident that everything would be sorted out by smoko.

Not long after dawn, we became aware of the sound of a chopper working over our paddocks. As Graeme had spent years handling our animals in a stress free manner, the last thing he wanted was a helicopter undoing all the work. Graeme jumped on the motorbike, while I loaded the dogs into the ute, to go to investigate. Driving up the laneway, we could see the helicopter working over Cattle Creek and Bones Paddocks.

At the time, Graeme had cows and calves in Bones Paddock. Cattle Creek Paddock and Sam’s Dam Paddock were being spelled. Between these paddocks there was only a single strand electric fence. This concerned us as the chopper was flying very low. A helicopter had the potential to not only scare our animals that were used to gentle handling by people and dogs, but also to do considerable damage to the fence by frightening the animals over it. We tried to call the Pilot on the two-way, but received no response. Graeme took off on the motorbike to try to catch the Pilot’s attention while I was dispatched back to the plane to try to call him on the aviation channel.

Jumping the gun by starting the muster before the police arrived; Brett Nobbs claimed that he found some of his cattle in the south-eastern corner of Cattle Creek Paddock. This happened to be where the only available water was at Elise’s Dam. The rest of the cattle were scattered throughout the paddock. When asked if he saw any significance in the cattle being together in a mob away from any water when he found them, then being scattered throughout the paddock the next day, he replied that he did not.

Driving down the laneway towards the plane, I came face to face with a convoy of vehicles. Up they came. Two utes and a truck, all occupied by stony faced men. Some of them, I thought were our friends. Two employees and one Police Officer accompanied them. Eyes glazed like ice, refusing to meet my gaze, their faces seemingly expressionless, void of all emotion.

If it was not so sad, it could have been a hilarious scene from a B grade movie. The only thing missing from this farcical setup was the rifles hanging out of the windows. Our faith in the integrity of humankind was about to be smashed in the cruellest way.

Calling Graeme to let him know what was happening I quickly returned to the house to pick up my camera.

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Graeme rode to the front of the convoy and pulled up the Cungelella manager, who was in the lead, driving the Cungelella truck. He was accompanied by James Speed and two of his employees. Following was Harold/Mick and Howard Nobbs then the Longreach Officer. Graeme requested that they step out of the vehicles so that everyone could sort out whatever was going on.

The Longreach Officer appeared distinctly sheepish and stood back as the others surrounded Graeme. Graeme requested the police officer call Brett so they could work things out. I am sure I detected a look of sheer relief on his face as he scampered away to try to contact the helicopter.

Although concerned about the damage the helicopter was doing to the cattle and fences, stopping it was secondary to speaking to Brett and trying to find out what was going on.

The chopper would not respond to the Longreach Officer’s call either. Strange, as SARCIS was theoretically controlling the operation so one would think that the pilot should have been in constant contact with him.

While the Longreach Officer was at his vehicle trying to contact the helicopter, the mob took over. Surrounding Graeme, they accusingly asked why he had taken the cattle. When Graeme responded that he knew nothing about them and asked them what was going on, James Speed replied that he thought Graeme would be able to tell them that.

It appeared to me as though they were trying to provoke Graeme so I went over to the Longreach Officer to ask him to return and take charge. Even at this early stage, it seemed as though he had no control over the proceedings. Not only could he not call off or even get a response from the helicopter, he was allowing the hysterical mob of neighbours to take over.

Being aware of aviation law, I made a specific point of asking if the Longreach Officer had authorised the helicopter to fly over Albeni the day before. He admitted that he had not, though informed me that it was flying under his authority that day. Volunteering that he had not been contacted until about 1.30pm the previous day when he had been asked to go to Cungelella because Brett feared for the safety of his cattle, waiting to be transported.

At that moment, the helicopter roared up the fence line at the side of the lane, extremely low, forcing a mob of cows and calves to run past. As the men saw the cattle, Harold/Mick Nobbs patronisingly commented words to the effect, They sure look like Cungelella cattle to us. Astonished, Graeme agreed and asked that the helicopter be grounded so some strategy could be planned to try to find out just what was going on.

The helicopter finally landed. We were not sure if it was because they had heard the Longreach Officer telling them to come in or because they saw that there was action in the laneway. Brett disembarked and sauntered over. Moving into centre stage, Brett pointed his finger at Graeme and whined about how sick it made him feel to think that Graeme would do this to him.

Tape transcripts record how Graeme asked Brett where the cattle had come from. Though Brett’s reply is inaudible on the tape, the Police Officer can be heard clearly saying, I suppose the thing is Graeme, we already know where they come from, they come from the paddock which is beside the homestead.

As a trained detective, surely he should have questioned why a neighbour who is a considerable distance away would take freshly branded, high profile, Cungelella cattle, from a paddock near the Cungelella homestead. Had he asked himself that at the onset, he would have been well on the way to moving his investigation in a direction that might have achieved fruition. The information that was to be revealed later about unbranded Cungelella cattle of the same type, right next to the Albeni boundary at the time the cattle in question disappeared, would have made any reasonable person question how ridiculous it was to jump to the conclusion that Graeme took them.

Graeme told him not to be so stupid and asked why he would want their cattle. It was obvious to anyone who proclaimed to have any knowledge of cattle and the land, that we were overstocked, dry and short of feed. Brett responded by accusing Graeme of taking the cattle so he could go to the Cungelella Special Dispersal Sale and purchase more there. By doing this Brett claimed that Graeme would be able to buy the brand so there would be no suspicion if cattle with that brand were on Albeni. Graeme instantly responded that this would not work because of NLIS (National Livestock Identification System), Whole Life Traceability. Quick as a flash Collins came in with the response, hadn’t he heard of a pocketknife?

During this conversation, Brett Nobbs asked Graeme who else could have done it. Graeme replied, with words to the effect, It could have been anyone, even you, Brett. At this, Brett’s whole mannerism appeared to change. It seemed almost as if he was shocked that anyone would dare suspect him or question his integrity.

Graeme suggested that they bring the cattle through the gate where they were talking, into the lane and follow them down to the House Yards. This would have been the same walking distance for the cattle and would make trucking them home much easier. Brett was not interested and pulled out all stops to make sure the convoy continued to Bentonite Yards. He should have been aware that taking them over the area where he claimed he found them the day before, would have the potential to destroy any evidence as to how the cattle came to be there.

When Graeme asked Brett to explain how the cattle got on to Albeni, James Speed immediately jumped in with the comment, Seeing as it is your place, Graeme, you should tell us how they got here. Collins then proceeded to enlighten everyone about the cut fence.

On Wednesday 15 February, Graeme had driven over to Cungelella to pick up an Albeni bull they had found during mustering. Arriving at the yards, he found one of the Cungelella employees, the rest of the people had not yet returned from lunch. She informed him that Brett had shifted the bull into the Horse Paddock that morning.

While they were speaking, Jason Collins rode down from the homestead on a motorbike and went around the paddock looking for the bull. Strangely enough, in his police statement, he made a point of claiming that there was no motorbike on Cungelella at that time. Returning to the yards, he informed Graeme, in the presence of Brett Nobbs and an employee that the bull must have escaped and was in Komatsu Paddock. Jason Collins asked Graeme if he would like to wait while he tried to bring it in. Brett interrupted, saying there was no need as they would be re-mustering Komatsu on 3 March and Graeme could come back and fetch it then.

As he drove out, Graeme was a little peeved to notice at least four body trucks at the yards. Considering the number of cattle he and his staff had transported back to Cungelella over the years when they did not have a truck available, he felt it wouldn’t have hurt them to at least put the bull in one of the trucks until he arrived.

Driving back along the main road Graeme noticed an Albeni bull walking along the Cungelella/Goodliffe boundary in Hobblers Paddock. Assuming that it must have been the same bull making its way back, he quickly drove home and saddled a horse. Returning to the paddock he tried to push the bull back in to Albeni through the gate. The bull simply would not cooperate. There were two Cungelella bulls between him and the gate that he refused to walk past. Sighting a few Albeni steers near the fence Graeme decided to put them in to Hobblers Paddock, so they would join up with the bull. The plan was to use them as coaches to help steer the bull back to his rightful home. Alas, this was not immediately successful so he left them there with the intension of coming back later.

On 17th February, after returning from his sister’s 40th birthday, Graeme went out on a motorbike to Hobblers Paddock to pick up the bull and coacher steers. Although a few of the steers had joined up with the bull, Graeme had to ride around and muster the others so he could push them all out together. While he was doing this, he noticed that a few Cungelella bulls were still in the paddock. Although the steers were happy to walk past these bulls on the way to the gate, our bull had no intention of going anywhere near them. I would say that it was a safe bet to assume those bulls had recently given him a fair touch up.

Riding in front of the steers as they obediently ambled towards the gate, he turned them back towards the bull that was adamant that he wanted to move in the opposite direction towards the corner. Graeme felt the easiest option was to cut the fence and put all the animals through there. This meant that they would be entering the outer sections of the cell grazing system and would have to be manipulated through a maze of single strand electric fences. Not an ideal scenario, but at least they would be back on Albeni. Being on a motorbike, he did not have a full complement of fencing gear, so he temporarily fixed the fence. He was not too worried about rushing back because all he could see were the Cungelella bulls and once he had moved the Albeni bull and steers, there would be no Albeni cattle in the cells adjoining.

A few days later, Graeme left on the motorbike to do a water run. It was at this stage that he realised that he had not gone back to finish fixing the Cungelella boundary. When he arrived at the fence, he was incensed to find that the temporary fix had been opened up. Further investigation revealed car tracks down the Cungelella side.

Back at the homestead, Graeme stormed into the office to ring Cungelella to find out what they were playing at. There was no answer. Over tea, he calmed down and decided to let the matter rest, as he didn’t want the Nobbs’ leaving the district on a sour note.

At 8.49am on Saturday 25 February, a message came through that another Albeni bull was in the yards at Cungelella. Graeme drove straight over to pick him up. On arriving at the yards, he found the bull in a yard by himself and the Cungelella crew working a distance away.

After loading the bull, Graeme walked over to find Brett or Jason Collins. He wanted to inform them about retrieving the other bull from Hobblers Paddock. After being told that Brett had gone and Jason was not at the yards he located Donna who was near the dip.

When there was a break in the cattle, he was able to speak to her through the rails. He asked her if she would tell Jason that he had recovered the other bull from Hobblers Paddock and in the process had to open the fence. Graeme elaborated, informing her about the coacher steers that he had to ride after, so they would know that the strange tracks they saw would be his.

Realising that this was the cut Jason Collins was referring to, Graeme offered the suggestion that it was unlikely the cows and calves would have come through the fence at that point, as this would have put them into the cell grazing system. In the unlikely event that they did travel that way, after negotiating the maze of single wire electric fences, they would have entered the holding paddock near the Albeni homestead and then travelled down the lane. Someone, whose voice we recognised on the tape, stated emphatically, They didn’t come that way. How could he be so sure? Maybe he knew more than he was letting on.

Despite Graeme reasoning that he didn’t want the chopper used and offering to help muster the cattle, Brett would not listen and dictated that the chopper continue. Brett’s supporters agreed. At this point, it might be pertinent to mention that the police had not bothered to bring a search warrant, give an official warning, inform anyone that the conversation was being taped or do anything in order of police protocol.

The chopper continued collecting the Cungelella cattle out of Cattle Creek Paddock. In military like convoy, the mob proceeded up the lane with Jason Collins, the Cungelella manager in the lead. The loading ramp is on the other side of the yards, in Broken Dam Paddock. Vehicles have to drive away from the yards and circumnavigate a dam and a laneway to get to it. To our knowledge Collins had never been to these yards in the middle of Albeni, yet, without pausing, he took this complicated route. Most people who have not been there before tend to go straight to the yards, up the laneway.

Collins and Speed, accompanied by Speed’s employees, unloaded their horses and set off to help the chopper. As they were riding in a direction that would not have given them access to the paddock, Graeme called after them and pointed out where to go. Meanwhile, Harold/Mick and Howard his son retired with the Longreach Police Officer to a secluded part of the yards to talk. We observed no effort being made to look for any tracks or evidence.

As the cattle approached the corner of the paddock, without hesitation they went straight through the gate. Surprising, as cattle normally baulk at this spot as it is on top of a rocky knoll. Our cattle never go through this gate easily. Could this be a result of the cattle having entered the paddock, through that same gate, not so long ago? Coincidently this gate was where Brett found the cattle standing in a mob, the previous day.

Under pressure from the helicopter, the cattle stormed up the lane into the yards. (See photo, front cover) From the onset, it was evident that the cattle were predominantly Cungelella’s which was not surprising as none of our cattle were supposed to be in that paddock. None of the animals looked thirsty so they must have found the one unfenced dam. If this was the case, was there some significance in Brett finding them in a single mob near the gate, at the opposite end of the paddock to the dam, the day before?

Once the cattle were in the yards, the riders joined the Nobbs’. The Longreach Officer came over to speak to Graeme and myself. While we were talking, we looked up and saw a white HiLux coming from the direction of the back boundary. We asked the officer who it could be, but he didn’t know.

The driver turned out to be Bruce Brandt, Eric Nobbs’ employee who oversees the management of Beauchamp, Lake Salvatore, Glenrock and Yandaburra. Brandt would have arrived at the yards about 9.30am, well after everyone else. It also appeared strange for Brandt to arrive the back way, as from where he lives on Yandaburra, it would have been much quicker to come via the main road past the Albeni homestead.

The Longreach Officer wandered over to Brandt and the others so Graeme and I started to move the cattle into the forcing yards. Once the cattle were there, Graeme jumped up on to the five-way draft while I started pushing the animals up to him.

It should have been a job easily accomplished by two people, but it became evident that the Cungelella cattle were very agitated and heated from the helicopter. There were only a couple of our cows in the mob, not enough for them to act as coaches. We assumed that our animals must have come in from Bones Paddock over the electric fence, when the helicopter frightened them.

Even with the dogs, I was having difficulties controlling the cattle. Seeing that I needed another pair of hands Graeme called over to the others to see if one of them could help. They all responded with enthusiasm. Jumping into the drafting area, they further panicked the animals. In terror, the cattle tried to escape, jumping out and onto each other in confusion. The five-way draft was forced open, undoing the work already done.

There were now too many helpers so I sat at the bottom of the 5-way and watched what should have been a simple operation turn into a circus. The men seemed to be having fun. I shook my head with disbelief. Surely they were not doing this intentionally. The yards had been built specifically so animals could be processed easily with a minimum number of people.