Smoko (The Managers Visit)

Description

Smoko is a deceptively simple painting with nothing much appearing to be going on with the scene. It is certainly not one of Hugh Sawrey’s action works. However in the quiet stillness of this rendering of a rough out station settlement, there are a number of interesting details. The scene depicts the visit of the station manager to the settlement and would have been quite rare as such places were often many kilometers away from the main station homestead. The facilities were generally extremely basic with only bore water and no electricity but workers would often lived at these places for many months along with their families; this is indicated by the children and women who can be seen in the background. The region depicted is probably far western QLD, well beyond the ranges, in marginal country with little vegetation. The only shade, besides the baking iron sheds, is that of tree branches thrown onto rough structures made from Gidgee poles. Other interesting details include the single telegraph wire for communication with the main homestead and a structure in the extreme background called a gallows. This was site where the stockmen would occasionally kill a steer or sheep to augment their limited diet of flour and tinned food.