Jackaroo: A Memoir

From Choirboy to Cowboy: A Memoir of Transformation

In 1967, fresh from the humiliations of boarding school and the loss of his father to alcoholism, the gangly teenager Michael Thornton was sent to a tough sheep and cattle station in central Victoria to work as a jackaroo, where he would learn the wool trade from the ground up under a boss known for his almost military regimen of working his farmhands.

Jackaroos, the unsung all-rounders of the country, are tasked with the dirty, disgusting, and downright dangerous jobs, serving as the dogsbodies of our farms. But at Habbies Howe, somewhere between castrating lambs with his teeth and hauling backbreaking sacks of fertilizer for no obvious purpose, Michael discovered an inner strength and the friendship and male role models he had craved.

Through his memoir, Jackaroo, Thornton recalls his years learning the ropes of farm work, which was still done on horseback in that era. Engaging, candid, and often funny, his story reveals the hard-working lives of these essential workers, whose contributions often go unrecognized.

Despite the challenging nature of the work, Michael earned the respect of his peers, which later earned him a job with the nation's most famous farmer, the Defence Minister and future Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser.

The Australian has described Jackaroo as "engaging and energetic," a testament to the compelling narrative Thornton has woven from his formative experiences on the station.

From the humiliation of boarding school to the camaraderie and self-discovery he found as a jackaroo, Michael Thornton's journey is a testament to the transformative power of hard work, resilience, and the relationships that can bloom in the most unexpected of settings.

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