Agnes Buntine

To support her family, Buntine became the first female bullocky in Australia.^[3][4] She journeyed from her home near Port Albert to Forest Creek in 1851, travelling across multiple mountains, to transport butter and cheese. She opened multiple stores, including one at Bendigo, Victoria, and one at the Shire of McIvor. In 1853, after having established those, she travelled back to Bruthen Creek. Her family moved to Flynns Creek in 1858 and owned a farm there. By this time, Hugh had fallen ill, so the family was supported solely by the money produced from Agnes' work as a bullocky. The longest trips she executed were from Melbourne to various parts of Gippsland.^[1]

During one of her journeys, Buntine experienced a large bush fire. She was able to find a safe patch of ground to stay at until the fire ended, and although she received severe burns from the incident, she survived due to her thick clothing and boots.^[2][5] In 1862, Buntine travelled to Walhalla, Victoria, after gold was first discovered there and became the first to transport supplies to the town after the finding of the gold. The path to Walhalla was difficult to travel^[1] and covered at least 80 miles, taking eight days to complete at minimum.^[3] A day after arriving, she killed a steer to use as food for the gold miners.^[1]

As a bullocky, Buntine was described as a "steam boiler on horseback" and according to The Herald she had "strong, heavy-set, almost masculine features, her clear, intense eyes being her most marked attribute". During her journeys she wore thick clothing, boots, and a hat, in contrast to most women at the time, who typically wore "crinolines, bonnets, and shawls".^[5] Buntine also had two pistols contained in her belt^[5] and according to a man who knew Buntine, she smoked an "old black pipe".^[3]

After Hugh died, Agnes continued her involvement in the bullocky business^[2] until her retirement in Sale, Victoria, Australia. On 17 February 1873, she remarried to Michael Dawe Hallett, an English farmer who was aged 29 at the time of their marriage. From this time until her death, she lived at Flynns Creek and farmed there with her new husband. She died in Gippsland Hospital, Sale on 29 February 1896. Three daughters and one son of Buntine were alive when she died. Several of her children became landowners in the area and her grandson, William Buntine, became a writer and an actor. She was buried in the cemetery of Rosedale, Victoria, which was also where Hugh had been buried.^[1]