Noel Wiltshire, left, with his three mules Christen, Longro and Willywonka, at the Good Old Days Festival at Barellan. Image Kim Woods
The sight of a mule team in harness pulling a wagon is a rarity in modern Australia and the species took its place for the first time against the horse, bullock, camel, donkey and goat teams at the 2023 Good Old Days Festival.
The mule team, owned by Noel Wiltshire, of Nathalia, took part in the spectacular Tribute to the Teams parade at the festival at Barellan, NSW, on September 30 and October 1.
Noel picked up the young filly and two geldings from breeder Robert Dodwell, Tumbarumba, in southern NSW, last winter and broke them into harness. Named Christen, Longro and Willywonka, they were bred out of Australian Stock Horse mares.
A harness maker and past professional rodeo competitor, he has been involved with many movies over the years supplying 10 mules to “Gallipoli” and two miniature mules to the Budweiser Clydesdale advertisement.
In 2016, Noel took a mule team across the Artic circle, unloading in the autumn in Alaska and trekking across the ice for 400km.
“Sometimes the mules would break through the ice, so we lay them on their side, spin them around to get their legs out onto firm ground,” he said.
“We found they could cope with the conditions as they were tougher than a horse, but they are like kids and are often causing trouble.
“They are ten times harder than a horse to train as they are cautious and have a high degree of self-preservation.
“Once these animals are trained to do something, they are set on their job and routine. I find the fillies more solid and faithful once they are trained.”
With demand for mules rising, Noel said many people were turning to wild mules caught in central Australia to train.
“These animals are older and harder to train so it gives the animal a bad reputation.
“Prices are around $4000 to $7000 for a trained mule but untrained animals are usually sold for meat prices.”
Noel has trained many mule teams for packing or riding over the mountain trails in the USA.
In the past he has run up to five teamster schools in Australia each year, teaching hundreds of people on how to harness and drive horses, and has several more schools coming up shortly.
“There is nothing like this event at Barellan in Australia or the world where people can have an opportunity to see the depth of knowledge – you don’t see those big teams of camels anywhere else in the world, so it’s very special.
“Also, where else would you see goat and donkey teams in this country? Donkeys and camels were a big part of the outback and opening of this country.
“It’s good to see that art is still practiced and comes here for people to look at.”