Mallee Gates

My recent musing on Mallee roots also led to me thinking of another now forgotten but then common place object, the Mallee gate. Again although a long way from the Mallee we had a few Mallee gates especially in the early pre 1962 Bush Fire days, but not exclusively before that date. Most of these Mallee Gates were little more the a few strands of Wire attached to the fence post at one end and a pole at the other end that was put into a loop of wire at the bottom of the other post and Pulled up as tight as you could before looping another loop of Wire over it at the top, to make it tight and effective as a gate. I remember one particular gate Dad made for the cow yard which was basically a wooden framework like a metal gate and covered with wire netting. Very effective as a gate but also very heavy for us kids to open and close. Not that the wire loop ones were that much easier though.

In response to the above my brother replied, “We found an 8 foot mallee gate in the Gulf of Carpentaria in a dog fence. Anne tried to shut it by herself, but the barb wire got tangled and it took 3 of us shut it”.

Obviously another like me who is glad Mallee gates are not that common these days.  What about you? What fond or forgettable experience have you had with mallee gates? Either recently or in the long distant past?