IT IS the luring opportunity that has pulled at the heartstrings of the country's youth year after year - and it is not wavering any time soon.
While life as a ringer in the Top End is certainly not for the faint-hearted, it is an experience that has almost become a rite of passage for youth entering the beef industry.
These cattle stations - in all of their dust-laden, rugged beauty - have been held as the seedbed for the industry's future leaders.
At Manbulloo, 14 kilometres west of Katherine in the Northern Territory, Queensland Country Life's ANDREA CROTHERS discovers why these young Australians are enthralled by the romance of life on a cattle station...
Meet Manbulloo:
THE STATION MANAGER: Cameron Kruckow
Age: 31. Home town: Mirriwinni, QLD.
THE HEAD STOCKMAN: Jason Watkins
Age: 37. Home town: Scone, NSW.
THE FACEBOOK FIND: Erin Horsnell
Age: 19. Home town: Springfield, NSW.
Click image to view gallery.
THE DONKEY RIDER: Guy Langhans
Age: 17. Home town: Talwood, QLD.
THE FAMILY CONNECTION: Dillon Fletcher
Age: 19. Home town: Camooweal, QLD.
THE GIRL FRIDAY: Aimee Davis
Age: 23. Home region: Southern Highlands, NSW.