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We get the feeling that if you got the chance to sit down for a yarn with Bill Keene, it wouldn’t be long before you’d be swept up in a life filled with adventure, bush characters and plenty of hard work. Now aged in his 70s, Bill’s still not one to sit idle. He’s turned a lifelong love of leatherwork into a business, crafting bespoke bushman’s belts from his home in Bathurst, NSW, with wife Belinda by his side.
Bill grew up on the family farm in Walgett, NSW. He picked up the tools of the trade from his father and began mending saddlery during his pony club days. As a jackaroo in Queensland in the 1960s, he made all his own bridles and halters. Today, his hobble belts are still making the journey north with many youngsters heading to their first station.
While he admits it may be a dying art, there’s a unique quality to Bill’s hand-stitched pieces that ensures it won’t be disappearing anytime soon - and his customers agree.
“Most of my work is word of mouth. I use good quality leather that I’ve been buying from the same tannery for 50 years and I use good quality brassware so I guess people just like the look of them too,” Bill says.
“I don’t use a sewing machine, I just like the feel of the leather and getting a good result.”
While Bill’s love of leatherwork has been woven throughout his whole life, it’s retirement three years ago that’s finally given him a little more time to focus on the craft.
In his working years he managed a 105,000 acre sheep property, Brewon Station at Walgett from 1973 to 2005. Running anywhere from 25,000 to 45,000 head of sheep and up to 1000 head of cattle, along with 10,000 acres of farming in the later years, Bill says his career’s seen him experience many highs and lows.
“You’ve got to do what you love and that was it,” he says.
“Certainly though there were some tough times. We’d only just gone there when the 1974 floods hit and that was a record flood, just massive. Then in the 2000s we had the big droughts so that came with a hell of a lot of feeding of livestock and agisting and all those things that you’ve just got to handle.”
Even in those times of despair, it proved a fulfilling career. In the 1980s Bill was offered the chance to buy the family property at Walgett but decided with ‘a cheque in the bank every week, three feeds a day and half a bed’ he was better off staying put.
Bill’s been a mentor to many jackaroos over the years, passing on pearls of wisdom. There’s no denying facts and figures are crucial in today's agricultural sector, but nothing beats getting your hands dirty, Bill says.
“I always advise young fellas that observation and practical experience will always tell you more than any computer or university degree,” he says.
And while Bill’s never made a million dollars, he’s loved his work - and that’s right up there with money in the bank.
“I tell young ones now that you’ve just got to follow your dreams and stick with it. You’re going to get your ups and downs but agriculture’s moved a lot in the later years so if you’re passionate about it, there’s a good future there,” Bill says.
To purchase your own leather belt, knife pouch, phone pouch, bridle, halter, or for general leather repairs, contact Bill at 0409 071 645 or billkeene48@gmail.com
