Ned Currie

In its simplest form, a ringer is a stock and pastoral technician.

As a ringer/ station hand I was a frontline practitioner in extensive rangeland operations, responsible for orchestrating the movement, welfare, and identification of large herds of cattle across vast, often remote pastoral landscapes.

While working for Baldy Bay PTY, I operated day to day around livestock and machinery in harsh conditions for long periods of time. In these conditions extensive learning occurred at a fast pace about the key quality's and characteristics that must be used when working rural occupations.

Key quality's and characteristics:

• Animal management expertise — understanding herd temperament, drafting animals by class or condition, and implementing low-stress handling principles.
• Technical yard proficiency — working gates, races, crushes, and drafting systems with timing and spatial awareness that protect both livestock and workers.
• Environmental and navigational acuity — reading country, interpreting weather and pasture conditions, and adapting mustering strategies to rugged, unpredictable terrain.
• Operational coordination — collaborating seamlessly with stockmen, helicopter pilots, station managers, and contractors to execute large-scale musters, branding, weaning, and transport logistics.
• Resilience and adaptability — working long hours in heat, dust, and isolation while maintaining judgment, safety, and humane handling standards.

As a ringer working in dangerous conditions everyday for two years, I realised to complete tasks efficiently and to a high standard the tools needed are comradery, mateship and an extensive work ethic.

As a barista trainer, I aided in the teaching and and management of barista training courses. I worked as an assistant trainer under the main teacher of a highly informative and engaging coffee class of around 30 people at a time. Roles within the job included teaching students how to operate commercial coffee machines safely, to a high standard producing high quality beverages, and ensuring students operated within health and safety guidelines.

As a Barista trainer I was responsible for maintaining a clean workspace at all times for students and trainers, ensuring students were always using high quality equipment and would never be short of ingredients to create their beverages.

Simply broken down, as a trainer I learnt how to:

• Prepare and serve high-quality beverages in a fast-paced environment, while teaching students through visual learning and creating an engaging atmosphere for the class.
• Operate espresso machines and brewing equipment with precision and care.
• Maintain cleanliness and organization of workstations for optimal efficiency.
• Provide exceptional customer service, ensuring positive experiences for all students.
• Assist in training new baristas on beverage preparation techniques and customer engagement.

This role taught me how to communicate calmly but also clearly as I had to ensure students followed instructions to maintain quality and consistency in their beverages. Barista training has also taught me how to eliminate extra work through simple organisation skills applied in setting up a class and preparation of ingredients.