One of my favourite sayings to the kids at school used to be “no is just a step on the way to yes.” Well by the time Brandon Goldstein got to yes, he was halfway up Mount Everest.
When you want something bad enough you go after it and Brandon now lives the life he dreamed of. So what makes a 21-year-old who grew up in Melbourne want to come work and live in the absolute polar opposite location?
“I was never born to live in the city.” He said with a shrug. “Dad and I used to go camping and fishing and motorbike riding.”
Three times they have been up to Cape York, attended the Fink Desert Race once and rode bikes through the Victorian High Country. That didn’t make him Clancy of the Overflow though and when Property Owner John Clarke asked if he could ride a horse, the answer was no.
But John opened the door just a fraction and that was all the encouragement Brandon needed.
“I started a Carpenter’s apprenticeship with dad’s business when I was fifteen but came home one day six years later and decided that was it. Dad had told me how much he enjoyed his time building the caravan park at Doomadgee in 87, how much he loved it and the friends he made.”
So, having always wanted to work on a cattle station, he went on yellowpages.com and typed in ‘cattle stations – Normanton’ and started ringing.
“Everyone thought, ‘kid from Melbourne – nah.” Brandon recalled with a laugh before adding with a grin. “One of them was a bloke who is now a good mate and he said don’t bother ringing this station or that station because there ours to.”
It was John Clarke who left the door ajar.
“He gave a half-arsed answer, like ‘ring when you’re up here’ and I ran with it.”
Loading up his bike and tools he set off on the 3,000km journey accompanied by his mother. They stopped in Normanton and while having dinner he saw some construction work going on and thought if he didn’t get the job he’d just get on the tools.
The phone call to John the next day did not go well.
“Everyone says their coming but no one ever did,” explained Brandon. “He was asking me all these questions.”
“Have you ever ridden a horse.? No.
“Have you ever worked with cattle?” No.
Every answer was a no until;
“Have you got a Toyota?” Yes.
“Well, we’ll find something for you to do.”
What Brandon didn’t know was that John was only one half of the business and he found out the other half knew nothing about the newcomer; although this point is still under debate.
“He never told Sue,” explained Brandon, before clarifying. “Well he said he did and she said he didn’t.”
So, Sue was a little short and told Brandon where he was staying and that there was a donkey behind that he had to light for hot water.
“I was like, ‘I’ve got to light a donkey,” Brandon said, recalling the thoughts of a young city slicker. “Then when I went to dinner mum had bought a bottle of wine and said give this to the lady of the house and you’ll win her over.
Brandon and Ella at last year’s Gregory Races.
“So I take the wine in to give to Sue, who is already angry, and she says, “I don’t drink.”
As with most lessons in the bush they were learned on the run with Brandon basically thrown in the deep end. He admits it was hard early on as he had never worked with cattle and on the way up was given some unsolicited advice from an old fella in Charleville.
“Those cattle up there will (beep) kill ya.” He told Brandon. “But once I understood them I really enjoyed working with cattle.”
So much so he went contract mustering for a year.
As he had his tools, when mustering season was over he would do carpentry work; of which there was no shortage.
“It blew out to two months, then six months and then it looks like we’re doing this fulltime.”
He moved into Gregory in 2021 and lived in a gooseneck for a year before securing a plot of land. The business is called GOS Constructions and Brandon is the Queensland branch.
The GOS came from the family names Goldstein and O’Sullivan (a partner when it started). O’Sullivan long ago left the business and Brandon’s father is the sole owner.
Brandon’s father Peter established GOS Constructions in 1988 in Melbourne with home renovations and remodels. Every morning, Pete’s day would start with his small son Brandon asking, ‘can I please come to work with you Dad?’
After finding a home in the Gulf of Carpentaria in North West Queensland, Brandon and his partner Ella established GOS Constructions QLD. While it started with high quality construction they have diversified into the areas of commercial and civil construction and large scale vegetation management.
The Queensland (Gregory) branch operates with 10 employees with seven from Victoria and most coming through word of mouth or social media.
“What do you do, how do you keep busy,” are the questions people ask but there are always people coming through and always events that bring the community together.
There is also love with Brandon’s partner Ella moving to town.
“We met when I was on holidays at the Sunshine Coast.” Brandon explains. “We kept seeing each other for a year and then Ella took the plunge and moved up.”
So, has his partner Ella adapted?
“Loves it,” smiles Brandon. “She’s Secretary of the CWA, though I don’t know if she applied or was just told.”
That is how it is in bush communities and after never having been involved in anything like it before Brandon finds himself Vice-President of the Gregory Downs Jockey Club. The fact he worked for John Clarke who is the President did have a bit to do with it.
Brandon holding the Melbourne Cup in the Gregory River with Hannah Clarke and Bridget Melton.
The pair do a fair bit of work leading up to the May Day weekend which sees Gregory come alive with the Races, both horse and canoe.
“It’s a great event and it keeps growing, the facilities can’t keep up.”
There are new additions this year and a few helpers who will come a long way.
“Mum and dad work behind the bar- day and night. My father-in-law came up and hopped in, they love it.”
When the horse races couldn’t be held a few years ago they altered the format to Yabby races which made for a peculiar sight.
“Imagine 300 people crowded around a tank shouting and cheering.”
For many it is an annual pilgrimage, and the natural beauty of the river is enhanced with the races. There are Fashions on the Field, bookies, free camping and the famous foot race where runners start in the barriers 100m from the finish line.
There is also some real home cooking, cold beer and entry is free.
For those that feel up to it there is also the chance to jump in a Canoe the next morning and take part in one of Australia’s iconic canoe races.
“Pat (Bridget Clarke’s husband) and I go together so we don’t have to go with our partners and have an argument.”
Cheering them on this year will be Brandon’s five-month-old son Fletcher who will learn from his father’s example; no is just a step to yes.
Brandon and his father then and now.