phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Playing for sheep stations

Posted by Andrew on July 10, 2003

In Reply to: Playing for sheep stations posted by Bruce Kahl on July 08, 2003

: : any ideas on the origin or implied meaning of this one?

: : thanks

: From looking at a few sites referred by google, a sheep station seems to be an Australian/New Zealand type of ranch where sheep are kept and penned for shearing.
: Now for my guess through inference:
: People who worked at these stations would have informal games of football or soccer where strict rules did not exist and tons of machismo and testosterone were displayed.
: So when someone puts together a game of soccer they will sometimes say "We are not playing for a sheep station so be nice to each other".
: I ask any Australians or New Zealenders for comments.

Australian Here,

ive only heard it in the context of not worrying about the result/ bet.

ie playing a game and someone is taking forever to play their shot, one would say "hurry up we're not playing for sheep stations" meaning dont concern your self with the result just play for fun
possibly derived from what would be envied from a 1800/1900's point of view as to own. these stations in the oz outback are seriously HUGE, some with boundaries 500 miles long.
the workforce required to run a station would have been staggering
regards
andrew

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