The Kangaroo Feather

Depending on the light horseman’s mood - how sober he was and whether he liked you or not - these are some of the factors contributing to the answer he would give when asked “ What is that feather in your hat?” 

Born in the scrub a long way from hospital was the start for many of these Gentlemen.

Reading and writing were skills only perfected by those born to families rich enough to ensure a proper education. Maths was a skill only learned enough to get by.  Winning pub brawls and fast thinking were the main skills that got you by in the Australian wild west.

Lessons of bush survival taught by aboriginal elders were of more importance than reading a newspaper article. Learning what plants you could eat without dying, or feeling like you would, could be the difference between waking up or not the next morning.  Knowing how to track would round off a proper bush education. These were the important skills that kept these light horsemen alive.

 Born and raised with a natural disrespect for authority gave these fellows an unusual sense of humour and a wicked tongue.  They were despised by people in authority because of the lack of public respect shown by these wild men of the Australian outback.

So when you asked a light horseman "What is that feather in your hat?"  he would answer “ It's a Kangaroo feather” which embarrassed the upper class, uneducated in Australian wildlife, and got a smile from those who knew. The true answer is "It's an Emu feather”.

Everybody knows the only thing faster than old man emu on the plains of outback Australia is a lady emu. The plains are uneven ground full of pot holes and other obstacles making riding a horse hard, but to ride a horse at full gallop was easy enough for these gentlemen, so to set the men from the boys the level of difficulty was raised. “I bet you can’t pluck the tail feather from the old man emu” would have been all it needed to start a silent Australian legend.

The Light Horse are the only Australian Regiment allowed to wear the 'Kangaroo feather' in their hats.

Graham Armstrong