The landscape depicts a team of draft horses pulling a wagon heavily laden with wool bales.

[1] The painting had its inspiration in Lambert's experiences in droving sheep, seeing "horse teams hauling heavily laden wool wagons across the bare, miry, flat lands of Snakes Plain from Warren to the railway station at Nevertire.".

[1] As a boy in the bush I did much work with draft [sic] horses ... [One] called Barney had such fine action and such imposing carriage ... and possibly what knowledge I displayed in connection with horses in ‘Black Soil Plains’ originated with my association with this exceptionally fine animalLambert composed the painting in a shed at its mother's house in Hornsby, a suburb of Sydney.

Several names have been suggested as the model for the teamster, including Jim Smith from the Warren district, Luke Rollins from Moree or Henry Sharkey, who carted a record load of wool from Louth to Bourke.

[1] The painting was a critical success with the Sydney Morning Herald stating "‘In this long narrow canvas the young artist paints with astonishing vigour and sense of movement ... in every conceivable attitude the horses tug and strain at the heavy load.