These events included competitions for roughriding and bullock-throwing which was accomplished by riding up to bullock, grabbing its tail and throwing it off balance and then tying its legs.

[2] The National Agricultural Society of Victoria ran one of the earliest recorded events in 1888, when a roughriding competition was held at their annual show.

[5] In 1908 the Australian Buckjumpers Limited were formed and featured celebrated roughriders including Waite, Jack Dempster, Fred Morton and Cecil Miller.

[6] The travelling rodeos provided displays of riding bucking horses and bullocks, whipcracking, performing dogs and ponies and rope-spinning.

[3] The equipment used by early roughriders consisted of a poley saddle or exercise pad, without stirrups or a crupper and a chest rein that ran from the girth to the rider's hand, leaving him without any control of the buckjumper's head.

In 1930 Warwick, Queensland added the American-style contests of clowns, ropers and trick riders to its programme to promote more public interest.

During World War II many Queensland towns such as Charters Towers, Goondiwindi, Hughenden, Ingham, Rockhampton and Toowoomba held rodeos to raise money for hospitals and returned soldiers.

[2] The end of the war saw a revival of the carnivals and the birth of the tradition of donating proceeds to local charities, service organisations and sporting clubs.

Some small town rodeos such as those held at Burketown, Queensland (population 173) have donated around $36,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

In 1982 an Australian Bushmen's Carnival Association team competed in the North American Rodeo Commission's championships in Denver, Colorado, finishing sixth overall.

[10] Carnivals and rodeos typically take place during the spring and summer, and are usually arranged to avoid date clashes, so that competitors may take part in as many events as possible.

"Rocky Ned" was known as the "four-legged fury" and became somewhat a legend with several riders including Jack Reilly, Gordon Attwater and Lyn Smith claiming to be the first or only one to ride him.

[2] Some of the top roughriders of the 1920s included Alan McPhee, Colin McLeod, Dan Edwards, Hilton McTaggart and Jack Stanton.

[2] The Australian Bushmen's Campdraft & Rodeo Association (ABCRA) members who are winners and placegetters in recognised events are awarded points that are used to determine inductees into the annual National Champions Hall of Fame.

John Caban, Glenn Morgan, Ron Raynor and Kevin Cooper are among the most successful inductees with at least ten awards each.

[9] Top riders from the APRA include Bernie Smythe jnr., Bonnie Young, Vic Gough, Ray Crawford, John Duncombe, Doug Flanigan, Shane Kenny, Darren Clarke, Brad Pierce, Scott Fraser[16] and Jim McGuire who was All-Round Champion Cowboy five times (1967, 1969, 1970, 1975 and 1976).

[2] Glenn O'Neill from NSW, moved to the United States and dramatically increased his earnings there, before becoming the world champion bronco rider in 2002 and a runner-up the following year.

[18] Carl Green from Walcha, New South Wales was a winner of the 2009 National High School Finals Rodeo "All Around Rookie Cowboy" at Farmington, New Mexico.

[19] Violet Skuthorpe was an outstanding lady roughrider, who in 1938, was invited to join the McCoy's Wild West Show in America and she (then 15) toured there along with her mother and brother Lance, 19.

They provided affiliated committees by co-ordinating and assisting all carnivals with standard gear, rules for events and a form of insurance against injuries sustained in competitions.

This association has approximately 200 affiliated committees across the country running events that attract numerous competitors and many hundreds of thousands of spectators annually.