Consisting of a weathered plateau divided by deep gorges, the High Plains region provided natural paddocks.
Droving cattle to and from these summer pastures (a practice known as yaylag pastoralism) presented enormous challenges of horsemanship.
However, persuading cattle to climb a narrow spur in order to follow a ridge route required skill and courage.
Such routes were also unsuitable for all but the strongest wheeled vehicles, and slow and risky even for bullock drays, so pack horses were the more common way of transporting freight.
Some of Australia's favourite stories and poems originated in this area, notably "The Man from Snowy River" by Banjo Paterson.