Bullock cart

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A bullock cart in India.
A bullock cart in India.

The bullock cart (also known as a bullock wagon or bullock team) is a common means of transportation used traditionally since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern cars are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them. Bullock from the old English for castrated male cattle.

A bullock cart in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, March 2008
A bullock cart in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, March 2008

Used especially for carrying goods, the bullock cart is pulled by one or several bullocks or oxen. The cart (or a jinker) is attached to a bullock team by a special chain attached to yokes, but a rope may also be used for one or two animals. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, while load is placed in the back. Traditionally the cargo was usually agrarian goods and lumber.

[edit] In Australia

A bullock wagon in Wilson's Promontory, 1937.
A bullock wagon in Wilson's Promontory, 1937.

Bullock wagons formed an important source of heavy moving power in the colonial history of Australia. Frequently comprising long trains of bullocks, they were used for hauling goods and lumber prior to the construction of railways and the formation of roads. The bullock team driver was called a bullocky.

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