Harry Redford cattle drive echoes spirit of Queensland outback Outback drover David Hay, on his property outside Aramac, prepares for the Harry Redford cattle drive. ALMOST 150 years ago, legendary outlaw Captain Starlight pulled off one of the most daring robberies in Australian history. Today, a group of men and women will follow in his footsteps as the annual Harry Redford cattle drive begins near tiny Aramac, in Outback Queensland. Over three weeks, almost 100 horse riders of varying skill levels will drive 600 cattle through some of the most inhospitable country imaginable - and unlike Redford, they'll do it just for fun. In 1870, with a couple of cohorts in tow, Redford smuggled 1000 cattle from Queensland on a 1400km journey to South Australia, through country famed explorers Burke and Wills had died in only a decade earlier. Redford, who later came to be known as Captain Starlight, was eventually arrested and faced trial in Roma in February 1873, but the jurors, so impressed by his daring feat, found him not guilty. Almost 100 riders will join the cattle drive, paying homage to Captain Starlight's daring robbery in 1870. Now in its 12th year, the Harry Redford cattle drive pays homage to the daring robbery while also celebrating the spirit of the outback. The event attracts history buffs, outback enthusiasts and those looking to get outside their comfort zone. Over 19 days, the drive covers 240km - a mere fraction of Redford's gruelling undertaking. For the first time in its history, this year's event has sold out, with 98 riders from interstate and overseas taking part. Cattle drive chairman Gary Peoples said the city slickers enjoyed the event as much as the country folk. "It's a real adventure for them," he said. And it's very challenging. It gets pretty emotional for a lot of them. The drive's head drover, David Hay, has lived on the land almost all his life and, while other farmers now drove their herds with motorbikes, he still favours horseback. "It's a shame in a lot of ways that some of the modern methods are taking over because there is so much history tied up in horses and droving and the traditional way of doing things out here," he said. That's why I think we get so many people from the cities who want to come and do the run. They sleep in a swag under the stars - we have to warn them about snakes. Some people end up crying, but we've only ever had one person who didn't like it.