Around 1955, Hick travelled to the outback where she became engaged with the Australian bush and its people, signalling a new direction for her painting. “Her empathy towards, and humble treatment of, Aboriginal people set her apart from her contemporaries. Her compassion contrasted with the common attitude displayed during the 1960s.”
(Strzelecki, Gloria, Jacqueline Hick Born Wise, Wakefield Press, 2013, p.27) 

Typical of her work is The Stockman depicting a detached figure from a group of Aboriginal people, at ease with the isolation of the wide desert landscape and expansive sky.  The stockman himself presents an iconic silhouette with his ‘cowboy’ hat.  The timeless rural subject is reflected in the colours of the work itself with sandy oranges, ochres and browns.