Sheltered from the pounding waves of Bass Strait by Wilson's Promontory, the 3500 hectare island holds a special place in the cultural and economic life of South Gippsland.

Traditional grazing practices stretching back more than 100 years are maintained, with cattle driven to the island across the tidal shallows on seasonal winter and summer agistment.

When it's time for them to return to the mainland the call goes out for keen graziers and horse riders to volunteer for the muster and then walk the animals at low tide across the shallows to Port Welshpool.

The annual musters have become a tourist attraction.

About 200 head are agisted there on a per head value over summer and about 500 are taken to the island for winter. They are all mustered and taken off the island by September 1.

About 140 head were mustered and taken off the island last weekend. There will be another muster on August 2.

"We go out there each fortnight and take keen horse people with us," said Snake Island Cattlemen's Association president Peter Mabilia.

"Between 100 and 120 people go with us each year to join the muster.

"The tourist side generates a little bit of money. They usually bring their own horses."

Mr Mabilia said taking the cattle off the island took about four hours in Sunday with the trip through the water taking about an hour.

"It changes each trip. Sometimes there can be almost no water; at other times and depending on the height of the low tide it can be uncomfortably high and we have to go for a little paddle."

* Extract from a full report in Stock & Land, Vic, July 10 issue.

Joining last weekends muster on Snake Island and the drive across the low-tide shallows to Port Welshpool was Ray Anderson on Morph. Mr Anderson is a beef producer from Glenallerdale, north of Stratford. About 140 young cows, due to calve soon, were taken off the island before the main muster on August 2.