i87 



The Dairying Industry. 



By A. A. DuNNiCLiFF, Department of Agriculture. 



In dealing" with the dairying industry of New South Wah\s, from our 

 earliest times to the present day, it is my intention to confine my 

 remarks strictly to the methods practised in this colony, avoiding 

 comparisons with systems in vogue elsewhere, and endeavour to give 

 such a resume of its conditions and opportunities as may bo helpful in 

 a general way to those who may feel disposed to adopt this industry 

 as their occupation in New South Wales. Beyond this, I would say 

 to those who require more detailed or specific information on any of 

 the points here lightly touched upon, that by referring to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture their requirements may be promptly met. 



In a British community milk, butter, and cheese are indispensable 

 articles of diet, and from the early times of the colony to the present 

 the production of these necessaries has been an honourable and fairly 

 profitable occupation ; sometimes very much so. 



Our first record of note concerning the industry is that of the late 

 W. C. Wentworth, who, in writing about Sydney in 1820, said the 

 market was very well supplied with grain, vegetables, poultry, butter, 

 eggs, and fruit. In Lang's "New South Wales" (1834) we learn that 

 large quantities of dairy produce were sent regularly to Sydney from 

 the rich districts of the Hunter River, Camden, and Bathurst. He 

 also states that large quantities of both butter and cheese were manu- 

 factured on farms throughout the colony, and prices then were not 

 very different from those of to-day, being for fresh butter Is. per lb. ; 

 cheese, 4d. to 6d. per lb. ; bacon, 5d. per lb., &c. 



As early as 1832 we find New South Wales doing an export trade 

 in butter and cheese to the extent of £5,279, nearly the whole of 

 which went to the other British colonies. During the same year her 

 imports of these products were only £872. 



Bathurst was then noted for the superior quality of its cheese, which 

 was largely sought for by the Sydney provision merchants. The 

 industry appears to have been initiated by Mr. Geo. Ranken, of that 

 district, who brought his practical knowledge from Ayrshire, Scotland. 

 The first estate said to have been devoted specially to the manufacture 

 of butter was Glenlee, on the banks of the Cowpasture River, 

 owned by Wm. Howe, about this same time. The products of this 

 estate were recognised throughout the colony as being very superior, 

 and for fully thirty years maintained their reputation. The dany 

 stock consisted of a fine herd of Ayrshire cattle. During the next 

 twenty years the industry had located itself in the rich districts of 

 lUawarra, from Bulli to Shoalhaven, then called the Garden of 

 Australia, and extended to Ulladulla, Movuya, and Bega in the far 



