FOUNDING THE ILLAWARRA HERDS. 



Evans, and purchased by Mr. William James, of Shellharbor, in the 

 early sixties. 



Both Mr. Duncan Bcatson and Mr. Andrew McGill had bulls in 

 their herd of the Messrs. Henry Osborne and T. S. Lomax's Red 

 Lincoln strain. Mr. Beatson sold off his entire herd many years 

 ago at the enormous average, at that time, of 15 per head. The 

 McGill strain is well known to most modern breeders of dairy cattle. 

 The deep red and red -and a little white on cither flank has been 

 noticeable throughout the district, especially in the herds of the 

 Messrs. Black (Kiama), and Boyd Bros., in the Berry district. 



One 4act stands out plainly in tracing the history of these Red 

 Lincolns, in that in every instance among the early breeders roan or 

 white Durham bulls were used simultaneously with them in the 

 same herd. It was from heifers bred in this manner from the bull 

 " Major" that Mr. Robert Ritchie established his dairy herd at Jellat 

 Jellat, Bega, in the late sixties, Major being mated with the " Non- 

 such" heifers that had been bred and reared at Murremurang and 

 Dapto, under somewhat peculiar circumstances. 



In proof of the origin of the best of our dairy herds being bred 

 from the sources mentioned throughout this history of the Illawarra 

 cow, let us turn to Mr. Archie McGill, who states : " My late father 

 (Mr. Andrew McGill) purchased six heifers in 1851, bred by Mr. 

 John Terry Hughes, by the bull leased .from Mr. Henry Osborne 

 (Duke). The names of these six heifers were as follows : Durham, 

 Yorkey, Lilly, Reddie, Strawberry, and Whiteface." Afterwards Mr. 

 Andrew McGill purchased cattle from Messrs. Duncan Beatson, David 

 Johnston, and Henry Osborne. He then purchased a crossbred Short- 

 horn bull from Mr. Evan Evans, bred by Mr. Howe, of Glenlee, and 

 another bull from Air. T. S. Lomax. He next purchased from Mr. 

 Duncan Beatson two of his choice cows of the Lomax strain. Their 

 names were Lc.ity and Queen. It would appear Lofty was in calf, 

 and as it turned out to be a bull which was in due course mated with 

 Queen, the result was a heifer, which was called Queen II. Queen 

 II. was mated with a Durham bull, a descendant of Mr. D. John- 

 ston's Melmoth. The result of this mating was " Scotch Jock." Mr. 

 McGill's celebrated cow, Mary Queen of Scots, was out of a half- 

 sister to Queen II., and by a bull bred by Mr. McGill from Dairymaid, 

 a cow bred by Mr. W. W. Jenkins, of Berkeley, near Wollongong." 



The best authorities state that Mr. McGill's Mary Queen of Scots 

 was one of the finest specimens of a dairy cow that anyone might 

 wish to see. She gave evidence of Mr. James McGill's often repeated 

 theory that, in order to concentrate quality, great care must be exer- 

 cised in selecting and mating the female animals. In this instance 

 we have proof that Mr. Andrew McGill purchased three picked cows 

 for his purpose, viz., Lofty and Queen from Mr. Duncan Beatson, 

 and Dairymaid, a cow bred by Mr. W. W. Jenkins, from a Mr. 

 Hockey, which were three of the finest cows in his neighbourhood, 

 and bred from them successfully until he produced his ideal type 

 of dairy cow. 



Many oi our breeders have since attempted to follow in Mr. McGill's 

 footsteps, but in the first place few have the pasture which was 

 afforded stock in those days on the " Hopping Joe" Meadow, and 

 fewer still have the opportunities at their command. His farm was 

 situated within an hour's ride of the estates of Messrs. David John- 

 ston, John Terry Hughes, Henry Osborne, Duncan Beatson, T. S. 

 Lomax, and Evan Evans. It will then be easily explained how it 

 was that these breeders, most of whom had interests in cattle sta- 

 tions on the tableland, could keep up a supply of dairy cattle. 



In the early fifties there was a great demand for good sorts of 

 Durham cattle in Illawarra and the Shoalhaven Valley for the cattle 



