Grazing of stock was being undertaken in the Araluen valley prior to the discovery of gold by Alexander Waddell in 1851. There were 3 known settlers occupying cattle leases, the first being Henry Clay Burnell who was grazing stock around 1835. He subsequently purchased 1280 acres at a cost of £ 265 on 15th November 1836. Burnell’s home was called Old Farm House and was probably erected by assigned convicts. Ref. The History of Araluen by L & R Thwaites.
The other 2 settlers were Andrew Badgery who purchased 640 acres at Bethwynd (sic) near Araluen on 15th November 1836 for £160 and William Roberts, Andrew Badgery’s brother in law who held land there as early as 1837. Ref. as above. The 1828 census reported that Andrew Badger, while not a resident of Allaluen (sic), had two assigned convicts in charge of ten horses and 800 cattle.
Cattle and to a lesser extent, sheep production has been an important activity in the Araluen and surrounding valleys since colonial settlement. Records prior to 1900 are scarce but newspaper reports and advertisements from the 1860s indicate that cattle were being sold regularly at a number of sale yards. Often the sale yards were adjacent to local hotels which would no doubt be able to capitalise on the increased trade associated with the sales. In The Araluen Star Supplement of September 26 1863, James Armstrong advertised that he had just completed his new Redbank Sale Yards Araluen, which adjoin the Peace and Plenty Inn. He stated that the yards were now ready to receive horses and cattle. Also regularly advertising in the The Araluen Star for his sale yards at Redbank was Mr. J. Kingsland, the owner of the Araluen Arms hotel. An advertisement in the January 9 1864 edition of the Araluen Star announced a public auction of ten head of Milch (sic) cows with calves would be conducted at Kingsland’s sale yards.
In the January 16 1864 edition of the Araluen Star a notice was made that Slaughtering licences were granted to Henry Crossley, James Perry, Edmund Smith and John Smithard.
In the 1900s cattle and sheep production was increasing and a number of larger properties were prominent. In the 1909 Wise’s Post Office Directory, which listed station owners and stock numbers, Bettowynd, owned by the Hyland Bros. had 1,000 sheep, 890 cattle and 30 horses while Telowar Creek, owned by Hy Pike had 310 cattle and 15 horses.
Numbers of stock in the Araluen district were steadily increasing and figures from Wise’s publications in subsequent years chart the rise. These figures may be very modest as it is not clear how accurate and comprehensive were the counts for the publication.
In Wise’s 1915 edition 3,080 cattle and 7,478 sheep are listed. By 1937 there are 3,489 cattle and 4,320 sheep listed.
The Wise Post Office Directory of 1937 included graziers that held significant land and would do for many years to come. The family names include – Alley, W.U. with 3682 acres, Davis Helena, E. 6015 ac., Harrison, J.T. 1677 ac., Hyland, J.F. 4863 ac., Kennedy Jno. 1729 ac., Keys, A. 4474 ac., Reynolds, W. (probably Raynolds) 4320 ac., Royds, T.M. 1710ac., and Waddell Est. N. 1100 ac.
Some of the larger properties in Araluen and the surrounding area at this time include: Neringla owned by the Raynolds family, well known for their Hereford cattle; Bettowynd owned by W. U. Alley who had 5,000 acres in 1944; Condry owned by the Hyland family; Telowar Creek owned by Hy Pike; Karakunba, near Burke Town owned by the Kennedy family and; Yurammie owned by Roly Hassall.
In the book, Bellbirds and Blowflies written by Molly Keys, she noted that her father who was leasing the property Neringla, ‘By 15th May 1940 dad had 1,448 head of cattle and around 4,500 ewes.’ She goes on to say that her dad often said that ‘We all like cattle, but sheep pay bills.’
During the 1940s cattle and sheep were sold either through auctions at Goulburn or at Homebush. Sales were also made directly to butchers in the local area including Braidwood, Bateman’s Bay and Goulburn.
A milestone event occurred in the valley on a very wet Saturday 4th January 1936 when the Araluen – Neringla bridge was officially opened by the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Spooner. The bridge would allow easy and efficient access to the developing rural properties often isolated by flooding of Araluen creek. According to the Braidwood Review and District Advocate of Jan. 7 1936, the bridge was the result of strong and persistent lobbying by Mr, Walter Raynolds of Neringla. The bridge was designed by Mr. H. C. Reid, the Tallaganda Shire Engineer and constructed by Messrs. Kelly Bros. The final price of construction was £1225. Unfortunately this bridge was washed away by a large flood in 1945.
The most prominent breed of cattle over the years in the district were Herefords and Shorthorns which include the strains Beef, Red Poll, Black Poll and Durham. Sheep breeds included Merino, Border Leicester, Corriedale and Romney Marsh.
Cattle grazing continues to play an important and active agricultural role in Araluen and the surrounding areas