Properties

Overview

Land was in many ways a key element in the story of the KellyGang. There is a map from the 1840s that shows that almost all of north east Victoria was part of the squatting runs listed below and that they were owned by the squatters listed. Such a large area of the best grazing land in Australia controlled by so few.

While the selectors, including the families of the KellyGang, had made some inroads into these large holdings, the squatters were fighting back.

the main land office in the North East was in Benalla. Mr Dunn was the land officer.

Life changed for ever when gold was discovered in the early 1850s. While Ballarat and Bendigo were the first major strikes, Beechworth became a major gold mining centre for the Ovens field a little later on.

The properties first change was that most of the shepherds when off to the gold mines. Later the properties started to produce cattle in large quantities to feed the miners

The ex miners wanted land. The selector movement fought out its position in north eastern Victoria with a passion. The families of the KellyGang were essentially selectors. The KellyGang used thesquatter's large runs as a place to keep their horses and take horses and cattle. The squatters were the enemy who opposed the selectors attempt to take up land and tried to drive them away through pressure from the law and treating them as outcasts in many other ways. (Argus19/4/80)

Squatters did not like the rent they had to pay. (Argus20/7/69)

Use of dummies ([[!!FIXME ../../documents/N70s/74_02_07_1Argus.html|!!MISSING]])

But having said this, many of the names of the original properties still carry on in the history of the KellyGang and in story of this country and these people, with the shearers and other station hands founded the pastrol industry in Australia.

The government had inquiry after inquiry to see how the selection system was going on. (Argus8/10/66)

North Eastern Victoria was in many ways the oldest part of the colony. It was first settled by overlanders from New South Wales who came down through the area of Goulburn, Canberra and Cooma into the Upper Murray. Others came down on the western side of the Great Dividing Range following the route of explorers such as Major Mitchell and Hume and Hovell to the area around Albury. This was in the mid 1830's. Joseph Hawdon, John Gardiner and John Hepburn are credited with bring the first mob of cattle to the Kelly Country. These properties were mainly sheep runs. In the beginging the squatters paid just £10 per year for a grazing licence. Later a tax 1/2d on sheep, 3d on cattle and 6d on horses per year was also imposed.

How much land was still occupied by squatters in 1879 (Argus6/3/79) (Argus21/6/80)

List of in north east Victoria. See also Riverina for properties in New South Wales

The list of squatting runs below is based upon the information that was gained from a number of sources. It covers the area from around Seymour and Mansfield to Echuca and the Uppper River Murray and runns that were established prior to 1850. Then as now properties changed their names and boundaries and this list is not complete.

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