Australian Town and Country Journal at KellyGang 22/6/1872 (9)
(see previous)
Crossing the river at Buckenbong, I followed the north bank up, it being much shorter than the other. Passing a number of farms, about eight or nine miles above Buckenbong, Berrembed station was reached. Berrembed, meaning in the aboriginal tongue, “a row " (of trees), is the property of John Lupton , Esq. The house and grounds are nicely situated, almost sequestered by trees, though on a slight eminence above the river. The home station, including residence and men's quarters, store and kitchen of pine, are well-constructed throughout. Before the residence, and sloping down from the hill, is a capital orchard covering four acres of ground. The area of Berrembed is about fifty square miles, and beside the Murrumbidgee, it also is supplied with water from water-holes and dams. Sheep and cattle, and a few hundred head of horses arc bred on the station. Mr Lupton resides in Sydney; the station is under the management of Mr Withers.
About a mile beyond Berrembel is Jenkins's wine shop; three miles beyond is Deepwater , the residence and station of A Devlin Esq. owner of the celebrated horse Pyrainus; six miles still further along, almost level country, and Bull's Run, the residence of E Chisholm, Esq, is reached. Bull's Bun is a one estate of 1300 acres, freehold, and 1900 acres pre-emptive. It has several miles frontage to the Murrumbidgee, and is divided into a number of paddocks. Mr Chisholm's comfortable brick cottage is about half a mile from the roadside. A fine lagoon is before the door, and at the rear of the house there is a good lucerne paddock.
Leaving Mr Chisholm's the road continued along the flats past Shavowsky 's Belmore Inn (three miles), and six miles further, I arrived at Ganmian, the station and residence of W Devlin, Esq. Unfortunately, as at the other station, Deepwater, neither he nor his brother was at home, so a description must be deferred. About three miles beyond Devlin's is the Currawanna Inn, a well conducted public-house, by Linsell. About four or live miles beyond, a branch road brought me to the Tooyal station, under the management of Mr Angus Mackay, who treated me most hospitably.
Tooyal, with the adjoining station of Gobbagumbin , are splendid properties, owned by Messrs Booth and Holloway. They have a total of about 145,000 acres, between Ganmain and Eunonybeerena . The purchased land consists of about 7000 acres. The stations have a frontage to the Murrumbidgee of 16 miles. Large sums have been spent in improvements, &c, and during the past eight years the books show an expenditure of over £40,000. 140 miles of fencing, including post and rail, chock and log, wire and dog-leg, have been erected during this time. Notwithstanding the large frontage to the river, and lagoons, ten dams and tanks were constructed on the runs, at a large cost. Great attention seems to be paid to the division of the stations into paddocks. There are twenty-four paddocks altogether, varying in size from 320 to 14,000 acres; though the size of the majority are four by four miles. A great quantity of the timber on the ground has been killed by ringing, and the land is after this found to carry three times as much stock as before.
Mr Mackay gave me a seat in his buggy, to which were harnessed a splendid pair of greys, and drove me over the run. After dashing along for live miles, through well-grassed paddocks, we came to the wool-shed which is a most extensive affair, erected at a cost of about £1500. It is one of the most lofty buildings of the kind that I have seen. The dimensions are 150 by 50 feet, with a, double shearing door, 12 feet wide, and double pens in the centre. The wool-room and pressing room is 60 feet square, and in the centre is one of Messrs T Robinson and Co.'s wool presses. There are two folding tables, one on each end of the shearing floors.
The superintendent's office is at one corner. Every shearer has a pen allotted to him outside, and forty shearers can be accommodated, though less are generally employed. The whole building, raised on pillars two feet from the ground, and having blue gum corner posts, is built of pine; excellent ventilators are arranged above and below. 1500 sheep can be "housed " in the shed at a time. The pens from the interior rim into other pens and yards outside. Gates open from these into a semi-circular branding yard, where, as the sheep run round, and the fire being in the enclosure, they can be branded with ease. The entrance to the shed, having also well arranged drafting yards, is covered with a pine flooring. There is a lawn in the wool-shed paddock leading down to the wash pen. From the time the sheep are washed till they got into the shed, they are thus kept perfectly white and clean. About 50,000 sheep will be shorn this season. They are mostly the progeny of Bayly's, Learmonth's, and Fisher's rams.
We returned by a different road, and drove along the banks of the river for some distance, on the way occasionally drawing rain to look at some nice horses or well bred cattle, the latter of the Butterfly breed. Some pretty scenery, land and water, were passed on our pleasant drive home. One place in particular attracted attention. It was an island of about 2000 acres, completely surrounded by water. Stock are crossed and fed here very often.
After returning from the woolshed I continued my journey, passing a number of nice farms and free selections, to Wagga Wagga, twelve miles distant, it description of which, and the many fine residences around, must be reserved for another chapter.
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