A little history...
Droughtmaster was the name originally coined by a group of astute cattlemen in north Queensland for the breed of cattle which they evolved through crossing Bos taurus and Bos indicus breeds to overcome the perennial problems of drought, cattle ticks, heat, eye cancer and many other ailments.
With the arrival of cattle ticks in North Queensland in 1896, it became apparent that maintaining herds of British breed cattle (such as Shorthorn, Hereford and Shorthorn- Devon cross) in the harsh tropical environment was virtually unviable. Consequently, graziers began experimenting with cross breeding.
In 1910 three Zebu bulls (the first Bos indicus cattle imported into the area) from the Melbourne zoo were made available to grazier friends in the north by the Curator of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Mr Bennett le Souef. Two of the bulls went to a property at Mt Garnet, and the other to the
Mossman area. These bulls created a strong and favourable impression on northern graziers, at a time when drought, heat, ticks and general hard times were causing severe losses in their herds of British bred cattle.
In 1926, Mr. R.L. (Monty) Atkinson made an important observation when taking mares to a blood stallion at “Bluff Downs” near Charters Towers. At “Christmas Creek” he saw several Zebu-British cross cattle, descendants of the Melbourne bulls, and despite the region experiencing severe drought conditions at the time, all the cattle were in good store to fat condition. When he reached “Bluff Downs”, grazier friend Ernest White told him about the newly developed Santa Gertrudis breed, to which he’d been introduced during a recent trip to the USA. Monty was so impressed by the descendants of the Zebu bulls from Melbourne, that he set about attempting to develop a breed which had the attributes to withstand the severe environment of the tropics (from the Zebu), but in the right proportions so as to retain the benefits offered by the British breeds (Bos taurus).
A consignment of Brahman cattle was imported into Queensland in the early 1930’s by a syndicate of graziers and the CSIRO. Monty was given access to three red half- bred Brahman bulls, whperformed very well.
Through the following years, he joined them to Shorthorn and Shorthorn-Devon cross females, with the best quarter-bred progeny selected for retention in the breeding herd. This process was carefully carried on over the years in a “Grading up” program.
As a result of patient perseverance, the careful culling and selection of progeny from the mixing of bloodlines from Bos indicus and Bos taurus breeds, the Droughtmaster breed was evolving.
During the 1940’s Mr Robert Rea of “Kirknie”, Home Hill, also commenced evolving a herd suitable for the Queensland environment. The Kirknie herd was started with a red half-bred Brahman bull from St Lawrence, followed by a pure Brahman from “Wetherby Stud”, Mt Molloy. Another astute cattleman who had a profound effect on the Droughtmaster breed was Mr. Louis Fischer of “Daintree”, north of Cooktown. These were the early pioneering days and creating a new breed was not only a great challenge, it also severely “rocked the boat” of conventional cattle breeding, in a traditional and conservative industry.
Thankfully for the Australian cattle industry, these pioneer breeders persevered and the Droughtmaster breed was spawned.
