Gympie and District Farming in 1905 – Imbil Rd

(Between 1905 and 1906 a series of articles was published in the Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette which reported on farming and grazing in the Gympie District. These articles are an invaluable resource for researchers interested in our farming pioneers. This is an extract from one such article. Many well-known families can be found in this report. Further extracts from this article will follow.)

‘GYMPIE AND DISTRICT FARMING AND GRAZING.
No XIX.- — (By Our Special Reporter.)
Imbil Road

Mr. Henry Hutchins, junr., is engaged In timber-getting and is living in the house lately owned by Mr. North, which he pur-chased with the property comprising 200 acres. Mr. Hutchins was away from home when a call was made, but as far as could be seen, the land is all devoted to grass.

“Rose Hill Farm,” the property of Mr. Henry Hutchins. containing 302 acres, has some splendid chocolate soil high above all flood mark, and taken as a whole is a most valuable property. The place was purchased by the present owner from Mr. James Cur-ley in 1882. and for 14 years before then Mr. Hutchins was farming at Miva. When he went to Miva, the Kilkivan diggings were in full swing and were looked upon as the market for his produce. When these diggings “petered out” and mining fell off in Kilki-van, the farmers about Miva were obliged to sell in Gympie. There was no bridge lower down the river in those days, and Mr. Hutchins remembers having to take his empty dray round by Brooya, Widgee, and Pie Creek to Normanby bridge, and, then down the river on this side to opposite his farm, before, he could cart his maize up to Gympie. A punt was used to take the pro-duce across the river from the farm to the dray. When talking over these times, Mr. Hutchins said in “those days the roads were bad, and we had all sorts of other difficul-ties to contend with that are unknown now, but we made lots more money from the farm.” When the land comprised in “Rose Hill Farm” was first selected there were only about 40 acres of grass land, the rest being covered with scrub, both on the river bank and back on the ridges. It is all felled now except 50 or 60 acres, and most of the ground is practically clear of stumps, while a good deal has been under the plough. Nearly 40 acres are under cultiva-tion, maize being grown in the summer, and oats in the winter for hay. Wheat is not sown because it is too liable to rust and “rye is no good.” Mr. Hutchins said “when we had the cattle we were all right, but we have the redwater now, and do not yet know what further losses we may have.” He pulled through the drought very well, but he lost nearly half his herd from redwater; then he sold some, and now has only 22 head of cattle. Four of Mr. Hutchins’s sons own part of the Kybong estate on the Bris-bane road, and have 100 head of cattle, all of which have been inoculated as a preven-tative from redwater. The road party are doing some good work that was badly wanted, in forming and gravelling the road on the hill between Mr. Hutchins’ and Mrs. Trout’s farms ; The re-pairs were very badly wanted as the track had got into a deplorable condition.

Mrs. Trout does not cultivate more than seven acres, but this patch of land always appears to be kept particularly free of weeds and in good condition. The whole property consists of nearly 600 acres. 400 acres of the land being forest, containing some fine lightly timbered black soil flats, and 80 acres of which have been under the plough. On the hill side near the house are 11 orange trees in full bearing, and a good many young trees have been planted since the drought broke up. Mrs. Trout used at one time to milk as many as 60 cows, but having lost over 100 head through the red-water and drought, she now only has 11 cows and 8 heifers. One cow was sick with redwater at the time of my visit.

Both this farm and the next owned by Mr. Frank Bull are situated on the Hay Stack Flat ; the locality being so called, I was told, from a man named Patrick stacking bush hay made from the kangaroo grass that grew abundantly at this spot. This was after-wards cut into chaff and sold in Gympie. Mr. Bull has 100 acres of land on the Imbil road, all of which except 4 or 5 acres where the house stands, being on this rich flat; as well as 500 acres across the river, including a property he bought from Mr. L. Currie and part of Kybong. All the cultivation that is done is on the farm near the house, where there are 20 acres under the plough, part of which land is be-ing prepared for the oat crop. A dozen, or so cows are being milked out of the herd of 40 head of cattle, which to judge by the few seen have a strong cross of the Jersey in them, though an Ayrshire bull is now in use. Very few ticks have been seen on the cattle this season, and only 1 cow has been lost through redwater. The house and out-building stand on a rather steep ridge near, but some distance above, the road, on the right hand side going from Gympie. 

A short distance beyond the Long Flat, Mr. George Smith is living on the property of Messrs. Ferguson and Co., Ltd., of which he has the general supervision. No farming is done now, as nut-grass has taken possession of the small cultivation paddock. Mrs. Smith has some good poultry and par-ticularly fine ducks and geese. Mr. Smith has two horse teams hauling log pine to the Union Saw Mill from off the company’s land.  In course of conversation with Mr. Wm. Henderson, senior partner of the firm, it was learned that the demand for log timber is slack on account of the general dullness in the trade. The general financial depression which lies like an incumbus over the eastern Australian States, is the cause of the falling off in the demand for sawn timber. Sydney and Melbourne, which used to form two of the outlets for Gym-pie pine, are suffering from the same de-pression as Queensland.

 This story was compiled by Kathy Punter.

Sources:  Trove; GFHS Research Collection; Courier Mail Photo Collection: State Archives Photo Collection.