THE AUSTRALIAN CATTLE KINS,

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 14 April 1908, Page 5

THE AUSTRALIAN CATTLE KINS,

Fancy (observes the Sydney correspondent of the Dominion) having an interest in, 25,000,000 acres of load! The owner of 12,060 miles of 'country! Why, if a man possessed eo~ touch £f the earth's surface in New" Zealand, he would hot merely be a monopolist, but an l"ob-ll "ob-l literator," for there would be very little/ room for anybody else. . Y«t such is the extent of tn» yealth of Mr Sydney Kidman, the Australian Catt!«d King, who has just gone on a tour of the world. One station, which ifl probably the largest in the world, has at present 80,000 head of cattle on it, and its carrying: capacity is 140,000. This .mammoth station, Victoria Downs, is in "the- Northern Territory. It covers just 12,000 miilefe of,' country, is permanently watered,' and its' greatest drawback is that the 'country is a bit too fresh. A mob of cattle, whici' is being driven from this station to New. South Wales will, ii they complete ' the^ jouraeyj a distance of 1750 miles,, have acme a record journey for otay.one mob of cattle. Till test year the. buitocks vow all shipped WTwtik, but MOW the sup-, ply has so igreatly increased that it ex ? ' cec4s the demand; and now*4hey/>f*e be-? ing sent -to Queensland and New Wales. It is remarkable/^that] almost, without exception the" great f 'A"U6t&alian: pastoraliste who' have silcceedeS: in |amassing wealth commenced* at" thebottom of the ladder, and battlod their way up. The late James Tyson, Who when 'asked how many stations he possessed; 1 had to pause to count them,.- commenced' his money-making career as^a workittg>;man. Sydney Kidman, "the -Cattle Ki^g,"-waa, as a boy, a fouseabout earning 10s a w.eek, In his teene he was a b^ullock whacker and wood hauler oo- the £Dwling, and when d^Umstancee^.; forbade that "he should own more than "o^ie^lock at a time, he anade the, .mos^ \i the position . by seiling r .that , ope ji (; ojnf|le of t'mes a month at" a.prp^t.^He,d€|pi in stock of all kinds," nob even, dfcdtoung gowo.- "I h»ve always taken- care f& l he little things," says he/" and wh|nf rid© on to olle of my fltations t hofc a^ the, trifles, and i{ th& 6M&U things are s.trewn. about, then I knoW why that F rfati^n. isn't paying," He neifcadf rfeok^e; d^infis, mor swears, andi thus has-. ,iiie ,^o^|bjack bushman's virtues without hißj^elt Ofhim it is said : "He's a sort 'of rough diar, mond, a delightful eon of nature,iffree, sound, amd sußstanida'l, honesfc to thctaore.,. with masterful will, but a heart full of sympathy and kindness." '• . .