THE CATTLE KING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12615, 18 November 1911, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CATTLE KING.

SIXTY THOUSAND SQUARE MILES.

America is the land of most big things, but it hasn't the world's biggest cattle ranch. That distinction belongs to Australia.

Mr Sidney Kidman, the "cattle king," holds or has tho controlling interest in areas aggregating over 60,000' square miles, situated mostly in Queensland arid the Northern Territory. Like' talking of millions of. money, it is hard to realise what millions of acres mean. It is easier to do so when comparisons are made. ' The _rea of Victoria is 87,000 square miles ; so that Mr Kidman's holdings equal more than two-thirds of the southern State, and about two and a half times the area of Tasmania. He himself says it is too much for one man to look after, and he is getting rid of a "little block"— a trifle of 6000 square miles, which it is understood a New Zealand syndicate is acquiring from him. i •

From the Bovril Australian Estates station, Victoria Downs, which was the largest station in the Commonw'ealth, and in which he was the principal shareholder, Mr Kidman told a Sydney interviewer cattle had to be driven to Queensland, a distance of nearly 3000 miles. Droving charges and loss of weight through' the long journey reduced tho value of the cattle considerably, and they had to consider the- finding of a nearer market. They had made a trial shipment to Manila last -year, and though that had not, for various reasons, been a great success, it was intended to send further? shipments, with a view to making a thorough test. He believed that eventually a big trade would bo done with the Philippines, as Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory, or Wyndham, in the north-west, was only seven days' steam from there," and Fremantle Was hardly any nearer. ' .

Most of Mr Kidman's time is spent out in the open, travelling over vast expanses of country, where he is monarch of all he surveys. It takes days—weeks —to traverse some of these stations. Enjoying tlie best of health and other good things, he is not unmindful of the blessings that have been showered upon him. This is how he concluded the conversation : "Yes, I'm feeling tip-top. I'm thankful for my health. It's better than wealth, We ean only eat three meals a day, you know. And what's the use of worrying?" . Why worry, indeed? Mr Kidman is a millionaire, and can take things philosophically.