AUSTRALIA'S BIGGEST ESTATE.

Waikato Independent, Volume XII, Issue 1019, 1 June 1911, Page 3

AUSTRALIA'S BIGGEST ESTATE.

ROMANCE OP A QUEENSLAND MILLIONAIRE. The final proceedings connected with the estate of the Queensland stockowning millionaire, the late Mr James Tyson, familiarly called "Jimmy TyEon," have now been concluded. Tyson was economical to a fault, as well aB wealthy, and many are the yarns told of him in bush townships of Queensland. It was generally supposed when the bachelor millionaire died that h<* had left a will, but a careful search failed to discover it. This caused general surprise, as in every other respect the successful pastoralist was a far-seeing man. The only evidence available that he had ever contemplated putting his wishes in that respect in documentary form was a pdrtiori of a draft will written in pencil in.his own handwriting on a sheet of notepaper. But it only provided for legacies amounting to £30,000, and it was not signed. As the estate was calculated to be worth £2.272.804, it will be seen that had the document been signed it would have been most incomplete. This great estate, the biggest irass of wealth aggregated by one man up to that time m Australia, was divided between three estates, and was thus apportioned:—Queensland, £1.269,804; New South Wales, £441,484; Victoria, £561,000. At the date of his death a book muster of the live stock on his stations in the three States gave 560,739 sheep, 65,238 cattle, and 2493 horses, and at that time there was a very dry spell prevailing in par's ard many of the stations belonging to Tyson were affected. At the time the Queensland Government were in need of money, and it was agreed to accept £125.000 bv way of death duty, but it was afterwards phown that this sum was excessive, and the Court ordered a payment of £BO,OOO. Subsequently a claim was made for excess of duty charged, and the Government was ordered to refund nearly £IO,OOO. It is calculated that the legal costs in this estate, at length completely wound up, amounted to 2.7 per cent, of the amount distributed among3t the kith and kin. It is also computed^that at the close of the Queeneland administration the total amount distributed amongst the relatives in cash and negotiable stock exceeded £1,269.804, as against the original estimates.