Wilbetree

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Wilbetree (Co. Phillip) 32°30’S. 149°33’E., 11 km N. of Mudgee; formerly Wilbertree; agric. And grazing; butter factory (Wurth’s) 1890; cheese factory (Thomas A. Wright) 1896-1905; dam (Gooree Dam); hailstorm 1912; PO 1864-65; rifle range; Rom. Cath. C. (Sacred Heart) 1899; school (Wilbertree till с.1900) 1874, additions and alterations 1904 by W. Murphy, closed 1919; pop. c.200 (1866), 207 (1911)1 .

1872

15 June 1872
THE GRAZIER,
A Week among the Mudgee Stock owners.
WILBETREE.
TRAVELLING to Gulgong on the day after my return from Havilah to Mudgee, I called at Wilbetree, whither I had been invited by the proprietor, Mr. Robert Lowe and which is a place of great interest to the breeders of pedigree shorthorns throughout Australia. Perhaps it was impossible to have chosen a more inopportune time to visit Mr. Lowe; for, much as the Mudgee district proper has suffered by reason of the drought, I saw no place where the stock have been reduced by scarcity of feed and water to so low a state as the cattle at Wilbetree; and when it is remembered what class of cattle Mr. Lowe has on his estate, it is greatly to be regretted that they should have been allowed to become so very poor, if there were at hand any means of preventing such a casualty. Among exhibitors at our cattle shows, Wilbetree should indeed be a household word, seeing that its herd of shorthorns has been largely instrumental in bringing the annual collection of young stock in the metropolitan cattle sheds up to the pitch of perfection at which it has arrived; and there is not a cattle breeder in the land who does not look up to Mr. Robert Lowe as one of the leading pioneers, when the importation and rearing of pedigree stock were in their infancy. When Mr. Walter Lamb purchased Greystanes, and laid himself out with such spirit as a competitor for premier position among the shorthorn developers of New South Wales, he drew extensively on the Wilbetree herd; and it is not too much to say that the cows he selected then are those which have produced almost, if not quite all Mr. Lamb's successful prize-takers; which have in the course of only three or four seasons placed the Greystanes herd at the top of the exhibitors' ladder. The then new proprietor of Greystanes of course went about what he undertook with a full determination to succeed; and his first point was to get hold of good breeding cows, and it was fortunate he went at once to Wilbetree; for I'll be bound he's had more profit over and over again out of the couple of centuries he invested there than from all the rest of the money he had laid out in the formation of his pure herd. There was at that time no other place in the colonies where he could have drawn such well-bred cows as he found in Mr. Lowe's paddocks; and the result has shown the correctness of his judgment in turning his steps in that direction. When any one commences such a work as Mr. Lamb was beginning, one thing is quite needful, and that is proper stuff to begin with, and this being the case, the proprietor of Greystanes, was perfectly right in going to the best judge he could find, to provide himself with what he wanted. So he went to Mr. Robert Lowe who was well known by all shorthorn herd masters, to have no superior as a practical selector of the very best cattle when choice was to be made. Perhaps I should apologise for making such free mention of Mr. Lamb's herd, which I have never seen.
Mr. Robert Lowe's estate of Wilbetree is a little further from Mudgee than that of Mr. J. D. Cox at Eurunderre, which it adjoins; and the paddocks are entered from the road, by a kind of patent gate, which being quite devoid of iron in its construction, never needs the interference of a blacksmith; but does away with the want of hinges, by being swung upon a pivot, the principal balancing agent being a box of stones, which invention keeps the gate, or more properly " bar" from going "down by the head;" and the weight of which can be regulated at pleasure by moving a stone to counterpoise any loss in the timber by lightening as it dries The residence is of the verandah cottage style, and very pleasantly situated near the crown of an eminence, overlooking a piece of nice country, through which runs the Mudgee or Cudgegong river; but as I have already said, the paddocks looked brown and miserable as I rode through them towards the house. Mr. Lowe is now breeding from a Butterfly bull, a dark roan and white, with many good points; and he was the first animal I looked at as he was quietly feeding in a paddock with a couple of yearling sons. This is a very even beast; bears pulling to pieces remarkably well; handles beautifully; and beyond everything is blessed with a splendid temper. There is one thing about him, however, that every one must like him for; and that is, that he does get the most undeniable stock. The young roan bull I saw running with him is an exceeding good beast, and these two, will be heard favourably of at the Mudgee show next month. In the same paddock were a couple of blood fillies; one by Kingston, and the other by Australian, from sister to Fairy (Illumination's dam); and this latter youngster is another feather in the cap of Cyclops' sire, and a really first-class instance of the capital stock this formerly despised horse gets. There are very many of our turfmen, who may do a deal worse than arrange with Mr. Robert Lowe for the racing of this connecting link between the feathery legged 'uns and the Illumination sort; for I verily believe she will turn out very well. Turned out in a straw yard and fed, at night in a warm shed, were a pair of very excellent young heifers, being just put through their facings for the show; and if they had been in show condition, there were none of their age at the Metropolitan Exhibition that could have given them many points; for better it would be hard to find. Those were the only two that were being housed or artificially fed; but they were little, if any, superior to half a dozen others that were running in another paddock, where were a lot of as beautiful young cattle as any man need throw his eye over, though miserably poor. The young cattle, however, will get over it all right, because they can stand the cold, and will pick up when feed comes; but it was a sad pity to see the fine old cows in such a terrible plight. Some of these are very old and weak, and were hardly able to carry their hides; and I'm sadly afraid that when green feed comes they'll go off; which would be a great loss not only to Mr. Lowe, but to the colony generally, as their like are not procurable. The stock the "Lowe" cows have bred for Mr. Walter Lamb afford incontrovertible evidence of the purity of their blood; and I was quite sorry to see any of the same quality looking so terribly out of sorts as what I have been describing. I had heard a great deal of the Wilbetree cattle as having founded several of our crack herds; and I was well pleased with what I saw. The bulls, heifers, and fillies, are very well worth looking at; and whoever goes there in the summer will see, I promise him, as nice a lot of old cows as he can wish for. My stay was not long, for time pressed; so having lunched, my companions and I were shown a short cut on to the road and went on our way to Gulgong2 .

1882

18 February 1882
The Wilbetree Durham Herd
Wilbetree, a native name pronounced Wilbetree, signifying a large permanent waterhole, is situated on the Cudgegong River, where it is joined by the Pipeclay Creek, and is about six miles west from Mudgee. It comprises about 4000 acres, and embracing both sides of the river for about two miles, consists of splendid rich black soil flats on the frontages, backed up by lightly timbered yellow-box ridges, which are subdivided into numerous paddocks. The homestead is a large commodious brick cottage, with wide stone flagged verandah, and is prettily situated on the point of a ridge facing south-west, commanding a fine and extensive view of the valley and surrounding hills. It was originally taken up by Mr. Robert Lowe, father of the present proprietor, who has stated that, when he first visited this district in 1828, three cattle stations only were to be found in the valley of the Cudgegong until you reached Wilbetree. These were Tannabutta, the property of the late William Bowman, some 20 miles up the River from Mudgee, and the cattle stations of Messrs. Lawson and Cox, at Menah, some two miles west from the ovine metropolis, the northern bank being occupied by William Lawson, and the southern bank by George and Henry Cox. Mr. Robert Lowe, with his brother and subsequent partner, William, commenced their first lessons in the management and breeding of cattle in 1830, under the instructions of their brother, James, who had the superintendence of their father's station at Sidmouth Valley, near Bathurst. Thus early in life was their natural taste for breeding good cattle cultivated, and they began by endeavouring to improve their father's herd by purchasing from Captain Piper, of Bathurst, three bulls. Two of these were sons of the imported John Bull, and the other a pure-bred Ayreshire. In 1832 Messrs. Robert and William Lowe retired from the establishment at Sidmouth Valley, leaving their brothers, James and Major Lowe, as sole managers and partners, and journeyed with their lares and penates to Wilbetree, by this time a cattle and sheep station of considerable importance. They managed this property for their father until 1839, when it was divided, Wilbetree passing into the hands of the present proprietor, and the portion called Eurunderee into the hands of his brother William. The now celebrated Wilbetree herd was then started by Mr. Robert Lowe, who purchased from the importers, William Walker and Co., of Sydney, merchants, two Durham cows, Young Countess and Violet, for 300 guineas; a bull calf Albion, from Violet by the celebrated Rockingham, calved on the voyage out, being given in. Unfortunately Young Countess's male calf, by True Blue, died on the passage out. Young Countess was a good shaped dark roan showing much quality, bred in England by Mr. Charles Wright (part owner of the celebrated bull Comet, who brought 1000 guineas at Charles Colling's Ketton sale) at Chasley, Yorkshire, in 1836, and imported per ship Susan. She was by Young Sir Charles, by Denby, by Jerry, by Albion, by Comet, dam Young Stayer, by old Windsor (vide Coates's Herd Book, vol. 58, page 14.) Violet, red and white, bred in England, and imported same time as Young Countess, by Major 397, dam by Yorkshireman, g d by Northumberland, g g d by Styford 103, calved Albion, November, 1838. In the same year Messrs. James and Major Lowe bought the imported bull Consul for 500 guineas. This bull was, in Mr. Robert Lowe's opinion, one of the very best animals that ever came to New South Wales. He was very large and handsomely proportioned, on short legs, tremendously thick and long without coarseness. Rich led in colour, with a few white spots, and a prize taker in England. He was bred by Mr. Assheton, got by Chevalier 1821, dam Fairy by Fairfax, g d by Young Baronet, g g d by Myrtle by Midas, g g g d by Broughton, g g g g d by Windsor, 6 B g g g d by Favourite 262. He was imported by Mr. Robert Dawson, who came out with and in charge of the fine cattle and horses imported by the Australian Agricultural Company to New South Wales, and was purchased from Mr. Dawson by Mr. Charles Roberts, of Wallgrove, near Sydney, from who Messrs. J. and M. Lowe obtained him; and Mr. Robert Lowe had the use of him for 12 months. The year 1839 saw another male added to this herd, Ranimbla, a dark roan, so called from his having been, purchased from Dr. Palmer, of Ranimbla, Cox's River, below Hartley, for 125 guineas. He was imported by Aspinall Brown and Co., of Sydney, merchants, to the order of Mr. James Atkinson, of Toongabbie; but unfortunately the doctor had lost his pedigree, and hence the bull's colonial name. In 1841 another importation was added - viz., Gog, one of two bulls (the other Magog), imported by Mr. Charles Smith, of Clifton, Windsor, New South Wales, calved in 1839; he was by Antonio (Coates "Herd Book," vol. 3, p. 724), dam by Reformer, g d by Rob Roy, g g d by Leriine, g g g d by Magnum Bonum, g g g g d by a bull bred by Mr. Thomas Wetherall, Holmes House, Gloucestershire. The same year Mr. Robert Lowe purchased for his brother, Major Lowe, a cow, Welcome, imported by William Walker and Co., merchants, Sydney, a dark roan, not showing so much quality, but of great size; got by Kirby, dam Merci, by Young Matchem, g d by Alexander, g g d by Marske, g g g d by Sweetbriar by North Star, g g g g by Wellington, g g g g g by Favourite 252, g g gg g g d by Ben 71. From the union of this cow and Consul came the bull Favourite; and from the cows Young Countess and Violet were bred two of the greatest landmarks of the Wilbetree herd - viz., Wilbetree, a light roan, by Consul from Spot, by Ranimbla from Violet; and Sultan, light roan, by Wilbetree from Lady, by Consul from Violet. In 1858 fresh blood was deemed essential to keep up the prestige of the stud, and the two bulls, Forrester and Middleham, were imported to the order of Messrs. Robert and William Lowe. Forrester, a light roan, tall and large framed, inclining to coarseness both in bone and horn, and showing unmistakably his strong dash of Booth blood; his sire, Example C. H. B., vol. 12, having been bred by Richard Booth, of Warlaby, dam Flora by Childers, g d by Sailor Boy, g g d by Voltigeur, g g g d by Pilgrim 4701. Middleham C. H. B., 16562, was a handsome dark roan, showing much quality, not a large beast, but thick and square, and a remarkably good doer. He was bred by Raymond Bruere of Brathdaite, Hull, and was by Sylvan Bring, dam Pink Thorn by Silkie Laddie, g d Tulip by Painted Laddie, g g d Leaf by Rouge, g g g d Tulip by Chance, g g g g d by a son of Wynyard 703. For a long time no further additions were made to the herd, either males or females, breeding being simply carried on by selection until in 1867 Mr. Robert Lowe, who had become sole owner of the herd, visited Victoria at the time of the sale by auction of Messrs. Morton and Leach's Mount Derrimut stud herd. He then added to his now popular stud the following purchases: - Royal Butterfly the 29th, 10 months old, for 151 guineas, a rich roan by Colonel Townley's celebrated bull Royal Butterfly the 6th, C. H. B., 18757, dam April Flower (imp.) a noted cow even in England, C. H. B., voL 13, page 590, by Richard Coeur de Lion, g d Mayflower by Abraham Parker, g g d Gay Lass by Ethelred, g g g d Gaiety by Albert, g g g g d Winnifred by Fitzmaurice, g g g g g d Wealthy by Wrangler, 1746; and Jessamine, 146 guineas, a fine, large, handsome red and white cow, by Sir Henry Barely, d Jessamine 2nd by Lord Raglan (imp.), g d Jessamine 1st (imp.), and from these two bred Royal Duke. Royal Butterfly the 29th was also the sire of Mr. Robert Lowe's celebrated red bull Sir Robert, calved 1871, the champion bull of successive Mudgee Shows, dam Beauty by Middleham, g d Violet by Wilbetree, g g d White Rose by Gog, g g g d the imported cow Young Countess. When, through an affliction of the lungs, Sir Robert began to show signs of decay, Mr. Lowe looked about for a sire, and his choice fell on Grand Duke of the Butterflies, a rich roan calf, 10 months old the champion at the Dubbo Show of 1875, bred by Mr. Frank Todhunter, Wambiana, near Dubbo, calved 10th September, 1874, got by 3rd Duke of the Butterflies, bred by Mr. R. Morton, Mount Derrimut, Victoria (by the Duke of Brunswick, imp., dam Rose of the Butterflies, imp.), dam by Emmett (imp.), g d by 2nd Duke of Tyne (imp.). In 1877 Mr. Lowe again had a dip into Mr. Frank Todhunter's stud, by purchasing Sir William, now doing duty as Lord of the Wilbetree Herd, champion and winner of the gold medal, Dubbo, by 11th Duke of Derrimut, bought from R. Morton, Mount Derrimut, for 1000 guineas, dam by Emmett (imp.), g d iby 2nd Duke of Tyne (imp.), g g d by Ranger (imp.), g g g d a cow (imp.), by the late Mr. William Charles Wentworth. Among the females sold that have added notoriety to their breeder's fame, and lustre to the Wilbetree herd, was Pet, a light roan, cow, purchased with others by Mr. J. de V. Lamb for Mr. Walter Lamb, of Greystaines, Prospect, the dam of Mr. E. B. Woodhouse's celebrated champion bull, Imperial Purple the 9th. For 40 years Mr. Lowe has introduced only imported stock, or their immediate progeny, either males or females, into his herd; and their chief characteristics quite bear out the great knowledge of breeding possessed by Mr. Lowe, viz., beautiful small heads and kindly faces, light necks very deep and prominent, briskets round, deep ribs, square and well let down quarters, good handlers with fine small bone, good handlers and rich colours. Being of the thick quality sort they show a true Bates type, perfectly distinct from the Booth; and yet how wonderfully well Pet nicked with the Booth bull, Imperial Purple. About 1870, bullock teams going out of fashion, Mr. Lowe fattened on the natural grasses three of his team. A deep red by Favorite, 8 years old, weighed, when dressed in Mudgee, 1560 lbs.; the other two travelled by road to Sydney, and then raffled, went between 1300 and 1500 lbs. (the exact weights of these having been mislaid). This combination making such great weights, beautiful quality and symmetry stamps this stud as one of the first among the shorthorn herds of New South Wales.
Horses Mr. Lowe is an ardent admirer of, and in bygone days bred some good ones, and among them many, celebrities when the old Murah course was the local convincing ground. Among these were Wentworth, Vagabond, lone, and Fair Australian, by St. John (imp.), and Fairy, by Lieutenant, the dam of Mr. Town's Illumination, not unknown to metropolitan fame. However, like many others of our early breeders, Mr. Lowe did not stick to running blood, and after using that grand horse Steeltrap, a very dark chestnut fully 16 hands, tremendous length in neck, shoulders, body, and quarters, short only in his head and legs, he tried the Arab cross by using an Arab stallion, Nedgee, imported by Captain Apperley, but as Mr. Lowe's name has not of late years, figured among racehorse breeders I conclude that for racing purposes the cross was not an entire success; but he has still a few nice mares, which are now on a visit to Wilberforce at Biraganbil. Among them are Eva, by Kingston (imp.) out of Eva, by Lieutenant out of Alice Grey, by St. John (imp.) out of Maggy, by Model (imported Arab) out of Black Tar, by Hector (imp.); and her half-sister Australia, by Australian (imp.); and Cameo, by Teddington out of the Kingston mare Eva, &c.
Having his home in such a sheep district as Mudgee, it is no wonder that Mr. Lowe tried his hand at breeding the popular merinoes. He began purchasing from the late Mr. N. P. Bayly, of Havilah, about 1852, 20 ewes at £2 10s. each, and a ram for £10. The ewes at their first shearing after purchase averaged 71bs., and the rams 10lbs., of clean greasy wool. About 1868, the Broombee stud having come into notoriety, Mr. Lowe purchased two hogget rams from the late Mr. Charles Cox for the, at that time, big price of £25 each; and since then only one infusion of foreign blood has been tried, viz., three rams from the Hon. G. H. Cox's Bunundulla stock. Breeding has been carried on by selection and culling, and the present stock numbers 350 females all told, including hoggets. Mr. Lowe had his sheep washed at Mr. Cox's washpool one year, and the fleece wool brought the highly respectable and remunerative average of 2s. 6d. per lb. in Sydney. The whole of these sheep are now in the hands of Mr. W. C. Reynolds, a Mudgee agent, for private sale. PROTOS3 .

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