History: Bylong Station
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1876
16 February 1876
THE LEE HERD.
(Leader.)
Among the earliest breeders of shorthorns, who at the outset went in for purity of blood, was the late Mr. William Lee, of Bathurst, who some 40 years ago imported cattle of excellent type from England, to lay the foundation of a pure herd; and having been at great pains and expense to carry out his scheme, he had the satisfaction of seeing the " Lee" cows considered quite the best to breed from. Not only did Mr. Lee establish several stud herds in the Bathurst neighbourhood, which his sons have continued to keep up to the standard of excellence by good management, and the judicious introduction of bulls from England and the crack breeding farms of Victoria, but his principal station at Bylong has for long years past, in the hands of Mr. John Lee, become better known, and more celebrated for the goodness of its cattle and as one on which there is a larger number of really pure animals, than any other in the colony; and there is hardly a herd of good shorthorns in which some "Lee" cows are not to be found. These, wherever they are seen, are remarkable for their exceeding fine quality of head and horn, beautiful expression, soft eye, delicacy of touch, and extremely docile temper; all of which, I take it, are the most valuable attributes in cattle bred, as all cattle should be, with a view to fattening at as early an age as possible and on the smallest quantity of food. As these "Lee" cattle are among the most valued founders of our present most celebrated studs, I have commenced the subject of New South Wales cattle breeding by a reference to the late Mr. William Lee, and the existing off-shoots of his early importations. The chief of these is at Bylong, where, as I have said, Mr. John Lee has established, by dint of great care and attention, a grand herd of about 1,200 head of the so-called three-quarter breds. Mr. Lee, however, is so particular in calling things by their right names, that nothing is indicated by the pure earmark, unless it is descended, and distinctly traceable in a direct line, from some of the imported cows his father originally brought from England; though I can assert from actual and close observation that it would take a better judge than I know in the country to pick out the pure blasts from those called three-quarter bred, all being so very good. The Bylong cattle are never artificially treated, or exhibited at shows; but the valley is so well grassed, and the grass of such good quality, that every animal is always fat. The country would easily carry double the number of head; but Mr. Lee, who I may say is noted as one of our very best judges of cattle, prefers keeping just the few he has of the one sort, without bringing strangers among them, except a good bull when necessary, which must be a very good one indeed to pass muster with him; and instead of showing young cattle at the shows he has established an annual sale of young bulls and heifers at Maitland. At the first of these held last year the lots were eagerly snapped up at prices much higher than were anticipated. I have on occasions seen a fat bullock from Bylong at a Sydney Show; and as a matter of fact, when they do put in an appearance, they invariably take first prizes. The Bylong Valley is situated between Mudgee and Maitland, about 50 miles from the former, and near the Goulburn River. It is entirely surrounded by a lofty range, through which there are but three ways to get out. The country was originally taken up by the late Mr. William Lee and the late Mr. Tindale, who were taken into the valley by the blacks. It is thickly grassed with herbage of excellent quality; and for unimproved land, without English grasses, I think it is the best for the purpose that I have seen, being, as all limestone country is, admirably adapted for breeding cither cattle or horses with stamina and bone, as well as keeping them in good condition; and turning off steers at three years old where other country will not do it under five. Mr. John Lee's favourite bull at present is The Scotch man, bred by himself, an animal who gets splendid stock, and the crop of calves this season is the best they have ever had, being all beautiful roans, and showing great symmetry as well as quality1
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1896
Bylong home-station itself, is not of any means in keeping with the reputation of such a bull-breeding establishment as this run has, there being no resident but an elderly housekeeper, who is very kind indeed to all visiting the place. Fences, stables, and the house itself have a neglected look, though the interior is comfortable enough, so far as furniture goes. The garden is a wilderness of thistles and other choke-alls, asserting themselves triumphantly like all useless things, and would mean a lot of hard work to lick it into shape. Mr. Lee seldom visits the place and his family never, which accounts probably for the moth and rust, and the bulls that break through and steal.
When the owner of Bylong condescends to pay the place a visit he is more like a physical telegram than a human being, the idea evidently being to beat the record between Bathurst to Bylong and back again. Here is an instance of what the squire, who is now 72 years of age, generally does. Leaving Bathurst in the evening by the mail train, he travels all night until Rylestone is reached in the grey dawn, where a fast horse is saddled and waiting to convey him to Bylong, a distance of thirty miles, which he accomplishes without drawing rein, in something under two hours. Then without waiting to swallow more than a cup of tea, the active Mr. Lee mounts a second horse - already waiting - with his trusted stockman in attendance, and away he cuts over hill and dale at a hand gallop with dogs barking and whips cracking to the yards where the bulls are mustered, and the day's work begins in earnest. This never terminates before sunset, when Mr. Lee races home again, dines, and retires, only to be up again at 5 a.m. to make the best of his way to Rylestone in time for the early train and back to Bathurst, all within a little over 36 hours.
So quickly is everything done, that he seldom has time to speak, unless in dotted crochets and semibreves, and is said to have tired every well-bred horse on the station. In earlier times these escapades would have been considered quite lazy, for it is recorded that he used often to come across from Bathurst to Bylong - before the railway was made - more than 100 miles - in the day. It is well for men that ride so hard as Mr. Lee, that horses feet in this lime-stone country are about as good as can be seen anywhere. The firm straight appearance of the hoof denotes that the soil is well suited to the feet, and makes them as sure-footed as goats.
Hanging in the dining room at the homestation are two well executed oils of Bylong and Cossack - noted 'cracks' in their day - and showing the quality of horse that was introduced into these parts in the early days. Mr. Lee, who has gained for himself such wide-spread fame as a breeder of bulls, has, no doubt, like many another successful man, become surfeited with fame and prize-taking, and, of course, is indifferent to eulogistic accounts in the press of what his bulls are made of. They are good stuff, and he knows it but what troubles him at the present time is the cheapness of such good articles, consequently preparing a beast for the show is a waste of time, trouble, and money. It is almost impossible to visit any first-class station without seeing some descendants of the famous Bylong herd scattered about in all parts of Australia, so that nothing too laudatory can be said in reference to father and son who have done so much in their time at Bylong to raise the standard of Australian cattle. They have set an example to stock owners that not many can hope to rival, and very few indeed surpass2
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1984
22 June 1984
1988
6 Feb 1988
2011
5 July 2011
Bylong sale raises land grab fears
A Rylstone man has expressed fears coal companies will target the town in the near future and purchase property for their disposal.
The fears come after reports on Tuesday that Bylong Station was sold for $18 million dollars to Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) in May.
Reports said the historic Bylong property was sold for close to six times the amount paid in 2004 by former owner Greg Fuller of the award-winning Pine Creek Angus Stud5 .