A Dream A Reality A Dynasty

The Grazing Industry

Many people today may not be aware that before Proserpine became the centre of a major sugar-producing area, it was encircled by large cattle stations. There had, in fact, been substantial cattle runs in the area dating back to the very early 1860s.

These early cattle stations included Bromby Park, now Goorganga (once owned by Bodes and Cottons); Bloomsbury (MacCartneys); Proserpine Station and Amelia Vale (Emmersons); Cattle Vale (The James McDonald family); Collingvale (James Collins) and Myrtlebrook (The Bradleys).

In the 1920s, some of these stations were cut up into smaller sections for cane farms but others survived to the present day and still contribute to the local economy.

The McDonalds of Cattle Vale Station

For over three generations, Cattle Vale was home to the McDonald family. Donald McDonald arrived from Scotland in 1827 as a free settler under a three-year contract to the Van Dieman Land Co. He shipped the first live cattle from England and a draft of sheep from Spain. Donald took up land in South Australia and later Forsayth in Queensland. In 1864, while looking for a suitable grazing area, he was fatally injured at Einasleigh River.

Donald and wife, Elizabeth Archibald, had 8 children including 3 sons - Donald Jnr, James and William. Eldest son, Donald Jnr, remained single and settled in North Queensland. William married Amelia Jochheim at Glencoe Station (in Wangaratta Shire, now Bowen) in 1877. They settled on Woodlands Station and had a family of six daughters. The second son, James, married Mary Hughes and they had two sons, Donald Archibald (Archie) and Bert. They lived on Glencoe before taking up Cattle Vale, including the Mountain Home selection in 1897/98.

When James died, this property was left to the eldest of his two sons, Donald (Archie). Archie married and raised three children on Cattle Vale - Vera (O’Donoghue), Doreen (Shelley) and Jim. James’s other son, Bert, who did not marry, owned the neighbouring property, Hecate. After selling Hecate, he retired to Kelsey Creek.

Archie Mc Donald took part in the social and economic life of the district, invested in property and was a member of Kennedy Stockholders Association. In the article, “Proserpine & District Pioneers”, from the special edition of the “Proserpine Guardian” (1947), W B Morgan stated that there was ‘a small cottage and orchard owned by McDonald occupying the land between Webbers Café and the Prince of Wales Hotel Corner in 1897’. Later, McDonald House was erected where Filby’s Toyota is situated today.

Recollections from Archie’s son, Jim, indicate that his family also owned land that included the hotel (Metropole), the picture theatre, skating rink and mini golf in Chapman Street. The picture theatre referred to was the Tivoli and this was also where the skating rink and mini golf were located. This land is where Porters Hardware and Plumbing is now located. The McDonalds also owned the first 240 volt power generator in 1912/13 to power their picture theatre.

On March 8 1919, “Proserpine Guardian” reported that at a special meeting of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, Mr D A McDonald generously offered to donate a piece of the land adjoining the skating rink in Chapman Street on which to build a ‘rest home’ (that being a rest room for the benefit of returned soldiers).

A J (Jim) McDonald took over Cattle Vale after the death of his father, Archie, but, in 1944, he sold it to Mr Fred Watts Snr and his wife, Marjorie Lyons, as he felt the west was more suitable for expansion and cattle grazing. Jim, Marjorie, and their young family moved to Cloncurry where they purchased Brightlands Station in 1946, laying the foundation for the family’s present extensive pastoral operations, MDH Pty Ltd.

In spite of remoteness, low rainfall and challenges of wild cattle, unfenced paddocks and cattle duffing, Jim and his sons, Bob and Don, increased their holdings and formed the McDonald Holdings Pastoral Company. With nearly two centuries of history in the pastoral industry and now 7th generation of beef producers, MDH

Pty Ltd is one of Australia’s largest beef cattle operations running 150,000 head of cattle on 14 Queensland properties covering 3.36 million hectares. The McDonald family still live and work on the founding property, Brightlands, as well as nearby Devoncourt.

So, what of Cattle Vale Station today?

Cattle Vale Station has had quite a few owners since the McDonalds sold to Mr Fred Watts in 1944. In August 1965, it was sold by then owners Messrs A & B D Collins to a Merinda cattleman, Mr G D Smith. Mr Jim Farr and family purchased the property in 1988 and sold it in 2005 to Mr Ken Stevens who still owns Cattle Vale Station today.

Blazing the Trail.

While sugar has replaced cattle at the heart of Proserpine’s primary production, the area owes much to these early cattlemen who blazed the trail. It was their search for grazing land that opened up North Queensland. The McDonald men must be recognised as part of the backbone of the pastoral industry of Queensland but so too those wonderful women who supported them through their endeavours and dreams.

Stay tuned for more stories of pioneers of the cattle industry in future editions.

Story and photos courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum.

The original cattlevale station homestead. Photo supplied.
Jim McDonald. Photo supplied.

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