The lure of gold in the 1800s, losing a property in a card game, and fudging the numbers to keep a school open, are all part of a farm’s history on the New South Wales mid north coast.
The property with its colourful history is about to enter another chapter with the commercial dairy operation ending after 60 years.
After spending his 73 years on the family farm at Brombin, 15 kilometres west of Wauchope, Bert Bradford has decided it is no longer worth milking his beloved Illawarra cows.
“It starts at the top. By the time everyone else has got their cut there is nothing left for the farmers.
“I don’t think I’ll miss it that much because I have done it for so long.
“A change is as good as a holiday they reckon. I don’t want to be going into a dairy with a walking stick.”
A history rich in gold
While primarily a dairy operation for the past 60 years, the farm on the Hastings River since 1863 has produced potatoes, pigs, beef and corn all originally financed by gold.
Bert Bradford’s grandmother was the first generation born on the farm established by her Irish father in 1863
ABC Rural; Michael Cavanagh
His Irish great grandfather Jim Gurney like many of his compatriots took off to the colonies hoping for a better life.
“My great grandfather, went to Hanging Rock. He got a fair bit of gold up there,” Mr Bradford explained standing behind the dairy which at its height milked 90 cows.
“When he came here to Brombin he saw the land for sale. So he bought it off the Crown.”
Big stakes in card game
The gold find was such that he wanted more land.
But the law of the day restricted how much land an individual could own.
This did not deter Mr Bradford’s ancestor.
Although his move to get his hands on the neighbouring 11 hectares later led to a split in the family.
“He dummied it up in his brother-in-law’s name. But his brother-in-law lost it in a card game,” Mr Bradford explained while in sight of the block in question.
“There was a bit of a rift in the family for a while but they got over it. It healed up.”
Despite the block being “a nice bit of land,” he is not tempted to try and buy it back all these years later.
He is even more reluctant to chance his hand and try to redeem it in the manner that it was lost — through the fall of the cards.
“I’ve got all the land I need. A card game, I’d probably lose more,” he said with a laugh.
For Mr Bradford, his life has revolved around the farm where he still has free range chooks and also pigs, which were a standard on any dairy in the district.
Unlike many dairies in the district Bert Bradford still maintains pigs fed by the milk from his Illawarra breed
ABC Rural; Michael Cavanagh
Rules are for bending
That involvement in the district began early with him attending the local one teacher school at the age of three.
His early start in formal education was to circumvent regulations which could have led to the school closing.
The bending of the rules is probably not surprising given the family’s history of flouting the earlier law which led to the shonky purchase of the land later gambled away.
The school’s number was below what was required for it to remain open
His mother who had left the farm for Newcastle to be educated to be a nurse and then on to Sydney had returned to the farm after marrying a merchant seaman.
She wanted the school to remain and so enrolled Bert who enjoyed his early start.
Although because he was a lot younger than many of the other pupils, part of his school day included a nap after lunch in the home of the school’s teacher.
His mother’s willingness to buck the system over schooling does not surprise Mr Bradford.
Mother knows best
He credits much of the farm’s success in later years to the abilities of his mother who was leading an active life up to her death aged 95.
Although he believes his mother would understand this latest move.
“She would be disappointed, but would understand the way farmers are being treated.
While the dairy will no longer hum early morning and late afternoon, Mr Bradford plans to keep some pigs, run the chooks and raise cattle for processing.
Although he won’t be buying supermarket milk, as he plans to keep some cows for domestic use.
“I like me good raw milk. That’s the best milk you can get. Raw milk. Not this pasteurised buggered stuff.”
No longer milking after 60 years, Bert Bradford will keep calves for sale from the farm which has been in the family since 1863.
Source: abc.net.au
