Cavan Station

Author:  Nicole Crichton-Brown
Publisher: Harper Collins 
Format:  Hardback
ISBN:  9781460757420
Product Id: 6033
Dimensions (cm):  23.8 H x 26.8 W
Pages: 232

 Its early history, the Riley Legacy and the Murdoch Vision.

Cavan Station near Yass, now owned by Rupert Murdoch, is one of the most important grazing properties in the history of the Australian wool industry. The cradle of early innovation in the growing of fine wool, it is the place where, alongside their operations at Raby, the famous 19th-century pastoralists Alexander and William Riley, together with william Dutton, the first qualified vet in Australia, developed the Saxon merino sheep. One of only four strains that make up the modern Australian merino, the Saxon sheep is widely recognised as producing wool with out peer - on that is extremely white and bright in colour, soft to handle and fine in diameter.

This book describes the extraordinary legacy that the Riley's left at Cavan, their influence well beyond its boundaries and the highly scientific approach they adopted growing fine wool. The latter strategy, combined with sustainabilty, habe become the hallmarks of the Murdoch family operationat Cavan today, which is setting new standards of production in the wool industry.

With its location on the Murrumbidgee, just beyond the limits of European occupation that prevailed in the 1820's, Cavan entered Australian history even history even before the Rileys came, lyingas it did the path of Hume and Hovell's momentous 1824 expedition from Appin to Port Phillip. In a narrative that encompasses not only the Rileys at Cavan, but also the rich variety of its other signifiacnt occupants and neighbours in the district - including James Calvert, Louisa Atkinson, Samuel Terry and Hamilton Hume - the author, Nicola Crichton -Brown, takes us on a journey that brings to life the astonishing rise of the Australian wool industry and the contribution it owes to some remarkable individuals.