Summary

An extract from the Foreword:

The pastoralists who in 1861 hastened to take up runs in the newly-opened Kennedy District had every reason for confidence. Sheepgrazing had long ceased to be experimental or precarious; it flourished throughout a broad continuous belt of country from western Victoria to the Darling Downs. The export trade in wool was well-organized and prices were firm: financial backing for expansion of the pastoral industry was readily available. Almost to a man the Kennedy pioneers had ample experience as graziers. The land had been judged first-class for grazing by several experienced witnesses; it was offered on terms which took careful account of experience elsewhere in Australia and which were designed to attract pastoralists.