Despite deer being a feral pest in Queensland, the animal holds much nostalgia while featuring on our state’s Coat of Arms.
This traditional appeal is being captialised on by Somerset Regional Council who are using the local deer population to attract tourists.
The council has released a new tourism brochure featuring the history of Red deer across Queensland and Somerset region.
“The local Red deer population holds much importance in our area because they were a gift from Queen Victoria to Queensland in 1873,” a council spokeswoman said.
The official unveiling of a Red deer statue in October at the front of Toogoolawah’s Somerset Regional Art Gallery was the pinnacle of the region’s tourism campaign. The lavish affair was attended by the Governor of Queensland, Paul De Jersey AC, and the bronze Red deer statue, called Norman, is hoped to be a centre piece for attracting more tourism.
The Red deer was sent as a gift by Queen Victoria to the Queensland Acclimatisation Society in celebration of our state being named in her honour. Two stags, Norman and Bolingbroke and four female hinds, Atlas, Alma, Ada and Martha arrived from the Windsor Castle gardens aboard the Great Queensland ship. The Governor of Queensland at the time was His Excellency Lord Normanby, who approved the intention to locate the deer at Cressbrook and consigned the cargo of deer by Her Majesty the Queen.
Media at the time reported “the six splendid red deer, a present from Her Majesty the Queen to the Colony of Queensland, are located on deck in three boxes of 5 feet square each. For their sustenance during the voyage four tons of food, consisting of beans, carrot, onions, mangolds, swedes, oilcake and hay have been provided, of which I understand the animals will consume about a bushel a day in addition to the fodder. The allowance of water is a gallon a day each deer.”
The Red deer arrived at a property near Cressbrook on September 19 in 1873.
