Country girl Annabelle Bradley and city-raised livestock agent Keith Wilson were in a red-hot hurry to make their start on the land. She had 40 red Brahman cows and he had cash for sheep.
They couldn’t really afford their first property, but that didn’t stop them. With plenty of grit and a little luck, they made some perfectly-timed gambles on land and livestock, and moved seven times in 11 years.
Annabelle was born in the Mundubbera district in the Wide Bay region of Queensland. Her father Irwin’s Scottish-born family ran dairy and beef cattle along the banks of the Burnett River, while her mother Maisie’s family, the Berthelsens, were Danish timber mill folk living upstream.
Along with her two older brothers, Bill and Peter, Annabelle worked with Hereford cattle on their grazing property called Ringwood.
Initially a product of Beeron Road State School, after two years away at The Glennie School in Toowoomba, Annabelle told her parents in no uncertain terms that she was staying home for good.
A fearless rider, she quickly made a name for herself in local horse sports, competing every year from age four at her three local shows, Eidsvold, Munduberra and Gayndah, and later at campdrafts.
All Annabelle wanted to do was work on the land, but because her mother wanted her to have job security, she tried nursing at Rockhampton General Hospital when she turned 16. Laughing, she says, “I was back home before my next birthday!”
Advice from neighbours Arnie and Isabelle Kirk about cattle surviving in the harder country influenced the Bradley’s decision to introduce Brahman cross bulls to their herd.
“Their daughter Susie and I were best mates, and when the Kirks moved north to Rockley at Bajool, I’d travel up to stay with her on holidays and vice versa. That’s how my education with Brahmans started.”
Annabelle met her match at a community fundraiser at Gayndah showgrounds. She cut a glamorous figure as she and Keith Wilson danced the night away on their one and only date.
She was 20 and he 27.
After that, instead of going out, Keith would visit Ringwood on weekends and they would spend hours at the yards talking about how they were going to buy a property of their own.
Within months they were engaged, and Keith was transferred with stock and station agent Australian Estates to Roma.
“After we got married I started breeding Australian Stock Horses, but made the decision to give up horse sports. The show circuit costs money and we wanted to get on with buying country,” explains Annabelle.
They found a place called Gundai west of Surat in south-west Queensland.
The agent laughed at them saying “you can’t afford it”. Keith went straight to the seller to negotiate a price.
He had money for sheep and Annabelle had some Brahman cows, plus a bank guarantee from her parents.
It wasn’t the last time they were underestimated.
- If you would like to read the rest of Annabelle’s story, and others like it, you can purchase Cattlemen in Pearls online at www.cattlemeninpearls.com