During this period over which the foregoing reminiscences extend, great changes took place in the pastoral industry of Australia. Queensland north of the Darling Downs and the Burnett was theretofore unstocked and except by a few explorers unknown. In New South Wales cattle began to give place to sheep. Sheep stations hitherto had been small concerns compared with those which have since developed. Few proprietors held more than 50,000 sheep, the majority probably counted no more than 25 or 30,000. As the west of NSW and the west and northwest of Queensland became occupied by stock, larger areas became the rule and were held on leasehold tenure more or less calculated to encourage pioneers. And as numbers were the chief aim little attention was given to improvements in breeding.

In these times sheep were depastured in flocks tended by shepherds by day and guarded by night. In most cases two flocks occupied a “station,” the yards were adjacent to each other, the entrance being in opposite ends. They were situated in a position which offered a near hand water supply for the hut, either from a waterhold in a creek or from a well. Constructed mostly of logs laid close and piled on top of each other the fences of the yards afforded harbour for cats and other vermin which disturbed the sheep at night. Very few were of split post and rails. At the older stations the sheep dung formed a mound often 5 to 6 feet high and the approach would be bare of herbage to a distance of a quarter of a mile traversed as it was at morn and night.