The offence was Trespassing. The location was an agricultural property 43 miles south of Mitchell named Albany Downs. The homestead and acreage of Albany Downs met the Maranoa River to the east. Tindal and Son owned the large parcel of land along with many others, including in Coolum and Grafton, New South Wales. Hereford cattle was the focus for Charles Tindal and his family, with beasts processed by the Australian Meat Co. for distribution in Queensland and New South Wales, and a steady export of preserved meat to London, England.
Image ‘The Albany Downs Trial’. Pictured outside the Roma Courthouse, the defendant, witnesses and a police officer, c1910. Owner Queensland Police Museum.
Albany Downs was managed by John Keable in 1909, and it was on May 14 Mr Keable was proceeding from the homestead to the road when he met a drover named Clanchy. The drover was herding approximately 1000 sheep along the river bank on the Albany Downs side. Mr Keable approached and advised Clanchy he and the sheep were trespassing, and that even accounting for the inevitable spread of a herd, his actions were contrary to Section 230 of the Land Act. Clanchy claimed to be following the stock route.
Donald A. Cameron, grazier and owner of the neighbouring property East Woodland, nearer to Mitchell, where the sheep had originated, was sued for trespassing and consequent depasturisation. The case was heard in the Roma Supreme Court and described by newspaper Queenslander as an ‘Important Pastoral Case’ owing to the question of the stock route. Witness testimony highlighted many variations to the terrain from fire which destroyed fences, gates and sheep brakes (approved resting places). Drover Clanchy was questioned at length about his knowledge of the local stock routes. Hillsborough grazier, Thomas Marsh, testified of his experience traversing the routes with and without stock.
Front page of The Wester Star and Roma Advertiser, June 12, 1909, courtesy of the NLA via Trove.
John Taylor, Roma Stock Inspector, provided a map obtained from the Chief Inspector of Stock. The map clearly indicated the district’s stock routes. Theodore Reinhold, Surveyor, testified he produced maps of Queensland stock routes using records from the Lands Department. The case was finally heard at Mitchell and after more witness testimonies, more controversy over the path of the stock route, and more discussion about the creation of maps, Mr W. Harris, PM, surmised the stock route to be unclear, the defendant therefore unwittingly depasturised the property. Donald A. Cameron was fined 1 shilling, £2 2s professional costs, and £11 17s witness expenses as reported in The Western Star and Roma Advertiser, 12 June 1909.
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This article was written by Georgia Grier of the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The museum is currently closed due to COVID19, with staff working remotely by email and phone. When reopened, hours of operation will be 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month, and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
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“FROM the VAULT- Depasturisation at Albany Downs” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode