The Gavin family are generational farmers at Moyne.Digital images of cows at Moyne, Victoriadairy, cows, moyne, farm, cattle, livestock, herd, 1086

This photograph was taken at Samaria Farm on Sunday the 5th of September when Wooragee Landcare Group took a bus trip to the Tatong area (near Benalla) to look at land use on small farms. The day trip was organised to observe land use on small farms as well as a social event for the Group. Samaria Farm at the time was a nine-hectare property located in northeast Victoria, near Mount Samaria, 130 km Northeast of Melbourne. The photograph features several pigs believed to be the breed called Large Black. The Large Black Pig breed is a traditional, heritage breed that was first imported to Australia from the UK in the early 1900's. It is believed to have originated from the Old English Hog of the 16th and 17th Centuries. The first reference to them in the Australian Pure Bred Pig Herd Book was in 1912. They are a black pig with lop ears and were prized for their superior milking and mothering abilities and soon became popular with early Dairy Farmers who fed them whey from separated milk as part of their butter making process. They proved economical to keep and, being excellent grazing pigs, were also used to pick up windfall fruit in orchards. Their black colouring also enabled them to withstand the hot Australian summers and avoid sunburn which combined with their hardiness and docile temperament made them highly suitable for free-range pork production, however Large Black pigs tend to get very fat and were not suitable for intensive farming so were often crossed with other breeds for pork production. They are now quite rare as a pure breed having been on the edge of extinction for some time. They were rescued in the early 1990s by a rare breeds farmer in the Yarra Ranges. These days they are also the focus of a small conversation effort with six registered breeders currently in Australia. For biosecurity reasons there are no imports of live pigs or pig semen permitted into Australia. This photograph shows a group of people attending one of the events that Wooragee Landcare Group has organized within the educational framework of promoting best land management practices for all types of land uses and ensuring sustainability, in addition to encouraging community interaction via social events. The Large Black pig breed is significant because of their role in early Victorian farming. They are now quite rare as a pure breed having been on the edge of extinction for some time. These days they are the focus of a small conversation effort with six registered breeders currently in Australia. For biosecurity reasons there are no imports of live pigs or pig semen permitted into Australia. Wooragee Landcare Group is important to local community landcare and environmental management practices.Colour rectangular photograph printed on paperObverse: WAN NA EONA2N2. ANN+ 3 4240/ (No. 17) 370samaria farm, wooragee landcare, wooragee landcare group, tatong, benalla, black pigs, large black, traditional breed, heritage breed, pigs, lop ears, free range pork production, early victorian farming

Wooragee Landcare Group took a bus trip Sunday 5th September to Samaria, Tatong area (near Benalla) to look at land use on small farms. Around this time, Wooragee Landcare were looking into how small land holders could run some enterprises. This photo was taken at Tatong Tavern where the group had lunch. The Tatong Tavern is an old English style pub situated in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range the small community of Tatong 23km south-east of Benalla. The original weatherboard hotel was originally built in the 1880s by William Worrall who was listed as Hotel Keeper from 1886 to 1910. It was destroyed by fire in 1923 and replaced by the current building, which has undergone many changes over the past 100 years. The name has also changed from the Tatong Hotel or ‘Pub’ to the current name of Tatong Tavern.Tatong is a rural village in north-east Victoria, set in undulating country that rises southwards to the Tolmie ranges. The name is thought to derive from an Aboriginal expression, possibly referring to something unseen. The Tatong pastoral run was taken up in 1847 and farm selections began in the 1870s. A school opened in 1890 (closed in 2006). Dairy herds were grazed on the Tatong flats and a cooperative creamery operated from 1892 until 1918. In 1914 a branch railway line was opened from Benalla to Tatong that carried farm produce and timber to Tatong, which had two sawmills in the 1920s. There was also a general store, a police station, and a livestock trucking yard. St Albans Church of England was built in 1921. Most of those buildings have now disappeared. The Tatong Tavern along with the Hall built in 1904 are the only remaining buildings. The Tatong Tavern is a significant tangible and visual representation of the area’s cultural and social history over the past 100 years. Coloured rectangular photograph printed on paperReverse: WAN NA E0NA2N2. NNN- 14240/ (No. 20) 373/ tatong, tatong pub, tatong tavern, tolmie ranges, tatong flats, benalla, wooragee landcare, wooragee landcare group, bus trip, samaria, land use, william worrall, 1800s, 2004, mount samaria

The number of cattle in this photo suggests that it was a small holding, at the beginning of the dairy industry in Bacchus Marsh. This industry became a major source of employment in Bacchus Marsh. By the early twentieth century, the Bacchus Marsh region was a significant contributor to the dairy industry in Australia. Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. This is a photo of a dairy farm in an unknown location in the Bacchus Marsh district. It has been taken from an elevation looking down at the farm. On the left, the roadside can be seen running alongside a stream or river which is fenced off by a line of trees and a post and rail fence. Parked on the road outside the farmhouse is a wagon which is unhitched. The wagon has a white rooftop and on the side can be seen a professional logo, details unclear. This wagon is most likely the wagon used by the photographers to access outlying properties with their photographic equipment. The farmhouse itself faces the road with side doors giving onto the yard. The roof is partially covered by new slates, possibly slate covering bark. Six milking sheds of post-and-rail construction adjoin the farm yard. In the first and fourth stalls (l to r) the farmer and his wife can be seen seated, miking cows. The rest of the herd are awaiting milking in the yard which also has a post-and-rail fence. A bull of milking shorthorn breed stands outside the fence. The milking herd itself is of various breeds; Herefords, roan shorthorn and roan and white shorthorns can be identified. On the right is a shed of rough-hewn boards and a shingle roof. In the yard at the back of the house stands a cart or dray. On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. dairy farms, stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district