Garglen Brahman Company
The history of Garglen Brahmans started back in 1955, when Percy Bishop purchased a few Brahman cows from the Biggenden saleyard. These cows had come a long way from North Queensland so as you can imagine they may have not been looking their best after the trip. However, Percy saw something in those cows that day, and those few cows would ignite his lifelong passion for the Brahman Breed.
Percy continued to “breed up” with these cows until he could register as purebred Brahman breeders, with the then, very new Australian Brahman Breeders Association. Garglen Brahmans was finally register with ABBA on July 2nd, 1962, as ABBA Stud No. 63. We are so fortunate to have Percy’s immaculate handwritten records from the very beginning, where cow number one is described as “White cow ex Whiskey cow by Pascoe bull (smaller cow) No. 3096B V2 Garglen Snow White”. Little did he know then that Snow White was to be one of the founding cows in a Brahman breeding business that would be his passion for the remainder of his life, and to be carried on by following generations that would share that very same passion.
So, from 1955 to the present. The second and third generation Bishop families are now carrying on Percy’s dream, with the fourth generation in the wings. Garglen was relocated to Central Queensland in 2017, where we have intensified the stud operation. This was a big move for Shane and Sandra in particular, but we realised that the fear of change can be crippling to a business. With lots of encouragement from the children, we were so fortunate to purchase “Old Delargum” at Bauhinia, just before the incredible rise in property values. In our 6th year at “Old Del”, as the kids affectionately call it, there have been many changes and improvements to the property and cattle, at times both financially and physically challenging, but well worth the effort.
Our daughter Rachel and her husband Brad own “Wattleglen”, Moura, where they run mostly commercial cows but Rachel is indulging her “Brahman passion” with a small but impressive herd of Brahmans. Brad is a partner at Hourn & Bishop QLD, Moura, a very successful Livestock and Real Estate agency. They have two adorable children in Sophie and Lachy, who at 6 and 4 are competent horse riders and love a day at the yards with Mum and Dad, working the cattle - Lachy often in his spiderman suit and cowboy hat, and Soph has been seen in her tuille skirt, hat and top boots on many occasions. Sophie knows all the Stud breeders and which is her calf already, so it looks like Generation 4 is in safe hands. Garglen BR was registered in 2022 as ABBA stud Number 5946.
Matt and Josh have enjoyed a partnership in Garglen S, ABBA stud number 4486, for some years now. They have invested heavily into the breed and it is paying dividends, breeding excellent Brahman cattle of which they can recall each and every animal by pedigree, age, how many calves she has had, by what bull, and what the progeny sold for.
Josh has been with us at “Old Delargum” since we purchased it in 2017, and intermittently prior to that at “Craigleigh”. The information that Josh retains about every bull, cow and calf on this property is astounding. He studies pedigrees, and will recall them when asked “what is that calf Josh”, constantly, by his mother when drafting at the yards. His input into the breeding choices we have made has shown exceptional results.
Matt is also a partner at Hourn & Bishop QLD along with Brad and 2 others. He was fortunate enough to purchase “Warruga” at Bauhinia this year and is having a great time taking on the challenge to develop the property. Matt will marry Lara on October 28th, 2023 and yes, Lara’s family breed Brahmans as well.
We have had the good fortune of being able to source some outstanding genetics from both within Australia and the US. The constant upward shift in the Brahman breed is so impressive, and it is our plan to continually challenge ourselves to stay in line, or even hopefully a step ahead.
The Carinya Garglen Sale is a big step for us, but it seemed an inevitable move. Our relationship with the Kirk family at Carinya has been wonderful, with our children not only being cousins, but also great mates, that all share a deep passion for the Brahman Breed. So as the founder of Garglen, Percy would tell us - “onward and upward”. We know he would be proud of us, as we are of our Children and what they are achieving. After all, this is an inter-generational business.
We are – BUILDING A LEGACY.
carinya brahmans
The inception of Carinya Brahmans was in 1980, when John and Dawn Kirk purchased Carinya at Gayndah; however, this wasn’t where John began his journey in the Brahman breed. John’s father, Fred, saw the potential in Brahmans back in the 1950s, he purchased 100 purebred cows from Ken Atkinson of Wairuna and was amongst the first to sell Brahman cross bulls at the Eidsvold Saleyards roughly 60 years ago. They were Brahman Hereford cross and Shorthorn hybrids and made 150 guineas each. Fred, along with sons Arnie, Ron & John were a part of the small band of breeders to initially form what is known today as the Rockhampton Brahman Week Sale. F.A Kirk & Sons sold at the first sale and until the Inaugural Carinya Garglen Sale in 2023, had never missed it. So, to take a step away from RBWS was a decision not taken lightly. When Fred retired, he passed his Gayndah “Yenda” operation onto his two youngest sons Ron and John who kept the partnership active for many years, and established the Yenda Stud (prefix #44), in 1961. In 1980, Ron and John decided to dissolve the partnership; which is when John & Dawn purchased Carinya. John transferred his half share of the Yenda stud herd to Carinya and has continued to breed, sell and showcase successfully ever since.
Over the 43 years that John & Dawn have been at Carinya, the family have added Ticoba, Mt Saul, Gaylands and Verdun to the family business, as well as holding onto some country at Yenda. Between their son Matthew and his three children Mitchell, Lachlan and Brittany, there are now four additional registered ABBA studs under the Carinya prefix, all whom sell at the Carinya Garglen Sale.
John and Dawn were amongst the first of the Australian Brahman breeders to experiment with J.D Hudgins cattle and in 1988 they imported their first American bull calf in JDH Lord Hershey 415. Hershey was imported as a yearling and went on to be the most influential bull in the Carinya herd for quite some time. His progeny won enough points in the first year to take him into the Register of Renown. John spent a lot of time in the USA in these earlier years and ended up importing 10 bulls before the importation of live cattle ceased.
The foundation of the Carinya breeding program has always been to strive for good bone, a straight back, good head, spring of ribs and temperament. The majority of our herd is based on horned bulls, with a handful of polls. We understand that clients want more polled cattle so we are striving to incorporate the polled gene while retaining all the qualities of the Carinya type.
Major highlights for us have been the consistent, high averages at RBWS in recent years, and high-priced bulls such as Carinya Hazelwood ($115,000) in 2017, Carinya Milwaukee ($105,000) in 2019, Carinya Sugarcrater ($150,000) in 2021, Carinya Wickham (110,000) and Carinya Darius ($105,000) in 2022. We endeavour to continue to be able to bring these consistent, high-quality bulls to the breed and are very excited about some new genetics coming that are hitting the ground running.
We are proud of the family business that we have formed. Everyone has their roll that highlights their individual strengths. Matt lives on Ticoba and runs both a stud (Carinya M, Stud No. 4170) and a commercial operation. He has also expanded and delved into breeding and selling Simbrah bulls and holds a sale at Ticoba annually. Matt’s out-of-the-box ideas and ability to back himself has been a massive driving force for his success. He has been
more than generous in getting his three kids’ studs off the ground and is the backbone of any of their success. He often calls himself Santa Claus, however we know he gets just as much happiness out of his kid’s accomplishments as they do. He is an incredible, proud “Poppy” to his four grandkids also.
Mitchell and his wife Sophie, along with their daughter Mollie & son Archie live on Carinya next to John & Dawn. Mitch and Soph play an integral part in the management of Carinya. Sophie is in charge of the stud books there and has taken the record keeping in leaps and bounds. Mitch is heavily involved in all facets of Carinya, having lived and worked there for over 12 years now he is right across the breeding programs, nutrition and development of Carinya, Verdun and Gaylands. They have been selling under the Carinya J stud name for several years now, selling bulls up to $130,000.
Lachlan and his wife Stephanie, along with their daughter Ivy and son Hank, live on and manage Mt Saul at Hawkwood. Lachlan has an incredible eye for cattle and an unmatched work ethic. He is more of a “work in the background” man and likes to fly under the radar as much as possible. Steph is our in-house design guru and Simbrah bookkeeper. She’ll never turn down a trip to Bunnings or a nursery and is most often found in her immaculate gardens. Ivy is Lach’s right-hand girl, helping him muster and “poddy-pushing” in the yards when she isn’t at school. Lachlan & Steph have also been breeding and selling both red and grey bulls successfully for several years now under the Carinya L banner.
Brittany and her fiancé Clayton have made the move home to Ticoba, after being in Moura for 5 years where Britt worked for Hourn & Bishop Qld and learned invaluable skills over her time there. Since making the move home, she has put those skills to the test and has taken on the accounts and stud books for Carinya M, L & B, and works alongside Matt with the day to day. Matt gifted Britt a cow and calf for her 21st Birthday and she became Carinya B (Stud No. 5822). That calf was the dam of her first bulls to sell at the Carinya Garglen Sale 2023 with a top of $55,000. Clayton has his own building company; however, he hails from Baralaba, CQ and his heart lies with his cattle, dogs & horses. They are to get married in September 2024.
We are excited to be able to expand our studs as our family grows and are both honoured and excited to be on this journey with the Bishop family. We have some very exciting new genetics in the herd, so keep your eyes peeled!