Like any other selling day, the sixtieth anniversary of Cowra's Saleyards was a cacophony of creaky gates and the calls of sheep, being drowned out by prices, bids and the discussions of the market among mates.
For sixty years, the saleyards played a vital role in the agricultural economy, serving as a hub for farmers and buyers to conduct business, with this day something of a milestone for generations of farmers and buyers alike who have witnessed and borne change at the mercy of markets and drought.
Les Sutherland, who was born in Cowra says the biggest milestone for him was the first $50 suckling lamb.
“I was only a kid but I can remember the closing of Homebush saleyards. We’d put sheep on the train to go all the way from Koorawatha.” he said.
“When you think about it, they were sending them to Homebush, and next day they’d be selling them so they’d have to have been efficient.”
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Chris Cummins who has over 35 years livestock buying experience, said “From the late 70s onwards was my time. Everyone over the region sold their lambs in Cowra. I started with PD Mulligan. There’s nobody who will buy as many lambs as I’ve bought out of Cowra, and nobody ever will."
A common theme brought up by farmers was the social aspect of the saleyards, where people in a common trade are often separated by large distances and busy schedules - there's little other chance for them to meet.
"Of course there's no drink driving, farmers would often come here, go to the sale and have a few beers - so there was a lot mateship, there was a lot less depression back then because they had social contact. I’m not saying drink driving is good but the yards enabled a social outlet. There was a lot of depression that got headed off."
Mr Cummins said the saleyards also needed to be preserved for the vital role they play in the region.
“Saleyards still play a very important role for setting the benchmark for prices. They’re still an integral part of the community.”
Paul Dresser of JJ Dresser also said he'd seen a great deal of change.
"I was here at the first sale in 1964, my father was on the saleyard committee who helped start the yards, and I’d just left school. My brother and myself started selling in 1971 and have been ever since. You see a lot of change, in that era a trade lamb was 16 kilos. And now they’re 23. To say to someone in 1970 ‘there’ll be lambs in these saleyards here that’ll weigh 34 kilos they’d have shaken their heads and walked away.”
Mr Dresser echoed Mr Cummins' words about the value of the yards as a social space.
"I think it’s a wonderful thing, the social side of farming. To be able to talk about what is going on at your place, which you’re terribly worried about, you’ll find many of the others are having the same problems. It eases your mind to talk to them and see what they’re doing about it and then you can go home."
Mr Dresser, having attended the yards for years reinforced the value of the yards as a measure of quality.
"It’s very important, as small a saleyard it is, the quality here would be 90 percent top quality lambs and that’s what keeps this saleyard rolling through.”
The next generation of salesmen, sellers and buyers is in good hands, with Cooper and Joe Sullivan, as well as Will Cain. All three expressed their admiration for the generations who had kept the trade going.
Mr Cooper Sullivan told the Guardian that very morning, "My showed me a photo of Joe Dresser who helped design the saleyards. So I suppose it’s intertwined with Dresser’s blood and history, there’s a fair bit of a connection. The farmers probably only come off the property once or twice a week, talk shop and see how everyone’s going."
Mr Cooper Sullivan said "That's why why Cowra’s so strong, it's that it’s located in the breadbasket of the state. Everywhere you look, for a 300 km radius, it’s prime land. "
Mr Sullivan said the Saleyards were known for their quality and transparency.
“The saleyards are just one of many avenues you can go down. If they’re quality stock, you’ll find five or six processors standing up there waiting for you.”
