Australia and the World Past and Present

In the 1840s, 50s and 60s, Gippsland played an important role in the development of Van Diemon’s Land (now Tasmania).

Gippsland provided much of the meat needed by the growing convict population.

Port Albert and Hobart were connected by a very lively livestock trade.

This trade was established before the Gippsland gold rush of the 1860s and 1870s.

The large growth in the convict population of Van Diemen’s Land fueled development in Gippsland and the development of Gippsland provided greater resources for the southern island.

When this trade began, Gippsland was part of the Port Philip District of the New South Wales. Victoria became a colony in 1851.

Convict transportation to New South Wales stopped in 1840 and convicts were increasingly sent south.

Between 1843-7 the convict population in Van Diemen’s Land increased by fifty percent.

At this time, salted meat was being set down from New South Wales. However, if cattle could be sourced mush closer to the final destination it made a lot of sense to utilise it.

Supply was by tender and there was high competition.

The first shipload of Gippsland livestock landed in 1842.

The livestock industry in Van Diemen’s Land was still in its infancy. The influx of mainland livestock had a distorting effect on the price of local livestock.

By 1946 the vast majority of cattle consumed in Van Diemen’s Land was from the mainland.

According to a 1847 newspaper article, seven ships were constantly sailing between the two ports. There were roughly 30 to 40 bullocks per voyage.

Sheep were also sent. Of course, due to their smaller size as many as 150 could be sent on a single voyage.

In the 1840s and 50s, cattle were literally driven through the streets of Hobart and at times people were injured by the large beasts.

Convict transportation to Van Diemen’s Land finished in 1853.

By the 1860s demand for Gippsland cattle had grown in Melbourne and New Zealand.

The approach into Port Albert was fraught with risk due to the sand banks guarding the port. Some ships met their demise on these sand banks.

It took ships roughly four days to make the crossing but this could be delayed on account of rough weather.

This history is largely forgotten these days. Gippsland and Van Diemen’s Land contributed to the development of one another. This period history saw a large growth in the livestock trade and transportation networks.

Source: Wayne Caldow, Gippsland and the Van Diemen’s Land Livestock Trade: Log of the “Dew Drop” 1847-49, The Great Circle, Vol. 34, No. 2 (2012), pp. 19-43