History

Billabong Stud History - Droughtmaster and Brahman:

Billabong Stud is a family operation run by Ray and Moya Hicks and John and Catherine Hicks and family, based at "Billabong" near Moura in Central Queensland, Australia. The property of Billabong has been home for the Hicks family for over 50 years, we run Droughtmaster and Brahman herds on Billabong, and on Mt. Aldis and Sandra Downs at Bauhinia Downs and on Ramona at Barcaldine.

(Pictured - right: Rockley Redman with Alanray cows.Redman was the first Brahman Bull to be approved by by the Droughtmaster Society to be used overshorthorn based droughtmaster cows to increase their bosindicus content.)

The Droughtmaster Foundation stud of Alanray was started by LG Hicks and sons and began with a draft of heifers purchased from Monty Atkinson of Mungalla Stud Ingham and Glen Ruth Stud, Mt Garnet; heifers were also purchased from Jarvis Collins of Wandilla Stud, Marlborough. Following these purchases numbers were built up using Wairuna Red Brahman Bulls and Stud shorthorn cows using the Droughtmaster appendix registering D System.

When the family partnership was dissolved Billabong Droughtmaster Stud was formed from a selection of the Alanray Stud Cows. While selecting for structural soundness, quiet temperment, short coats for tick resistence and fertility our herd was ever on the increase to a point when we were travelling to sales at Clermont, Longreach, Charters Towers, Roma, Springsure, and Rockhampton every year selling bulls.

The decision was made to hold an annual on-property sale at Billabong, after constructing a sale complex, in September 1998 we held our inaugural sale, each year we sell between 120 and 160 bulls through our sale.

Our on-property sale is currently the only arena we sell our droughtmaster bulls through, but throughout the year we sell commercial and stud bulls as well as commercial and stud females from the paddock.

Over the years we have sold cattle to New Guniea, Mexico, Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria.

(Pictured Left / Above: Billabong Alert, a dominant sire in our earlier droughtmaster herd.)

We welcome your interest and enquiry.

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Brahman Stud History:

The first Brahman bull used at Alanray/Billabong was by Wairuna Tom and he was mated to red Shorthorn Cows from Natal Downs in 1959/1960. Some early sires were used from Avondale, Mimosa and Tartrus Robert who were purchased at the inaugural Tartrus Lancefield Sale. About the same time a draft of both red and grey cows were purchased from Ossie Clark, Allawah, Banana. Females also came from Banyak Suka, Tartrus and Cherokee Studs.

(Pictured Right: Rising 3 year old Reds and Greys by Cherokee Beau Bennie, Billabong Dollar, and Cherokee MI Kanda for Rockhampton.)

Until a few years ago we continued to run both red and grey brahman herds but then sold our entire herd of grey cows to a single breeder and have concentrated on our red herd since.

We sell our Brahman bulls through the annual Brahman Week sale in Rockhampton and Charters Towers Brahman Sale in October/November every year. Throughout the year we have both stud and commercial bulls and females for sale.

We select our brahmans for their structural soundness, quiet temperment, and fertility.

At Billabong our motto has always been Excellence and Satisfaction.

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