When Australia rode on the sheep’s back – David Boyd’s book captures a unique chapter in our history

Story: Tricia Duffield, Rod Corfe and Ian Cole

Although it started as a personal memoir to share with his grandchildren, David Boyd’s beautifully illustrated autobiography ‘Pastoral Pursuits – David Boyd’s Autobiographical Collection’, is a record of one of the most significant eras in NSW agriculture.

David Boyd may not be a household name, but he has been a key figure in the growth and success of Australia’s wool, wheat, cotton and beef industry, and is well known on the Bourke and Brewarrina Shires.

David was the man tasked with acquiring vast properties for the pastoral company Clyde Agriculture, owned by the British-based John Swire and Sons.

His book is not just the personal story of David’s rise through the industry, but a record of a time when Australia truly ‘rode on the sheep’s back’.

Clyde Agriculture had deep ties to Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett, with its Bourke cotton gin a major employer at Bourke, and with property holdings stretching across the three shires and beyond.

David steered the massive growth of Clyde Agriculture, which included a property portfolio containing some of the most significant holdings from Coonamble and Warren to Cunnamulla and Quilpie, including the mighty Toorale and Beemery stations. Clyde Ag was for a short period, the largest wool grower in Australia, the fourth largest cotton grower, the seventh largest wheat producer and NSW’s largest beef producer. […]

David Boyd at the Bourke Show with Lisa and Bill Ridge. Photo supplied

Read more local news in the printed edition of The Western Herald.

To subscribe call (02) 6872 2333 today and receive The Western Herald in your letterbox next week!