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22 | OUR STORY: INGLIS

George Inglis filling the drill while Andrew watches in 1928. Picture supplied

Andrew (Snow) Inglis reaping wheat in the early 1970s. Picture supplied

Family humble about cattle success months here and six months in the South East.”
Lin described Merriton as “a pretty reliable
The Inglis family are award-winning Shorthorn area” with an annual rainfall average of about
breeders and producers, with two Southern 380 millimetres.
Grassfed Carcase Classic titles under their belt. We don’t have wet droughts either like some
The competition is the largest carcase of those really high potential cropping areas like Carting hay at Ingleside in 1928. Picture supplied
competition in Australia, but the family remain Clare,” he said.
humble about their success, giving most of the While the Inglis’s did have 4000 sheep at breeding block where the herd graze on natural
credit to good seasonal conditions in the years Merriton at one stage following the wool boom, bush feed like clovers and blue bush.
they won. their focus has shifted to beef cattle and Mustering and weaning on the station is carried
Their enterprise is split into three facets - the cropping. out twice a year, with anything six months of age
3053 square kilometre Wirraminna Station, Lin said they had run Shorthorn cattle for as onwards transported south for growing out and
near Glendambo, 2815ha at Wandearah and long as he could remember. fattening.
2764ha at their home farm at Merriton, which “My grandfather had an AIS (Australian The cattle are sold on-hooks at two years of age
includes 1084ha leased from Lin’s brother Illawarra Shorthorn) stud - that’s going back to Teys at Naracoorte.
Andrew R. 100 years,” he said. Sam said good temperament was the main
“Bush tucker is a lot better we’ve found,” Lin “We started dealing cattle in the drought of breeding objective and selection criteria used
said. 1959. My dad and (livestock agent) Harry Pavy when culling.
“You can fatten something a lot quicker up flew up to Billa Kalina and ... bought a mob of He said it made handling and mustering easier,
on the station - if you had a rain at Wirraminna store steers.” and less stress during the trip to the abattoir,
or Mount Willoughby, the cattle would be fat The family breed their own bulls for resulting in better eating quality.
in two months, whereas it’d be about three Wirraminna, which Sam describes as like a “Shorthorns have good meat quality, are good

The Inglis’s crop 3000 hectares across Merriton and Wandearah. Picture supplied