Droughtmaster Cattle: How Queensland Graziers Bred Cattle to Beat the Tick

What is the Droughtmaster?

The Droughtmaster is an Australian beef breed described by Beef Central as one of the two most significant beef breeds in northern Australia. Its genetics are a mix of Brahman, Shorthorn and Devon, with Bos indicus blood introduced into British-breed herds. The Beef Central history of the breed traces how the cattle emerged from tick country in Queensland.

The breed has a red coat, a choice made by breeders who selected red calves over the more common brindle.

Cattle tick and the case for zebu blood

Cattle tick and buffalo fly reached Australia in the 1870s, arriving at Darwin on a shipment of Indonesian cattle and water buffalo. They spread into Queensland in 1886 and caused heavy losses. The article gives one measure from the Atkinson family's Upper Herbert herd, where 400 calves a year fell to 4 the year after tick fever struck.

In 1926 Monty Atkinson noticed tick-free zebu-cross cattle at Christmas Creek and Blue Range stations during a ride to Bluff Downs. Christmas Creek manager Bob McDowall had bought two zebu bulls that were previously Melbourne Zoo exhibits, in 1910.

Building the breed, 1933 to 1962

In 1933 CSIRO imported 19 Bos indicus cattle for a syndicate of four Queensland producers. By 1934 the Atkinsons were using half-blood red progeny from Ken Atkinson and selecting red calves, which became the basis of the red coat. By 1936 Glen Ruth had quarter-bred and three-eighths Red Brahman cattle, later expanding to five-eighths zebu content.

Monty Atkinson ran Glen Ruth near Mt Garnet and Mungalla near Ingham, which he acquired in 1943. Other breeders contributed: Bob Rea of Kirknie near Home Hill observed large efficiency differences between animals in the same paddock, and Ted Cunningham of Strathmore near Collinsville reportedly had the world's largest herd of pure Devon cattle.

How the society formed

The Australian Zebu Cross Beef Cattle Breeds Association was formed in 1952, with Monty Atkinson as foundation president. The name Droughtmaster Reds was chosen at a Townsville meeting in 1956. The Droughtmaster Society was founded in July 1962 at a meeting during the Townsville show with 14 foundation breeders, and the first official breed showing is believed to have been in Townsville the same year.

The article says 14 foundation herds, though its list names 18 studs, so counts differ. The 60th anniversary was marked at the Brisbane Ekka in 2022.

Traits and limits

Breeders describe hardiness, tick resistance and the ability to thrive on native pasture. Bob Rea's observation about efficient cattle that do well on poor feed is linked by the article to modern concerns about feed efficiency and methane.

The article is a society anniversary piece, so it leans toward celebration, and it contains the discrepancy noted above between 14 and 18 foundation herds. Tick fever was also a severe cost to herds in the north before resistant cattle took hold. Dates in the article are as reported there, and the 1962 date is the one given for the society's founding meeting during the Townsville show.

Learn more

For more about cattle country, see farm.FM's ranching section and a farm.FM story about Droughtmaster cattle. The State Library of Queensland's Droughtmaster Society records and the Oklahoma State breed profile provide further background.