Fairhaven Droughtmasters History
Fairhaven Droughtmasters, one of the founding herds in Australia, was controlled by the Piggott Family in the Acadia Valley until 2005.
In the late Nineties, and early into the next decade, the Hewitt family identified a growing interest in cattle with characteristics similar to the Droughtmaster breed. For the Hewitt's, this meant an inevitable departure from Hereford seed stock, and the acquisition of Fairhaven Droughtmasters in 2005. Subsequently, a new era in Hewitt Cattle Company had begun.However, other red lines of cattle had already been experimented with by the company. These included Red Brahman cows previously purchased from Sir Graham McCamley of the renowned Tartrus Brahman herd, as well as the purchase of several Droughtmaster sires, most notably Huntley Battle. These cattle were co-joined into the newly acquired Fairhaven herd.
In December 2007, Colin Hewitt was approached by Mr Dick Vincent of 'De Grey Droughtmasters' from Bunberry in Western Australia, who offered his herd for sale. Considering the large numbers of sires used within the commercial herd of Hewitt Cattle Company, plus continued demand from clients, and the quality of the 'De Grey' herd, the proposal was accepted. Many of the 'De Gray' cattle were purchased and transported from West (a three day trip) to 'Fork Lagoon'.
Since entering the Droughtmaster Industry in 2005, Hewitt Cattle Company has invested over $300,000 on additional genetics from a number of other quality breeders, and anticipates additional selections in the future.
Fairhaven continues to provide high quality lines of both bulls and females for private sale, to new and existing clients. HCC presents high quality lines of bulls through their involvement with the Annual Droughtmaster National Sale in Rockhampton. With partnering studs, Fairhaven Droughtmasters will also continue to forge ahead in opening new markets such as those demonstrated through the success of the inaugural Artesian Sale in Blackall in 2009.
