Mungadal Station is a well-known station in the district.

Celebrating 160 years this year, we looks back on the history of the iconic station, and is based on a special feature from the Friday June 18, 1965 edition of The Riverine Grazier.

It was a large and intensive feature, seven pages with congratulations from Mr A.J. Grassby member for Murrumbidgee, and Mr A.A. Armstrong, Member for Riverina, and Cr M.B. Lugsdin, Shire President of Hay Shire Council.

There were significant advertisements placed from business associated with Mungadal, including Shell Fuel and Elders, Murrumbidgee county council, Dalgety, and other companies.

"Naroo Pastoral Co, proprietors of Mungadal Merino Stud, are today celebrating the establishment of their stud flock, 100 years ago.

Mungadal has always assumed a big part in Hay's history because of the size of the huge station, bordering the town, and the fact it is one of the leading Merino Studs of the Commonwealth, the prosperity of this town and district being dependent on Merino sheep breeding and Merino wool."

The Scottish Brothers Who Built an Empire

The story of Mungadal begins not in the sun-scorched plains of the Riverina, but in the rolling hills of Selkirk, Scotland, where three brothers dreamed of a new life in the antipodes.

The Lang brothers, William, Dr Thomas, and Gideon – were the sons of Andrew Lang, the head of an old established South of Scotland law firm. William and Thomas arrived in Australia in 1838, with Gideon joining them in 1841. The brothers were driven by the spirit of adventure and opportunity that characterised the colonial era.

Gideon Scott Lang (1819 to 1880) was a Scottish born Australian pastoralist who became a key figure in the pioneer settlement of Victoria, the Riverina and the Darling Downs regions. Born on 25 January 1819 in Selkirk, young Gideon left school at 16, perhaps already harbouring dreams of the vast pastoral opportunities awaiting in the southern colonies. Initially, William and Thomas held a sheep station on the Saltwater River, where Gideon joined them in partnership, giving him his first taste of the Australian pastoral industry. But Gideon was a restless spirit, and for a time he diverted his interests to an ambitious f ishing venture, attempting to establish a deep sea fishing company with grand plans to exchange fish caught in Australian waters with China and Batavia for tea and sugar. The speculation was abandoned, however, and Gideon again joined his two brothers in pastoral pursuits. Their partnership led them first to Buninyong, then to country on the Glenelg River.

It their was here that the brothers began to establish themselves as serious pastoralists, but sights were set on bigger opportunities further north. Gideon Lang was first introduced to the Riverina country in 1847 when he travelled overland to Sydney for sheep. On his return to the Glenelg, he stayed with George Hobler who had settled at Nap Nap in 1845, and it was perhaps during this visit that the seeds of their Riverina ambitions were planted.

The Great Acquisition

The year 1848 marked a turning point in both the history of Mungadal and the Lang brothers' pastoral empire. They purchased Mungadal from John Tooth, and soon afterwards acquired Pevensey from the same owner. Not content with these substantial holdings, they also purchased Eli Elwah on the east from N.C. Bagot, creating an impressive 30-mile frontage to the Murrumbidgee River.

The Langs bought Mungadal in the Riverina and soon afterwards Pevensey. They bought other runs in this area, including Wanganella North, and eventually held a 30-mile (48 km) frontage on the Murrumbidgee.

For some years the later town of Hay was known as Lang's Crossing Place. The brothers' strategic thinking was evident in their acquisitions. One of their main reasons for buying these extensive holdings was to provide stock for the goldfields, recognising the opportunity that the discovery of gold would bring for provisioning the thousands of prospectors heading to the diggings. Their foresight proved astute – the finding of gold in New South Wales in 1851 created enormous demand for meat and other provisions.

Meanwhile, Gideon Lang was expanding his interests even further afield. In 1850, he took up land in the colony now called Queensland, after spending considerable time exploring the country. However, the gold rush put an end to squatting pursuits for a time, and in 1853, the brothers consolidated their interests by fitting out a large cattle expedition.

After what was described as a "terrible journey," they successfully got their cattle onto the stations they had taken up on the Murrumbidgee. The Lang brothers understood the importance of creating connected runs that would enable them to travel stock more easily. This strategic thinking led to their acquisition of Wargam and Willurah, and later Wanganella North (then spelt Wangonilla and later known as Booabulla) from W.A. Brodribb. By 1861, they could travel stock over their own land from the Murrumbidgee to the Billabong – a remarkable achievement in pastoral connectivity. Stocking the Empire Like many Murrumbidgee holdings of the era, Mungadal was first stocked with cattle. In 1853, the Lang brothers brought 700 head from the Glenelg when they disposed of their interests in that district. However, recognising the superior wool producing potential of the Riverina's climate and pastures, they later purchased 6,000 sheep from the Port Phillip District. The partnership that had created this pastoral empire began to fracture around 1862. When the dissolution came, William retained Wargam, while Thomas and Gideon, with Mungadal and 'Wangonilla' as their base, pioneered well beyond the Lachlan, taking up Yallock and Tiarri north of Trida. Prior to this division, in 1861, Pevensey had been sold to F.R. Godfrey and F.B. Chambers, while Eli Elwah was sold to George Fairbairn in the same year. The 1860s brought both expansion and hardship. William Lang and Matthew Palmer, the latter being the Lang's former manager at Eli Elwah, owned Canoon together. Lang dropped out in 1871 or 72, and Palmer carried on until 1881, when it was sold to Austin and Millear. The decade also brought the great challenge that would test all pastoralists of the era – the devastating drought of 1866.

The End of an Era

n 1865, a significant chapter in Mungadal's history closed when the property was sold to Colin Simson. The great drought of 1866 proved particularly harsh for Dr Thomas Lang, who fared ill under the pressure and had to succumb to the banks, losing much of his pastoral property. He moved to a selection at Woorandara on the Lachlan near Booligal, where he resided quietly, living on the proceeds of his medical practice until his death in 1884. The legacy of the Lang brothers in the district extends achievements. beyond their pastoral The town of Hay, officially named in 1859, was originally known as Lang's Crossing Place. There is a street in South Hay named Lang Street on land that would have formerly been owned by this family. Apart from this and the parish of Lang, however, there is surprisingly little in the district to remember this remarkable Scottish family who played such a crucial role in opening up the Riverina to pastoral settlement. The name Mungadal itself speaks to the deep history of the land. It is a First Nations name, one of four associated with the original run – the others being Dingadal, Wingadal, and Palapalah.

A striking photo of Mungadal woolshed. Image: Darren Ripper Photography

The meaning of Mungadal is particularly poetic: "plenty young birds," suggesting a place of abundance and renewal that would prove prophetic for the generations of pastoralists who would follow.

The Simson Era Begins

When Colin Simson purchased Mungadal in 1865, he was acquiring not just land, but the foundation of what would become one of Australia's most renowned merino studs. The original foundation of the Mungadal stud began in that same year when Simson introduced strains of sheep from some of the top breeders of the day onto the property. The original sheep came from the flocks of Mr Currie, who was a foremost breeder of his day and ranked alongside Mr John Aitken and the Messrs Learmonth. According to authoritative records of early sheep breeding written by Ryrie Graham, sheep from these breeders were far superior to the famous Macarthur breed from Camden in terms of carcass quality, length of staple, fleece weights, and density.

Colin Simson was the member for Murrumbidgee many years ago in the New South Wales Parliament, and was part owner and managing trustee of Mungadal Station near Hay until it was sold to Mr. Anthony Hordern. Simson's vision extended far beyond simply running sheep; he was laying the foundations for what would become a world renowned breeding operation. In later years, Simson introduced the Ercildoune and Tasmanian strains, two bloodlines that would prove enormously influential in Australian merino breeding. Between 1878 and 1884, Ercildoune and the famous Tasmanian stud, Scone, vied as to which would top the Melbourne sales.

The Ercildoune name is still favourably remembered, and its wool had perhaps a better reputation in England than any other from the colonies. Contemporary reports from 1880 told English buyers that "the sheep are well formed and of good size and the wool may be cited as a specimen of what is known as Australian Merino wool in its highest perfection. The staple is long, with high quality and great lustre." The Tasmanian sheep were practically pure Saxon, and the Tasmanian breeders had succeeded in preserving the best qualities of Saxon wool. By 1860, they were breeding a very profitable kind of sheep, and although it is now known that the Tasmanian climate was unsuitable for developing a Merino at a very early age, the strain had such a reputation that it was unusual for any but a Tasmanian-bred ram to top the auction sales in Sydney or Melbourne. They achieved this success in open competition with the increasingly popular Peppin sheep. Colin Simson gave the Mungadal stud the best possible foundation that any budding Merino stud could expect. His careful selection of bloodlines and commitment to quality would establish principles that would guide the property through its subsequent ownership changes and ensure its place among Australia's elite studs.

The Simson family's connection to Mungadal ran deep, with his son Roy Simson continuing the family's involvement in the property until its sale to Anthony Hordern in 1923. Roy Simson was 56 years of age when he died, and until the year before had been part owner and managing trustee of his father's property, Mungadal Station, near Hay. After it was sold to Mr. Anthony Hordern, Mr. Simson went to live on his own property, Nyingay, adjoining the back of Mungadal. The foundation work done by Colin Simson during his ownership of Mungadal from 1865 to 1923 created the genetic and management framework that would support the property's rise to international prominence under its next owner.

The careful attention to bloodlines, the emphasis on wool quality, and the commitment to breeding excellence established during the Simson years would prove invaluable in the hands of Anthony Hordern, who would take these foundations and build upon them to create one of the world's most celebrated merino studs.

To be concluded next week.