The Gunnadorrah Station Rescue

Station History & Rescue Overview

Started by the Day family, Gunnadorrah Station, east of Kalgoorlie, is owned by people who breed the mixture of old and new bloodline horses for petmeat and for the Japanese meat market.

The OHHAWA accepts absolutely that this is a legitimate business. Horses, like cattle, are bred in many countries for human consumption and as petmeat.

The heritage horses on the property were/are thought to be from the Kidman line and appear to be a mixture of British pony and pintos (pintos being coloured horses without Quarter Horse breed influence - paints are coloured horses containing Quarter Horse bloodlines), as well as Arabian and old bloodline Thoroughbreds. These horses were/are unusual colours – including solid coloured and grey tobianos – and dilute colours including bay silvers, silver dapples (steel grey body, snow white mane and tail), liver chestnuts (filly born liver chestnut with blue grey eyes, later greyed out), chestnuts with black manes and tails, unusual grey variants, etc...in addition to a number of prettily marked bays and possibly blacks.

Anecdotal evidence gathered by Dr Sheila Greenwell indicates that the pintos on the station are descendants of horses related to the Queen’s old part draught pinto drum horse “Cicero”.

Modern Thoroughbreds and associated influence was also seen in a few of the horses – these horses were/are mainly blacks and chestnuts.

The majority of horses were/are light boned and between 13.1hh – 15hh.

Due to several years of drought and the resultant poor condition of some stock, the station owners decided on a mass cull of horses in 2006.

Dr Sheila Greenwell and associates heard about the impending cull and offered to go to the station and purchase as many horses as they could manage for petmeat prices.

We are sincerely grateful to the station owners for agreeing to and allowing the two resultant trips and rescue of horses.

SIDNEY KIDMAN

By the time he died, Sir Sidney Kidman was a Knight who owned or part-owned 90 stations with an area around the size of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland put together, about 3.5% of the Australian continent.

Today, S. Kidman & Co. is Australia's second largest private landowner with more than 12 million hectares of pastoral leases and agricultural holdings in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Northern Territory and Queensland.

"Taking care of the little things" had paid off. Unspoiled by success, Sid Kidman never forgot his humble background. He gave a lot of money away to support up-and-coming young people, outback communities, the Inland Mission, and in World War I he donated wool, meat, horses, ambulances and even fighter planes to the government.

The descendants of the Kidman horses are today believed to be some of the best old bloodline horses in Australia.

Photos at right taken on station, also photos of rescued horses...many of the rescued Gunnadorrah horses are today under saddle and are healthy, contented animals providing much pleasure to their owners...

Dr Sheila Greenwell with "Gunndaorrah Tom Thumb", the 3yo silver dapple stallion she retained following the rescue. Tom Thumb will stand at stud in 2007 - his first season.