Dairy Industry-Keith Escott's Story 1910-1912
Extracts from Keith Escott's letter to Merv Campbell
From England to Clyde, Victoria
We went on to a property at Clyde in mid 1909, fresh out from England, Father and Mother and seven sons. All except the youngest had been born in Australia. We were in England from 1905 until 1909. when my father had to return to a better climate for health reasons (he lived another 50 years!). Without any previous he decided to go on the land.
At this time there was little of the use of lime or anything else except superphosphate. The land grew beautiful wildflowers but there a constant fight against bracken, sorrell and rabbits - thousands of them. We boys trapped them for their skins the carcasses (of no value) were cooked for the fowls.
Father was the first farmer in the district to install the new-fangled milking machine.On the ship coming out he had met one Gillies, a co-inventor of the L.K.G. (Lawrence, Kennedy, Gillies) milking machine. These were worked by steam expelled from a wood fired boiler, creating a vacuum. At times the suction would drop off and so would the milking machines! However they were moderately successful although the cows had to be stripped by hand afterwards. As was the custom of the day, we boys helped with the milking before and after school.
Names I Remember
Names remembered at the school were Hardys (Hardys Road is still there), Funstons, Robinsons and Ridgways. The storekeeper was called Forrest and neighbours close to our farm were Sykes, Manks, Picken, Heffernan, Gates, Wherrett, Lineham, McKay, Hunter, Thornell, Brunt.
Clyde Dairy Industry Stories - click the headings below for more
| 1901- 1930 Dairy Industry Impact | Dairy Industry-Keith Escott remembers |
| Dairying- Perce Hardy Remembers | Dairymen Fined for Adding Water to Milk |