About Us

MEMBERSHIP
The NSGBG has a large number of members across Northern NSW, a membership list is provided for your convenience under the Members tab. 

ACTIVITIES

Annually, the group holds two sales, a commercial sale in March and a bull sale in September.  Each year the group promotes the breed via a display of Santa Gertrudis Cattle and Steak sales at the Ag Quip Field days held in Gunnedah during August.  Along with scholarships for young people to the Tocal Beef cattle assessment course and Warwick junior school.   Contact the NSGBG secretary for catalogues, information or application forms on the above.

GROUP OBJECTIVES

To promote the Santa Gertrudis breed in Northern NSW.

HISTORY

The Northern Santa Gertrudis Breeders Group or NSGBG was formed in April 1977; the first meeting was convened by SGBAA (Santa Gertrudis Breeders Association Aust.) councilor Greg Cusack, Yass NSW and was held at the home of Ken and Jess Murchison "Kaytoun" Tamworth. Rod Murchison of Cobbadah Station Cobbadah was elected the first Chairman and four months later the first bull sale was held at the Tamworth Selling Complex. From that tentative first sale into the beef recession of the seventies, the Groups' bull sales have gone from strength to strength. Six sales were held at the saleyards site in the early years.

In 1983 the Northern Group joined the Peel River Land and Mineral Co holding the sale at "Goonoo Goonoo Station". The highly successful sales continued until 1985 when Peel River sold "Goonoo Goonoo" and moved their stud to "Windy Station", at Quirindi. Again the Northern Breeders Group sale returned to the present saleyards site because of poor lighting, the Group donated the floodlights in the Selling Centre as well as improving the public address system for the council owned saleyards. A highlight of the sales at this time was the show of led sale bulls held at the Longyard Hotel prior to the dinner, the afternoon before the sale. The show was then transferred to the showground due to safety concerns. The group has also donated a set of cattle weighing scales to the Tamworth Show Society along with a ringside stewards stand.

The success of the Group has no doubt been due not only to the enthusiasm of its members but to their vision and initiative to meet new challenges. One such person was Mrs Jennifer Birdsall, Tamworth, who devoted so much time and energy in the formative years and was the Groups' second President. With assistance from the SGBAA she saw the establishment of the Groups' first Breed Promotional Stand in 1979 at the AgQuip Field Days, held in Gunnedah every year. The display there has been expanded and is now a permanent fixture on the NSGBG activities calendar. In 1981 the Group organised a 3 day judging school. Many of the ideas initiated at this school, with Jennifer’s instigation, have been used at subsequent schools for the benefit of Beef Breeds in Australia.

The Group honoured Jennifer after her passing in 1983 by awarding annually the Jennifer Birdsall Medallion for the most outstanding cattle parader of the breed judged now at the Tamworth Show.

The NSGBG held its inaugural National Female Sale in 1987 and it continued until 1997. At the time due to unavailability of stud females and an increasing demand for commercial Santa Gertrudis and Gertrudis cross cattle, the first Commercial Sale was held. This sale has gone on to be an annual event attracting large numbers of vendors and buyers from a wide area sourcing Santa Gertrudis females and Santa Gertrudis Cross females and steers.

Throughout the eighties and nineties recording breaking sales and good clearances were achieved. However, all the records were swept away when an Australian Record Price of $44,000 was paid at the 1999 Bull Sale for an unled Santa Gertrudis Bull.

In recent years aware of the importance of Youth Education, the NSGBG offers two scholarships annually to attend the Beef Cattle Assessment Course held at the Tocal Agricultural College, Paterson NSW. In 2004 Ross Leggett, one of the students sponsored by the NSGBG gained first place and Josh McRae in 2003 and Jessica McCarthy 2006 scored very well gaining a position in the “Top Ten”. The group also sponsors students to the annual National Santa Gertrudis Junior Show held at Warwick and organised by the SGBAA.

With promotion of the breed foremost on its agenda, the NSGBG has initiated many innovative ideas to publicise the Santa Gertrudis Breed. Among these have been the highly successful and ongoing Ag Quip Field Days where the Group has established a reputation for excellent steak sandwiches and most importantly the promotion of Santa Gertrudis cattle. Some of the other group promotion activities have been our involvement in the Country Music Festival at Tamworth, judging schools, youth camps, cattle expos, Taste 2000 /2001 in conjunction with the SGBAA to mention a few.

Members of the Group compete for the Bull and Female of the Year trophies as well as runner-up awarded annually for the most successful Santa Gertrudis show animals, on a points basis.