Flanking the Barcoo River at Isisford in the heart of Queensland's best central-west grazing country, Isis Downs has come full circle since the turn of the century when Australia's fortune rode on the sheep's back.

In its 1912 heyday under the ownership of Clarke and Whiting, Isis Downs ran 230,000 sheep and employed up to 150 staff during shearing, its area totalling more than 2,430 sq km.

Management logistics, unfavourable seasons and post-War land resumptions saw the Isis Downs aggregation reduced to 1,227 sq km in 1987 when Consolidated Pastoral Co purchased the property.

The subsequent acquisition of nine surrounding properties has given CPC a 2,327 sq km aggregation capable of running 21,000 cattle in favourable seasons (or 120,000 sheep and 17,500 cattle). The herd consists of up to 5,000 breeders with the balance being heifers and steers finished for sale to feedlots or the meatworks, depending on the season.

Consolidated Pastoral Company made a decision in 2004 to move out of sheep and use Isis Downs solely for cattle. 5,000 Charolais Brahman cross females are run on Isis with Angus bulls producing cattle for the local trade and feedlot markets. Up to 5,000 steers are transferred from the Northern Territory properties each year depending on the season to fatten for the Japanese markets.

The Charolais cross females are bred in the Northern Territory and transferred to Isis as required to maintain the breeding herd. An Aberdeen Angus Stud has now been established to breed bulls principally for their own use. The annual turnoff from Isis Downs is now 8,000 depending on the season.

Contact

Isis Downs Station
PO Box 81
Isisford, Queensland, 4731
Ph: 07 4658 8203
Fax: 07 4658 8207
Email: isisdowns@pastoral.com

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