DEVON HISTORY IN NEW ZEALAND

One of the oldest recorded breeds and amongst the first purebred British cattle to come to New Zealand and Australia. Devons came to New Zealand with the British Pioneers. In 1838, James Busby brought the first 20 heifers and a bull from England. The cattle were used to form the basis of bullock teams, hauling Kauri logs, breaking in and cultivating the land as well as providing milk and meat for the early settlers. Drovers loved them for their docility and their sweeping horns, which helped define width on the primitive tracks.

With other imports from Australia and England, the cattle continued to grow in popularity until the 1920s. With the coming of metalled roads and the motor vehicle, their use as draught animals and their numbers declined, beef production now becoming their main purpose. The cattle continued to survive in small pockets with a few established herds being maintained, some lines, which traced back to the original Busby cattle. Some new herds were formed, and established breeders continued to import Devons into New Zealand to improve their herds but numbers of the cattle in the country had dwindled drastically.

In 1972 Mr Darcy Gilberd of Whangarei spearheaded a drive to re-establish Devons throughout New Zealand. Acquiring Red Devons from every available source he was instrumental in forming the first Devon Breed Society. He enlisted the help of Dr Clive Dalton to find a sound classification system to standardise breed characteristics The Devons ability to thrive in hard conditions, its docility and the production of "more beef per hectare" resulted in increased popularity through the seventies and early eighties. In 1980 mandatory performance recording was taken over by the Beef Plan computer system, the first breed to introduce this rule despite some initial resistance.

Due to the agricultural downturn in the mid 1980s and the fashionable trend of using large exotics for cross breeding, Devon numbers had fallen drastically again by the early nineties. Less than thirty herds remained and even those loyal breeders reduced their herds to only their very best registered cows.

In 2000 New Zealand hosted the Devon World Conference, and this proved to be a watershed for the breed in New Zealand. The overseas visitors were impressed with the quality of New Zealand Devons, which led to renewed confidence and vigour amongst breeders. Semen imports into New Zealand increased from Australia and England which allowed breeders to purge their herds with new genetics.

In 2003 the Rotokawa herd managed by Mr Ken McDowall exported 10 in calf heifers to America. Embryos and many tanks of semen were to follow, and continue to be sent by Rotokawa and some other herds to America, Canada, Australia, Brazil and England to name a few.

With increased promotion of the cattle at field days, in the press and at agricultural shows, and the welcome setting up of new herds that follow, numbers once again began to increase. At the beginning of 2008 there were in excess of 50 registered Red Devon herds in New Zealand.

If sustainable farming is to continue it will be the hardy, most efficient breeds that provide the best profits and Devons are ideal for meeting these criteria. The enthusiasm for Devons in the commercial market place worldwide shows their attributes are now being more widely recognised and augers well for the breed.

DEVONS ANCIENT HISTORY

No one is sure when the Devon established itself as a distinct breed. They could be descendants of the neolithic Longefrons, or the Urus which followed the Anglo Saxon Conquest. There is a chance that the beef breeders of ancient times were just as keen on continental imports as many beef breeders are today. There is for instance a marked similarity between the Devon and French Saler.

Its distinctly possible that the Devons tropical survival kit is an inherent characteristic dating back to the time when the Phoenicians came to South West England for timber. Red cattle from North Africa could have been among the goods they bought to barter for the precious metal which is still mined in Cornwall. Early Historians talk about the heavy red draft oxen the Romans used during the invasion for road building. This could explain the fact that while the Devon is wonderfully resistant to the snow, cold and wet of winter, the breed is virtually indifferent to the extremes of heat. With hundreds of years of development the Devon is a genetic history book in itself.

The Devon is not a historic curiosity, it's a practical weather-proof animal requiring the minimum of husbandry and capable of earning its living in distinctly inhospitable surroundings. Believed to have been the first purebred British cattle in America, it is an established fact that the red cattle from Devon were taken to America by the Pilgrim Fathers. In 1623 the sailing ship, Charity, brought one bull and three heifers to Edward Winslow, the agent for Plymouth colony.

The Quartely family of Devon established their version of the breed between 1793 and 1823, but before that the family had been busy with the "Red Rubies" from the mid 18th century onwards. There was a set back during the Napoleonic Wars. Breeding stock was sold to victual H. M. ships of Devonport dockyard and this prompted Francis Quartely to redouble his efforts to save the best cattle.

In 1797-98 the Devon cattle were first performance tested on the estate of the Duke of Bedford against Sussex, Hereford and Leicester cattle. This test was claimed to be proof that when the cost of production is taken into account the Devons had a better yeild in return for feed consumed. Nearly two centuries later this is still relevant with the field of breeds much wider.

In Britain the Devon acquired a great reputation in the 19th century. The breed went right to the top with famous victories at Smithfield. In the west of England it was undoubtedly the premier beef animal. The Devon also excelled itself during dairy trials coming in second behind the Jersy for butter fat against all breeds. It has been recorded that at Torrington May Fair as many as 2000 red Devon came under the hammer in a single day. Midway through the 19th century statistics produced by the Board of Agriculture came as a surprise to many, with Devons second only to the Shorthorn in numbers.

Shorthorn Devon Ayrshire Hereford Welsh Aberdeen-Angus Irish Lincolnshire Red-Shorthorn

4,413,040 454,694 444,000 384,877 284,041 193,960 188,023 168,790

Channel Islands Highland Kyloes South Devon Galloway Red Poll Sussex Other breeds

101,233 98,804 96,991 31,265 27,232 19,660 37,164

Early recording was due to a John Davy whose family had breed Devons from the early 1700s and he continued to seek to improve the strain in every way. In 1851 Volume 1 of Davys Devon Herd Book came into being and continues on to this day. One breeder a poet of his day composed these famous lines:

Broad in her ribs and long in her rump
A straight flat back and never a hump
Fine in her bone and silky of skin
Shes a grazier without
And a butcher within.

The features prominent in selection criteria in those early days were good muscle development, docile temperament and ability to thrive under adverse conditions. The success of this selection has been the foundation of the cattle we are farming today and trials continue to show they are one of the most efficient and early maturing breeds available.

 

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