and Regions SA Primary Industries Second edition HOLDING THE LINE: A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 Leith Yelland Second edition HOLDING THE LINE: Second edition A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 By Leith Yelland March 2000 Revised by Patricia Fraser November 2012 Primary Industries and Regions SA ©Primary Industries and Regions South Australia © Government of South Australia 2012. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth), no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Government of South Australia available through the Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA). Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Chief Executive, PIRSA, GPO Box 1671, Adelaide SA 5001. First published 2000 Second edition 2012 Disclaimer The contents of this publication are for general information only and are not intended as professional advice, and the Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (and the Government of South Australia) make no representation, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained in this publication or as to the suitability of the information for any particular purpose. Use of or reliance upon the information contained in this report is at the sole risk of the user in all things and the Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (and the Government of South Australia) disclaim any responsibility for that use or reliance and any liability to the user. Bibliographic reference Yelland, L., 2012. Holding the line: A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012. South Australia. Primary Industries and Resources South Australia. 2nd edn. rev. P. Fraser. Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, Adelaide. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Yelland, Leith, 1960-2009 Title: Holding the line : a history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 / by Leith Yelland; revised by Patricia Fraser. Edition: 2nd ed. ISBN: 9781921399374 (pbk.) Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: South Australia. Dog Fence Board – History. Dingo – Control – South Australia. Fences – South Australia. Other Authors/Contributors: Fraser, Patricia. Primary Industries and Regions SA. South Australia. Dog Fence Board. 354.339099423 Cover Photos The Dog Fence, Coober Pedy, South Australia. Courtesy Michael Balharry (Photo 102044). Dingo – ‘Hawaii’ at Muckup, Lake Eyre, February 1990. Courtesy Peter Bird (Photo 102065). 2 HOLDING THE LINE: A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 Leith Yelland Foreword ‘Holding the Line’ describes the history of the Dog Fence Board and was commissioned to mark the celebrations of the first hundred years of Federation of South Australia. The book was jointly funded by Centenary of Federation South Australia and the Dog Fence Board in recognition of the important contribution that the Dog Fence has made to a sustainable sheep industry in the State. Simply, commercial sheep production cannot coexist with dingos. In the 1890s, in excess of 11 000 sheep were killed by dingos on one property in northwest South Australia – similar levels of predation by dingos on other properties as well, contributed to the abandonment of properties during that period. Pastoralists initially responded, through the Vermin Districts Act 1894, to the threat by cooperatively building vermin fences to protect their livestock. The history of the Dog Fence Board illustrates well these hardships faced by the early pastoralists and the hardships of their employees who built the first vermin fences, often in rugged terrain and under harsh conditions, in the late nineteenth century. It also shows the ingenuity, determination and resilience of the pastoral industry to reduce the dramatic losses of sheep caused by dingos and, to a lesser extent, foxes. The concept of a buffer fence to protect the sheep industry across southern South Australia from dingos loomed as an urgent necessity during the 1930s. This necessity reflected the large number of proclaimed fenced districts at the time, each with its own perimeter fence. Consequently, the Dog Fence Act, 1946 was proclaimed in 1947 to provide for a Dog Fence Board to manage funds for and audit the maintenance of a single, continuous Dog Fence. The Fence linked vermin fences where possible and stretched across the northern edge of the sheep zone — some 2 200 kilometres from the Nullabor to the New South Wales border. The location of the current Fence has changed little from the original fence line. The book traces a unique part of South Australia’s history in detail and describes many of the personalities who contributed to the past successes of the Dog Fence. These personalities include chairs and members of the Dog Fence Board, inspectors and pastoralists who have maintained the Fence. The book also illustrates how the Dog Fence Board has kept abreast of modern technology to provide the State with a most cost effective Dog Fence. The construction of the Fence has progressed from a full netting fence, to a composite netting and electric fence, to a full electric fence powered by solar panels. The Dog Fence Board is now managing the Fence in close collaboration with pastoralists through local Dog Fence Boards. Each local board employs contractors to ensure that the Dog Fence in their region is upgraded and maintained in dog-proof condition. I sincerely believe that this book is a valuable record of an important part of the history of the pastoral sheep industry during the first hundred years of South Australia, and that the Dog Fence has a critical role in protecting the sheep industry from dingos in the future. Rob Kerin PREMIER MINISTER FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOLDING THE LINE: A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 Leith Yelland 3 Preface Regretfully Leith Yelland, the original author of “Holding the Line”, sadly passed away on the 20 May 2009. He is remembered for his dedication to promoting the cause for preserving and prospering the outback region. Applying his craftsmanship as a published author and editor of the newsletter “Across the Outback”, he has captured many outback profiles and legends for posterity. His memory is embalmed through the legacy of his penmanship. The update for 2000 to 2012, has been prepared from Annual Reports and Dog Fence Board records, made available to me by the Board secretary, Michael Balharry. Bill Sandow, the supervisor for the Fence also gave advice on technical details. The Board members gave support and encouragement, during the Fence inspection in April 2012, when they kindly allowed me to accompany them. Patricia Fraser November 2012 Acknowledgements The preparation of this history is an official Centenary of Federation, South Australia project and it has been substantially funded by a South Australian Federation Grant approved by State Cabinet. The Dog Fence Board itself has also financially supported the project. The research needed to prepare this text has only been made possible by the patience, forbearance and goodwill of a number of people including Dog Fence Board members, riders, patrolmen and administrators — past and present. Given that the record recovery rate, particularly with old Department of Lands dockets, was only a little better than 50%, the recollections of many of these people were critical. There are still gaps but by and large what is known is recorded. There is some conjecture and a few assumptions to help hold the history in a logical sequence. They are based on a reasonable understanding of the country and the people affected by the Dog Fence. At worst these assumptions may lead to the discovery of more private written documentation, which is all to the good. I am extremely grateful to Michael Balharry and Margaret Durant at the Board’s offices at the Waite Campus, Urrbrae, for the unfailingly cheerful assistance they gave me as I found my way through the records retained there. I was also assisted considerably by the patient staff at State Records’ public reading room at Netley. I am also indebted to the following people for the time they gave me — some on more than one occasion: Jim Vickery, Bill Edwards, Basil Kidd, Rod Everett, Donald Byrnes, Bryan Lock, Jack Spiers, Don Nicolson, Phillip Trowbridge, Peter Allen, Hugh MacLachlan, Andrew McTaggart, James Morgan, Lester Lord, John Cook, Bill Sandow, Brian Johns and John Norwood. Peter Bird of the Animal and Plant Control Commission ran his expert eye over what I had written about the dingo and its habits and Don Carpenter of Ceduna provided me with additional material relating to the Far West Coast Fence. The measures used The text contains area, linear and monetary references firstly in imperial and later metric — and for some of the period in the 1960s and 1970s, a happy mixture of both. I have not attempted conversions. In that context the text speaks the language of the time to which it relates. Leith Yelland March 2000 4 HOLDING THE LINE: A history of the South Australian Dog Fence Board, 1947 to 2012 Leith Yelland Contents Foreword ...........................................................................................................................................................3 Preface ...........................................................................................................................................................4