Application for a lease of waste lands of the Crown beyond the settled districts in New South Wales by Walter and George Leslie of Canning Downs

Background

One of Queensland’s most historic pastoral properties, Canning Downs was taken up by Patrick and Walter Leslie in 1840.  After Walter formed a partnership with a third Leslie brother, George, Canning Downs became the centre of their pastoral enterprises. In 1847 Patrick Leslie selected a town site on a section of the head station which has since developed into the city of Warwick. Named after Sir George Canning, the Leslies sold out to their cousins, Gilbert and Walter Davidson, in 1854. Following a slump in wool prices, the Davidsons purchased nine South American llamas imported by the New South Wales Government in an attempt to establish a mohair industry. The experiment failed, and survivors of the flock were transferred to Sir Arthur Hodgson’s Eton Vale Station where they eventually died out. Although considerably reduced in size, Canning Downs continues to produce wool and has also been noted for its thoroughbred horses.

 

Discover more