Niel Black c 1880
Niel Black, pioneer, pastoralist and politician, was born on 26th August 1804 at Kilbridemore in the Cowal district, Argyllshire, Scotland.
He was the second son of Archibald Black, a farmer, and his wife Janet, née Macchananaich (Buchanan). His father, who was a tenant of the Duke of Argyll, was killed in 1808 by a fall from his horse – Niel was but 4 years old . . . Though his native language was Gaelic, Niel learnt, and became fluent in English, whilst also gaining a thorough knowledge of farming and stock and breeding. These skills were to carry him through his adventures of the newly founded and pioneering, Australia.
” . . . Mr. Black was of Scottish parentage, having been born at Cowal,in Argyleshire, in 1804. His father was Mr.Archibald Black, who was a sheep farmer, and possessed of considerable means. When 33 years of age, having previously acquired a thorough knowledge of the breeding and management of stock, he decided to emigrate to Australia, and three gentlemen, among, whom was Mr. W. E. Gladstone, the present Premier of England, entrusted him with the management of the joint funds, some £8000, together with the selection of the territory for the purposes of a station. In 1839 he arrived at Adelaide in the Ariadne, but finding that, the price of land in South Australia was, through the operations of the brokers, exceedingly dear, he visited Victoria, then Port Phillip. Here he found the terms upon which land could be acquired were equally unreasonable, and he proceeded on to New South Wales, but not liking the country he returned to Port Phillip and established a station near Glenormiston. The venture was very successful, and, procuring an additional £4000 from his partners, he purchased the sister station from the late Mr. Claud Farie, and also proved to be a highly advantageous speculation. In 1843 he visited Scotland, obtained a renewal of the partnership for five years, and also interviewed the late Earl Derby and urged the claims of the squatters to leases. He returned in 1845, and afterwards took up additional land at Warryena, on the South Australian border, and subsequently revisited Scotland. While there he married Miss Grace Greenshiels Leadbetter, and returned with her to Victoria after an absence of two years. Shortly afterwards he was elected to a seat in the Legislative Council for the Western Province, which he retained till his death. The partnership with the Engligh gentlemen was dissolved in 1868. As one stroke of good fortune with which the deceased gentleman was favored, it may be mentioned that in the early days of the goldfields he sold 3000 head of cattle for £13 each which had cost him the insignificant outlay of 11s. 6d. per head.”
Source: Excerpt – Illustrated Australian News – Article “Hon. Niel Black, M.L.C.” – published 5th June 1880
In his diary, Niel Black recorded the purchase of ‘Strathdownie’ in late 1839, anticipating that it was to become the centre of his operation. He confessed that one of his main considerations in buying this particular run was due to the cruelty that the Aborigines had been subjected to by the previous manager, Frederick Taylor, “. . . consequently, they would give very little trouble”. Black had a personal repugnance to involving himself in any sort of violence on the land; at the same time, however, he justified and accepted that violence as necessary to the safety and prosperity of the colonists.
“. . . The run is one of the most wonderful in the colony, situated about half way between this and Portland Bay, and this makes it valuable as it will be at least 5 or 6 years before it is sold. The blacks have been very troublesome on it and I believe they have been cruelly dealt with. The late superintendent ran off from a fear that he would be apprehended and tried for murdering the natives. The poor creatures are now terror stricken and will be easily managed. This was my principal reason for fighting so hard for it . . .”
Source: Niel Black’s Journal – Entry dated 4th January 1840
Glenormiston – c 1866
Black’s decision to purchase ‘Strathdownie’ came down to the cruelty of the previous overseer which ensured that he would not be faced with stock losses from native raids.
“. . . this man’s ruthless eradication of the Aboriginal people whose lands the run covered . . .”
Black finished his entry regarding this massacre with an assurance to his business associates and concerned relatives that the overseer:
“. . . is certain we will never be troubled with any of them on this run. I think myself remarkably fortunate in a run as well upon this acct as because I believe it perhaps all in all unequalled in the colony, and the situation, as far as I can judge, is the best possible . . . “
Black renamed the run ‘Glenormiston’.
More information regarding his political and pastoral pursuits are noted in the following article:
” . . . Half a century ago considerable interest was taken by men of means in the prospects of Australia as a country adapted to the production of wool. Several Scottish gentlemen agreed to put together a moderate amount of capital, and place it in the hands of Mr. Black for investment in the colonies in land and stock. They were Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Finlay, and Mr. Stewart. A partnership arrangement was entered into for five years, and Mr. Black, in addition to possessing his own share of the undertaking, had the entire responsibility of managing the joint interests cast on his shoulders. Before he left his native country he had acquired considerable knowledge of sheep and cattle breeding under his elder brother. Mr. Black arrived in Adelaide by the ship Ariadne in 1839. He had a look at the country there, then visited Port Phillip, and finished up with an inspection of New South Wales. Port Phillip pleased him best, so he took up a run of 43,700 acres in what was then known as the Portland Bay district, close to the present road from Geelong to Warrnambool, and within a few miles of Lake Terang. To the original run of Glenormiston, named after the estate of Mr. Stewart, he afterwards added the Sisters, acquired by purchase. In 1843 Mr. Black went home to report progress, and the partnership was renewed. It was at that time that he had his interview with the late Earl of Derby, then Lord Stanley, and Secretary of State for the Colonies. His object was to obtain for the squatters a more certain tenure than they then possessed, but his mission did not succeed. On his return to the colony he bought a third station – Warreanga – near the borders of South Australia, and stocked it with sheep which he afterwards replaced with cattle. In the Squatters’ Directory for 1849 he figured as the holder of 85,600 acres. Warreanga, 16,640 acres, was sold in 1865, and in 1868 the partnership, after lasting – for 29 years to the profit of all concerned, was dissolved. One division of the original ran fell to Mr.Black, viz., Mount Noorat, and the other became the property of Mr. Finlay, now represented by his sons, the present owners.
Both stations are regarded as two of the finest grazing freeholds in the Western district. From the earliest days Mr. Black was an enterprising importer of the best breeds of stock. In 1841 he introduced Cotswolds and pure merinos, but the former he did not keep long, preferring to retain only the merinos. Experience ere long convinced him that the runs were better adapted for cattle than sheep, and he next took to importing stud cattle, sparing no money to obtain high-class animals. From that time to the present day the quality of the Mount Noorat shorthorns has ever held an exalted place in the estimation of stock buyers, and probably it now contains as fine a collection of animals as can be anywhere found. Mr. Black was a first-class judge of cattle, and by his enterprise as an importer, and his carefulness as a breeder, did as much as any man could do to improve, the quality of colonial stock.
The first important event in the political history of the Port Phillip district was the agitation for separation from.New South Wales, and Mr. Black took an active though not very prominent part in the movement. Next came the erection of the district into the colony of Victoria, followed in 1856 by the proclamation of a new constitution and the election of two Houses of Legislature. Mr. Black made his first effort to obtain a seat in the Council in 1858, when Mr. Charles Vaughan, one of the original members for the province, offered himself for re-election. Mr. Black was unsuccessful, however, and had to wait for another chance. In February, 1859, a vacancy for the Western Province was caused by the disqualification of Dr. Tierney. Mr. Black and Mr. Lane contested the election, and the former was returned by a majority of nearly 300. He was re-elected in October, 1862, for 10 years, and again in 1872, his tenure of office having still two years to run at the time of his death. Not being gifted with any remarkable capacity for speaking, Mr. Black was content all along to act a quiet, unobtrusive part in the Upper House,attending closely to duty when his health permitted, only joining in debate when he had something practical to say. He belonged to a section of the Council which has gradually been losing influence and diminishing in numbers of recent years. An organisation with which his name was identified during one of his visits to Great Britain was the society in London known as the “Australasian Association,” of which he was the projector and first chairman. Towards the close of 1867 Mr. Black had the honour of entertaining His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, who made a short stay at Glenormiston while on his tour through the Western district. After 1868 Mr. Black’s place of residence was Mount Noorat station, and at the foot of the volcanic hill bearing that name he built a few years ago a substantial and commodious house. In the pursuit of stock-breeding Mr. Black found a satisfying occupation, and he earned a high reputation for skill, sound judgment, and enterprise. . . “
Source: Excerpt – The Australasian – Article “Death of the Hon. Niel Black, M.L.C.” – published 22nd May 1880
An interesting letter: ‘The Hon. Niel Black’s Shorthorns at Mount Noorat’ published in ‘The Australasian’ in 1875 also notes Niel Black’s skills and contribution to the livestock and breeding of the pioneering colony of Victoria. He fought hard for squatters rights as the Land Acts of the mid 1800’s came into being. As the governing bodies caught up with the lands that squatters had acquired throughout the formation of the new colony of Victoria, the squatters were forced to buy their lands from the government, though many had discovered and occupied their runs for some twenty years. In many cases the purchases were affordable as the government was desperate for money and so sold the lands relatively cheaply . . .
Niel Black died in his residence at Mount Noorat shortly before midnight on Saturday, 15th May 1880.
He left behind his wife and three sons: Archibald John, Steuart Gladstone and Niel Walter – together with an estate estimated at a value of £179,208 . . .
View other important events in South Western Victoria’s History . . .
