The Collins family of Spring Creek Station recently celebrated 160 years of living on the land.
Located 90-kilometres north of Greenvale, the Collins family head a commercial beef operation across their 90,000 acre property.
Nicola Collins with husband Perry Fox manage and run 5500 head of mixed Droughtmaster and Wagyu cattle primarily for breeding and fattening purposes across their country.
The pair along with their immediate and extended family came together last weekend to celebrate more than a century of the Collins name in North Queensland.
Nicola said there had been a connection between Spring Creek and the family name unbroken for 160 years, which now extended into the seventh generation.
"William Collins of Romney Marsh, Kent arrived in Sydney in 1838 with his wife Elizabeth and seven children at the time," she said.
"In 1860, it was decided to look for country further north to which some of their growing cattle herd could be relocated.
"The search was undertaken by two sons Charles and Thomas Collins where they took north about 260 cattle, 1000 sheep and two bullock drays."
What followed in the years after was a journey north and the discovery and boundary marking of the Spring Creek property in 1862.
Nicola said the brothers sold their sheep and block in the Comet region, before establishing and settling at Spring Creek with a mob of 400 head of cattle on August 13, 1863, where the family has remained since and expanded their beef enterprise.
Initially beginning with Shorthorn and later Brahman cattle, Nicola said the family found the Droughtmaster breed was best suited to the northern country.
"The main genetics of our herd is Droughtmaster and it will always stay that way because the Collins brothers were known for it," she said.
"We introduced Wagyu bulls into our Droughtie heifers about five years ago to better the beef.
"Droughtmaster beef is beautiful, but with that little bit of Wagyu through it is just amazing."
Perry said the F1 cross cattle were primarily offloaded into the market.
"We don't really keep anything, we sell the lot," he said.
The family also grew their own hay on the property to go back into the herd; utilising 100 acres to turn off 500 round bales annually.
Nicola said the family had travelled far and wide to celebrate the special anniversary from the Gold Coast, Sydney and even Switzerland.
"It was a fantastic weekend," she said.
"We went out and had a look at the F1 cattle and then we had F1 steaks for lunch, just so that everyone could taste it.
"That night we had a big family dinner and lit a fire, pulled the guitars out and sang around the fire pit.
"Everyone departed on the Sunday after breakfast."
With a long and deep rooted history in the northern region, Nicola said the continued legacy of Spring Creek was in the hands of their four children; Bindi-lee, Hudson and twins Maddie and Austin Fox.
"We had four kids under four," she said.
"They used to catch the bus to Greenvale for school and it took them an hour each way.
"Later on they all went to boarding school in Charters Towers."
As the next generation spread their wings across the country, Nicola said she'd like the property to stay in the family.
"You never know, the kids might come back once they've had their own children and want to bring them up out here in what they were brought up in," she said.
"We've got our eyes and hearts set on Jackson, our grandson, and he's only five months old."
Zoe Thomas
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
