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Original
Article About Dexters
"New Zealand's First Dexters"
by Beverley McCulloch and Michael
Trotter
a slightly revised version of an article originally published in "Dexter
Dispatch", No. 42, November 2003, pages 9-12.
("Dexter Dispatch" is the Bulletin of
the Dexter Cattle Society of New Zealand - the DCSNZ website is
www.dexter-cattle.co.nz.)
Beverley McCulloch and
Michael Trotter are both
retired scientists who used to work for the Canterbury Museum in
Christchurch, New Zealand. They have an active interest in Dexters, rare breeds conservation, and smallfarming. Together, they
operate Summer Wine Dexter stud on 10 acres in North Canterbury. See their
website, Summer Wine Dun Dexters www.dundexters.co.nz.
It was thought that New Zealand's first Dexters arose from Dexter semen
imported from the UK in the late 1970s and all accounts of the breed in the
country shared this assumption. Then Beverley and Michael made an
interesting discovery . . . [Note that some of the photos accompanying
this article, notably those of the two bulls, are distorted
because of the difficulties in copying from a tightly bound volume in the
Library.]
~~ Start of Article
~~
While researching dates for the early arrival
of some of our dairy cattle breeds in New Zealand we came across the
following intriguing paragraph:
“DEXTER-KERRY CATTLE. In 1904 the Department of Agriculture, in pursuance
of its policy of practical assistance with regard to promoting the
development of the pure breeds of dairy cattle, imported from Ireland a
consignment of Dexter-Kerry cattle comprising two bulls and six cows in
calf. From this beginning a small herd was built up at the Government
Experimental Farm at Weraroa, but the breed failed to meet with approval
among New Zealand dairymen, and in 1916 the Department’s Dexter-Kerry herd
was disposed of” (from A History of the New Zealand Dairy Industry
1840-1935 by H. G. Philpott. Government Printer, Wellington, 1937, page
121).
This was something we felt we had to follow up. Unfortunately, although the
statement was correct with respect to the importation of Dexters early in
the twentieth century (at that time still called Dexter-Kerries), it was
incorrect in stating that they were held at Weraroa. Initially we wasted a
lot of time trying to track down the Weraroa records, but eventually we
enlisted the aid of some good friends in AgResearch. The records we wanted
were located in the early annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture
(these predated the Journal of Agriculture), which showed that both
Dexter-Kerry and Kerry cattle were imported in 1904. Both breeds were at
first held at the Department’s “Momohaki” (Moumahaki) Experimental Station
(located on State Highway 3, 47 kilometres north-west of Wanganui).
The fate of the Kerry cattle is covered in the November 2003 issue of the
Rare Breeds NewZ (No.63, page 8); the following – complete with photos –
deals with the Dexters.
In the Thirteenth Report of the Department of Agriculture, 1905, we find the
following:
“Imported Dexter-Kerries . . . —These
reached the colony in October, and on release from quarantine were exhibited
at several of the shows. The comments expressed were not altogether
favourable; it is, however, too soon to form any opinion as to their
suitability or otherwise for dairy purposes in New Zealand.”
In the same Report, in dealing with farm work at Momohaki Experimental
Station, the overseer, Mr F. Gillanders, tells us: “The cattle include
the … Dexter Kerry stud cattle, recently imported, which consist of the
following:— . . . Dexter Kerry bulls, Compton Dignity [photo above, left] and Baby Boy
[photo below], and cows,
Little Highness [photo above, right], Love Game, and Cahair Jot.”
(The Livestock Journal of 15 July 1904, advertised Compton Dignity
for sale in England from the Duchess of Devonshire’s famous herd – he was
described as a “celebrity”, winning first in the Royal Show in 1903.)
The Department’s Report for 1906 comes complete with photographs. (The
photographs are not good quality – and were not improved by having to copy
them out of tightly-bound volumes that could not be laid flat.)
“The … Dexter Kerry cattle have so far been kept on the farm … the Dexter
Kerry cows have done very well, and we have two fine young bulls out of
“Lovegame” and “Highness.” The milk from these two latter . . . was weighed
daily from the date of calving to the 31st December. From time to time
samples were taken from each cow’s milk and sent to Mr. Aston, the
Department’s Chemist, for testing the amount of butter-fat. The cow
“Lovegame” calved on the 1st April, and gave 5,089 lb. milk up to the 31st
December, of a 3.6 average of butter-fat. “Highness” calved on the 30th
April, and gave 4,695 lb. milk to the 31st December, of a 4.41 percentage of
butter-fat.”
Writing in 1907, Mr Gillanders records quite enthusiastically:
“The Dexter Kerries are still here, but only
having a few of them it will be a long time before their progeny will
increase sufficiently to enable an indication to be obtained whether they
will be suitable cattle or otherwise for the colony.
 That they will be
general-purpose cattle for good country is not to be expected, but there is
certainly a probability that they will become good milking-cattle on the
poorer class of dairy country. They also are about the only small breed of
cattle that combines the qualities of both beef and butter production. On
this account it might be well that the Department import at least ten or a
dozen heifers or cows and give the little cattle a fair trial. Last season
the Dexter Kerry bull was mated with a few grade Shorthorn heifers. The
calves are somewhat small but very hardy-looking, and from appearance they
are likely to grow into good dairy cattle. I may also mention that twelve
months ago a settler in the Wanganui district put several of his cows to the
Dexter Kerry bull, and is highly pleased so far with the progeny.”
More support for the breed from Mr Gillanders in 1908, but with a note of
disappointment that the Department is not going to obtain more. And some
better photos as well.
 “Dexter Kerry Cattle. These are the only purebred cattle we have on the
farm. I am glad to say the cows “Lovegame” and “Highness” are still doing
very well. The former came in on the 6th October, and up to the 30th April
gave a yield of 5,850 lb. milk, with an average test of 3.9. The other cow,
“Highness,” came in much later in the season, and, although milking very
well, the period in milk is too short to be any criterion of her as a milker.
It is a pity that the Department cannot see the way to procure a few more of
these little cattle. Having only two cows, it must necessarily be a long
time before a herd can be raised from them that would give any idea of their
value as milkers.”
Finally in 1909, a very similar report to that of the previous year (note
that one of the cows was red):
  “Cattle. The Dexter Kerry cattle are still
the only purebred cattle on the farm. There is absolutely nothing on the
farm which receives so much attention from visitors as the little cows. The
red cow “Lovegame” came in at the end of August: from 1st September to 31st
March she gave a yield of 7,307 lb. milk, a daily average of 34.4 lb., the
average test being 3.8 per cent. The black cow “Highness” came in at the
beginning of July, and from that period to 31st March gave a yield of 7,090
lb. milk, a daily average of 25.9 lb.; average test, 4.2 per cent. We have
now one heifer out of “Lovegame” milking, which promises as well as could be
expected for a heifer. We have also a few half-bred Dexters in milk, which
are doing fairly well. It is a great pity that the Department cannot see its
way to import a few more of these cattle; otherwise it will be a long time
before much can be done in establishing a herd.”
 And sadly, that is the last we could locate about this little group of
Dexter-Kerry cattle. 1909 was the last year for Reports of the Department of
Agriculture to be published in that form – they were succeeded by the new
Journal of Agriculture. We researched the Journal from 1910 to 1917, but
found no further mention of the Dexter-Kerry. We do know that the First
World War meant considerable disruption to Government expenditure on their
Experimental Farms.
We can’t help wondering what happened to this little group of pioneer cattle
– the bulls, Compton Dignity and Baby Boy, and their cows, Little Highness,
Love Game and Cahair Jot, and of course their offspring (the first purebred
Dexters to be born in New Zealand) – and wishing that a few of us had been
around in those days to rescue them.
Acknowledgements: Our research was helped immeasurably by Roland
Sumner and Dirk Anderson (AgResearch Ruakura), David Scobie (AgResearch
Lincoln), Brenda Stuart (AgResearch Winchmore), and the staff at the
Christchurch City Library.
~~ End of Article ~~
Postscript - Further Comments from
Authors
After this article was published, Beverley and
Michael conducted more research, trying to find out the exact fate of those early
Dexters,
assisted by DCSNZ member Rosemary Tearle. They paid for a search of the Moumahaki
records at the National Archives, but
not even a passing mention of the Dexters was found – from a Department of
Agriculture point of view, the Dexters seem to have simply disappeared.
It is thought that the Dexters were probably sold off locally (in 1907 a local
farmer is reported as using a Dexter bull) and a search of local papers of
the time from that area might produce some information on this. This theory is given some
support by a message that the authors received from DCSNZ member Ian McDonald
(Snowline Dexters) after they wrote the article. His
father had worked at Moumahaki and in the late 1920s Ian could just recall a
special small cow, that gave large quantities of milk, that his father had
on their farm; Ian believed it might have been the progeny of the original
imports, acquired when they were sold.
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