THE CATTLE KING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 126, 18 November 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CATTLE KING.

Ml!. KIDMAN'S HOLDINGS. America is the land of most big things, but it hasn't the world's biggest cattle ranch. That distinction belongs to Australia. Mr. Sidney Kidman, the ''cattle king," holds or has the controlling interest in areas aggregating over li(),00O square miles, situated most in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Like talking of millions of money, it is bard to realise what millions of acres mean. It is easier to do when comparisons are made. The area of Victoria is 87,000 square miles; so that Mr. Kidman's holdings equal more than two-thirds of the southern State, and about two and ii half times the area of Tasmania, lie himself says it is too much for one man to look after, and he is getting rid of a ''little block"—a trifle of 0000 square miles, which it is understood a Sew Zealand syndicate is acquiring from him.

From the Bovril Australian Estates station, Victoria Downs, which was the largest station in the Commonwealth, and in which he was the principal shareholder, Mr. Kidman told a .Sydney interviewer, cattle had to be driven to Queensland, a distance of nearly :«100 miles. Droving charges and loss of weight through the long journey reduced the value of the cattle considerably, and they had to consider the finding of a nearer market. They had made a trial shipment to Manila last year, and though that had not. for various reasons, been a success, it was intended to send further shipments, with a view to making a thorough test. lie believed that eventually a big trade- would be done with the Philippines, as Port Darwin, in the Northern Territory, w Wyndham, in the north-west, was only seven days' steam from there, and Fremantle was hardly anv nearer.

Most of Mr. Kidman's time is spent out in the open, travelling over vast expanses of country, where be is monarch of all he surveys. It takes days—weeks —to traverse some of these stations. Enjoying the best of health and other good things, he is not unmindful of the blpssings that have been showered upon him. This is how he concluded the conversation: "Yes, Tm feeling tip-top. I'm thankful for my health. It's better than wealth. We can only cat three meals a day, you know. And what's the usp of worrying?"

Why, worry, indeed? Mr. Kidman is a millionaire, and can take things philosophically.