STUD OWNERS: Suzanne Baker and Pamela Robinson.
Location: GOLD CREEK Galloway Stud is located three minutes from the heritage town of historic Braidwood in NSW. At the foot of a beautiful hill, these miniature cattle graze peacefully on acres and acres of granite-enriched pasture.
A Hobby: Breeding these beautiful cattle was a shared hobby for many years. It is still a hobby, but now it is more of a Suzanne thing. Pam has discovered the joys of being a beekeeper. Suzanne handles most of the day-to-day care and training of the cattle, Pam deals with registrations and all the paddock jobs that require two people.
In 2005, before owning their first Galloways, Suzanne and Pam had no experience with cattle. Owning Cocker Spaniels was their only experience with pets. A lot has changed.
It has always been Suzanne's aim to encourage as many people as she can to view cattle in a more compassionate way. White Galloways were listed as a rare breed in Australia and New Zealand when Suzanne and Pam started out, and they want to remedy that. It is a source of pride that Gold Creek Galloway Stud has, in fact, helped build up the number of smaller full-blood and purebred White Galloways in Australia. A quick look at the Galloway herd book is testimony to that. Suzanne just breeds these cattle for the love of it now.
Starting Out: Suzanne and Pam were living near Eumundi in southeast Queensland when they started out. They were first-time livestock owners, and they didn't know a single thing about cattle. They had no idea what was required or which breed would suit them. After much research, farm visiting, and deliberation, they decided they needed small, docile, polled cattle. The couple also wanted good little mothers that would calve unassisted. Finally, Pam and Suzanne saw their first traditional White Galloway cattle. Wow! These little white cattle ticked all the boxes, and they were drop-dead gorgeous into the bargain!
The decision to start out with these little white cattle was made in a heartbeat. Neither Pam nor Suzanne has ever had to wonder whether they made the right decision—not once.
Building the Herd: As their confidence and experience grew, Suzanne and Pam built their herd in number and quality. Their cattle have become quieter, smaller in stature, and more friendly in nature. As the herd numbers increased and the dynamics within the herd sorted themselves, Suzanne and Pam's interaction with them settled into a pattern, too.
The number of head in their little herd rose and fell every season with births and sales, but steadily they built up the number of full-blood and purebred cattle over several years. At one time, they were comfortably running over forty head on their forty acres in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The learning curve was initially steep, but it has flattened out for them now. It is now a fairly low-maintenance herd, so they quite often find themselves looking for any excuse to spend time with their cattle.
By farming in an environmentally friendly way and breeding their cattle in a sustainable manner, Suzanne and Pam have found they can cohabit with the wildlife and enjoy the best of both worlds. They get to work from home and enjoy being in their paddocks, listening to the birdlife, brushing cattle, and watching the kangaroos graze—bliss.
The Decision to Specialise: Over time, Suzanne and Pam came to realise that if they were serious about breeding and preparing smaller cattle as pets and AAT co-workers, they needed to keep their herd number small. Smaller than the forty-five head they had in 2014. Having already added numerous calves to the full-blood and purebred herd book, they decided they had done their bit to build up the numbers, and it was time to sell quite a few—which they did.
Moving the Herd South: In 2016, Pam and Suzanne moved the herd to Braidwood in southern NSW. Moving a whole farm was a huge undertaking and definitely not for the faint-hearted! The Braidwood property was a blank canvas. Slowly but surely, the couple put everything needed for the cattle in place. The whole property was designed to make cattle breeding easy.
By the end of 2018, Pam and Suzanne had the farm set up with a home to live in and a much smaller herd of much smaller, highly trained, super quiet females (and a couple of gorgeous little bulls).
In 2022, Suzanne decided to split the herd into two. One herd with larger traditional white Galloways that were all full-blood and purebred registered females. The other herd was made up of smaller white females, many of whom are not registered with the Australian Galloway Association.
Suzanne's calf adoption program is a source of pure joy. The cute little plush mascots are a hit with everyone, young and old. Starting in 2010, the adoption program means Suzanne thoroughly enjoys what she does daily, and the weekends are a great time to share the amazingness of the cattle with others.
The Website: Suzanne has tried to make this website as informative as she can, in the hope that she can provide sufficient information to give first-timers the confidence to get started. When people are starting out on their Galloway cattle journey, the learning curve can seem steep, but eventually, it all becomes much easier. There comes a day when you are so happily enjoying the cattle that you wonder why you worried about so many little things.
Sharing the Joy: Suzanne is always supportive of the first-timers she helps to get started. She will never forget all the gnawing suspicions that she and Pam had in the beginning, the suspicions that whispered, "You two haven't got a clue!" and having no one to turn to. So, Suzanne hopes to be there to help you with your concerns and worries.
GOLD CREEK Traditional Galloway Stud is located in Braidwood, NSW, Australia.