The Gadd family came from England to Tasmania in the mid 1800’s. In the late1800’s William Gadd, left the family farm in Tasmania to work on the mainland and settled at Guys Forest, on Shelley Road, 15 kms South West of the town, Walwa, which is in the Upper Murray region of North East Victoria. William and sons Cleaver, Raymond and Mervyn leased 10,000 acres of bushland and purchased freehold land in the district on which they mostly grazed merino sheep for wool. After the death of their father, Cleaver, Raymond and Mervyn continued the family grazing enterprise, trading as Gadd Brothers Partnership. By 1940 they had acquired enough freehold grazing land to enable them to dissolve the partnership, and by mutural agreement divide the land and livestock equally.
Mervyn acquired the property “The Glen”, along with enough sheep to stock the property, which was mostly steep and rocky hill country, and a few mixed crossbred cattle. Mervyn’s brothers took the straight bred Angus bulls, and Mervyn the grey bull. This was the first grey sire used. Mervyn sold the crossbred cattle and purchased 30 selected straight-bred Angus heifers. It was from this nucleus that The Glen herd of grey cattle began. Mervyn wrote a book, titled “By Chance and Intuition” which documents life in the early days, family history and the history of the Murray Grey Breed. Copies are available from The Glen Pastoral Co.
Mervyn married Jean Spence soon after the dissolution of the family partnership. They had four children, Donald, Shirley, Warren and Mike. Shirley became a school teacher while the boys went from secondary school to the family farm. In the early 1960’s the family partnership, Mervyn Gadd & Sons was formed. This was also a very successful family farming and grazing business which operated until 1985. By this stage, Mervyn had well and truly achieved his primary goal, which was to acquire enough land and livestock for his three sons to have viable farming operations of their own.
Since 1985, Mike and Joy Gadd have purchased several properties well suited to cattle grazing in the Walwa district and trade as The Glen Pastoral Co. until the present day. In 2003 Mike and Joy downsized The Glen’s herd of grey cattle and commenced breeding registered and commercial Angus cattle. The Glen currently calves about 450 Angus and 100 Angus infused Grey females each year.
