Farming along the fertile flats of the Logan River in the early days was fraught with difficulty.
Sheep, introduced with the first settlers, were soon found to be unsuited to the conditions.
Cattle thrived, but markets for meat were not large enough to sustain a large industry.
The answer, dairying, faced its own challenges getting the product to market over uncertain roads, in the days before refrigeration.
The advent of the railway in 1888 was a major step forward, however the 1906 opening of the butter factor, and the building of the tramway south of Beaudesert, were nothing short of miracles for local farmers.
Cows were hand milked, and the separated cream was kept cool on farms through the use of mesh evaporative systems.
Transporting the cream was as important as the farming and the milking.
George Teese spoke about getting the cream cans over Cannon Creek in a flood.
The draught horses could take a wagon through about three feet of water. However, on occasion the farmers were forced to swim the creek with a rope, tie the cans to the rope and haul them through the flood water, a dangerous task given the power of the local creeks in flood.
By the end of the 1930s, the era of the milk carters had begun. This was a boon to the farmers, as the carriers would collect the cream cans.
It is still possible to see farms with very large mail boxes. These boxes served as a collection site for the cream cans, and for the eventual return of the empties.
Names associated with the milk runs were Tommy Yuke, members of the Arthy family, and Jack and Keith Doherty. These carriers and others provided an important link between the farmers and the town.
