An historic purchase of land will see the Seven Creeks Estate reconfigured, regaining boundaries similar to some years ago.
Current owner, Ross Carrington is at present finalising the purchase of the adjoining property “Templeton”, some 516 aces, which was once part of the Seven Creeks Estate but was subdivided off in the 1850s to then owner Janet Templeton.
Eliza Forlonge, who emigrated with Mrs Templeton retained the Seven Creeks Estate (then called Seven Creeks Run) running it as a Merino property.
Templeton also ran sheep on her part of the property.
“The original property at one stage was around 77,000 acres under the ‘squatters’ rites and lot under lease, and originally covered a huge area including land on which the township of Euroa now stands.
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"It was a lot of land before selection took place,” Ross said.
After ‘settlement’ much of the original leases were taken away and the southern side of Euroa became the Sevens Creek Estate, reduced to 3600 acres.
"When I bought it, there was 4200 acres, and now we've lifted by acquiring the Templeton part again."
Ross explained that over the past 150 years, although remaining a large property, parts of the estate had been subdivided off, but over more recent years some of those smaller subdivisions had been re-purchased and returned to the Estate.
“This last purchase is quite significant,” Ross said.
“It brings the whole estate back to just under 6000 acres which I am excited about.”
Ross said he does not like seeing the larger farms being subdivided.
“Once they are subdivided off, they rarely come back to the original and we are losing valuable farming land,” he said.
But Ross has another connection to Sevens Creeks Estate.
At the age of 17 he was a jakaroo on the property for around two years and loved the setting, the land and the estate.
That was around 1974 to 1975.
He also loved farming life.
"Well, I always loved the place for the time I was here and what happened was, I had another business.
"I was in aviation pilot training skills, and I came to a point my life where it got too big and I looked at my life and said it was time to sell to a broader ownership because I was a sole trader.
“I sold it off to UK based Oxford Aviation,” he said.
“It was then that I was asked what I would do next.
"I've always been a farmer or a pilot, I'm one of both, and I said I'm ready to farm,.
The lawyer I was working with said when younger Seven Creeks as a jakaroo were two of the best years in my life.
“I had also owned Nillahcootie Park near Mansfield but said I wanted to get back into bigger farming.
“That was 17 years ago and was about the time of the global financial crisis.
“I had just sold my aviation business and had money where others did not.
“And the price of farms was dropping because of the crisis – I was offered Seven Creeks Estate at a price I could afford,” he said.
"It's a bit of an unusual one for a jakaroo to buy back the station, but that's what I've done and I run it - you know I went to an agricultural college."
A few years ago, Ross approached the Stribblings who owned Templeton to see if they would sell with the answer “not yet”.
“But just recently the Stribblings did decide to sell and saw Elders agent Brendan Allen who immediately rang me to see if I was still interested,” Ross said.
“I, of course said yes, and the process has been ongoing and almost finalised.”
The history of Seven Creeks Estate goes back a long way and was originally called “a run” but since settlement became Seven Creeks Estate.
“The farm here was settled in 1830 right, that was before Melbourne was even established and the two ladies, Eliza Furlonge and Janet Templeton brought their Saxon sheep up from Campbelltown in Tasmania,” Ross recalled.
“They walked them [the sheep] up to this area, saw the red soil and thought this is a great spot for raising the sheep.”
Janet Templeton was a widow of Andrew Templeton, a former prominent Glasgow banker, who decided about 1829 to settle in Australia with her young family.
At this time the production of fine Merino wool was engaging the attention of prominent business people in the old country as a most promising field for capital investment.
Mrs Templeton, who was a lady of great vision and business ability, became interested in the project and before emigrating to Australia, and along with studying sheep, sent her brother John Forlonge to Saxony (Germany) in search of pure-bred Merinos.
His wife, Eliza Forlonge, accompanied him and together they gathered a flock of Merino sheep ready for shipment. Their two sons were also sent to Saxony to study the breeding.
Mrs Templeton then chartered the brig “Czar”, seven tons, to make the voyage to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and sailed in late 1830.
She was accompanied by her children William, Andrew, James, John, Agnes, Janet, Marion, Caroline and Margaret and persuaded John Forlonge and wife Eliza and sons, to join her; as were the sheep, and servants, all plant and utensils necessary for settlers were included in the ship’s cargo.
It is believed that this adventure with the full cargo of sheep established the fact these ladies, particularly Mrs Templeton who financed the project, is given credit for introducing one the most prized breeds of Merinos, known as the Forlonge Merinos, into Australia (also known as Saxon Merinos).
First settling the sheep into Campbelltown (TAS), Mrs Templeton then decided to move to New South Wales.
She took most of the sheep with her, but what was left were the foundation of flocks for which the district is renowned.
It was in 1838 that Mrs Templeton, with her two eldest sons moved south from Goulburn and took up Seven Creeks Staton, Euroa a property of some 70,000 acres at that time in the name of her sons James and Andrew. It was reported in some history that William Templeton took control of the Seven Creeks Estate in 1851, and together with Eliza Forlonge they developed the property further.
Today Seven Creeks Estate is solely owned by Ross Carrington and with the assistance of manager, Wayne Ellis and head stockman, Wes Jago, works alongside the two men in maintaining a flock of sheep (about 1400) and breeding Black Angus cattle (some 800).
Although the original homestead has been rebuilt it has retained one original long wall and has been re-developed following the older homestead style.
Two-storey bluestone stables were re-built in around 1982 and are quite impressive. Other older buildings have been retained on the property including the 1800s water tower and a newer chapel.
