Leslie G. Rouse - man of the turf

In 1923, "Blairmount" was purchased by Leslie G. Rouse, a well-known racing identity from Sydney. Leslie was born in Mudgee to parents Richard and Mary. His family owned Biraganbil and Guntawang stations at Mudgee, and they had become prosperous through the production of fine wool and beef cattle. Perhaps more important was their reputation as breeders of some of the finest racing and carriage horses in the colony. Their "Crooked R" brand inspired Banjo Patterson when he wrote 'A Bushman's Song', declaring that there were no better horses than those that wore the 'Crooked R'.
Leslie followed in his father's footsteps as a "top notch gentleman jockey" and he rode in amateur races as a young man. He studied to become a solicitor and was admitted in 1894, practicing law in Armidale and Gulgong. In 1897 he was appointed coroner for Gulgong, but his love for horses and horse racing was still a driving force in his life. He resurrected the Gulgong Races in 1899 and acted as handicapper, and was elected as an officer of the Mudgee District Racing Club the same year. The Mudgee Guardian described him as 'a young man with plenty of go'.
Leslie was appointed as a Stipendiary Steward for the A.J.C. (Australian Jockey Club) in 1904, and in order to fulfil this role he sold his Gulgong legal practice. The same year he married Hilda Bowman of Merotherie Station. Leslie devoted himself to the A.J.C. and in 1913 was appointed Keeper of the Stud Book and Registrar of Racehorses. His love of breeding, bloodlines, and racing made him the ideal person for this job, in which he remained until his untimely death in 1928.

Leslie G. Rouse (Photo Sydney Mail 22.6.1927)

Leslie used Blairmount as a breeding establishment for fine thoroughbreds, and he regularly submitted yearlings to the annual Yearling Sales in Sydney. After his death at the age of 58, the stud was dispersed, and the 11 broodmares who had produced beautiful foals for Leslie were sold at the William Inglis & Sons Easter Sale in 1929. Blairmount, perfectly set up for horse breeding, was then sold to Frank Young, who also bred horses, though of a very different type - Clydesdales!


Written by Claire Lynch


Sources:
Trove

A Pestilent Problem

The property "Blairmount" on Badgally Road has an interesting history with many associated stories. One of these is that of brothers Vic and Clive Ducat who lived at Blairmount (which at the time was called 'Belmont') in the 1920s, running a dairy herd. Vic served as an Alderman on Campbelltown Council. The brothers sold the bulk of the property in 1923, but retained some land in the area until 1929.
It was during the 1920s that Prickly Pear, an introduced noxious plant species, was having a devastating effect on rural properties, infesting over 60 million acres of land in Queensland and New South Wales. The problem was so serious that the Prickly Pear Destruction Committee was set up. In 1926 the Camden News reported that Prickly Pear was steadily insinuating itself throughout the districts of Campbelltown, Picton and Camden. The answer to eradicating this problem plant came in the form of the cactoblastis cactorum, commonly known as the Cochineal bug, the larvae of which draws food and moisture from the Prickly Pear, ultimately killing it.

from 1987 booklet "Prickly Pear Pest in NSW". An infestation of Prickly Pear. 

 Vic Ducat, whose property had been invaded, wasted no time and took up the challenge of ridding his property of the pestilential plant. After trying many methods to diminish its rapid growth, it was reported in The Campbelltown News in June 1926 that Mr Ducat had "made exhaustive enquiries throughout this and the Queensland State, and learned of the Cochineal Insect, and with fervent haste, procured a supply of this combating enemy". The insect was applied, despite local skepticism, to a portion of the offending plants, and within 18 months, the results were being reported as "a huge success at little cost". The story continued with "...the results are conspicuous. The patch is now dying and the insects have traversed 60 to 100 yards in every direction."
This biological control agent was so successful that by the 1930s all large infestations of Prickly Pear in Australia had been successfully reduced. Vic Ducat played his small part in one of the most successful stories of weed control in Australia.


Written by Claire Lynch
Sources
"Campbelltown's streets and suburbs : How and why they got their names" by Jeff McGill, Verlie Fowler and Keith Richardson
Grist Mills Vol. 9 No.1
"Badgally Road Campbelltown : The other side of the line" by Marie Holmes
Trove