Summary

Stock card indicating Auctioneers and Livestock Owners or Agents for livestock sales at Newmarket Saleyards. This card was attached to the sale pens providing information to the drovers, stock handlers and buyers.

The Newmarket Saleyards were first established in 1861. By the 1930s, the Newmarket Saleyards had become the premier livestock market in Australia and were recognised as a barometer for the livestock industry in Australia, with millions of sheep, cattle, horses and other livestock passing through its red gum gates and along its bluestone laneways each year. Spread over 24 acres, the Saleyards incorporated 1196 sheep pens, 232 bullock pens, 300 calf pens, drafting races, holding yards, lane outlets, transport loading and unloading ramps, and a scale weighing area. The Saleyards were often described as a 'town within a town' - the site included a post and telegraph office, police station, Stock & Land newspaper office, engineering maintenance workshop, carpenters' workshops, cricket club, dog club, Melbourne City Council offices, Stock Agents' offices, and radio broadcast programme.

The Newmarket Saleyards were located in inner city Melbourne and significantly shaped the character and daily realities of its urban neighbours. In 1987 the Newmarket Saleyards were closed, some elements of the saleyards were preserved and reused, but the bulk of the site was redeveloped into a housing estate.

Physical Description

Paper or card sign, slightly larger than A4 size, red (Stock Agent) and black (Livestock Buyer) ink printed on buff coloured paper.

Significance

These cards document the daily management and movement of stock being sold and purchased at the Newmarket Saleyards, and indicates the scale of operation required to manage large numbers of stock.

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