Glengowan Angus

Welcome to Glengowan

Located near the historic village of Newbridge in the central west of New South Wales Glengowan has been in the Gordon family since 1858. From undulating hills to creek flats the property runs over 1500 commercial Angus females as well as a stud herd of 200 females. The commercial herd of pure Angus was established by Joseph Bathurst Gordon in 1931 followed by the Glengowan Angus stud, established by his son, Stuart Gordon in 1957. Today, Glengowan and the Glengowan Angus stud are owned and managed by Richard Retallack and Stuart’s daughter Sandra.

Over the last 60 years Glengowan Angus has built up a solid reputation in the show ring at the highest levels, in carcase competitions and in the sale yards. The traits which bought many accolades in the past are those we remain focused on for the future. Our breeding program continues to emphasise the attributes which were originally the hallmarks of the Angus breed; fertility, ease of calving, mothering ability, excellent temperaments and the structure and composition to thrive under any conditions.

Our aim has been to build upon and enhance the solid breeding foundation we already have. The bloodlines at Glengowan today are the product of experienced and commercially minded cattlemen who really understood the nuances of stud breeding and never wavered from their predominantly commercial goals. Every Glengowan sale bull we offer is backed by over six decades of consistent, considered breeding.

The History of the Glengowan Stud

The Glengowan Angus Stud was established in 1957 by C.S (Stuart ) Gordon with the purchase of five stud females from the Kahlua Stud and the sire Kahlua Volgano. Ten females from the Hadleigh Stud were added and later, twenty more Kahulua females and two females each from the Wambanumba and Walla Studs. During the first twenty five years of the Glengowan Stud, the most influential sires were Kahlua Volgano, Narrengullen Gammer Gus , Kahula Ruler and Roseleigh prince 4th. The homegrown sires Glengowan Jock, Hawke, Gay Boy, Deputy, liberator, Imperious and Mercury were also used with great success.

By the mid 1970’s the Glengowan Stud had achieved all of the major show prizes locally and at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, including:, Grand Champions, Senior Champions, Junior Champions, Most successful exhibitor and the Sires progeny Group award . After winning the ultimate accolade of Sydney Supreme Champion Angus Exhibit in the early 1970s, Stuart decided to cease exhibiting and concentrate his efforts into developing and marketing the stud. At the same time he was also becoming very involved with the Angus Society of Australia, serving on several State Committees. In 1979 Stuart was elected President of the Angus Society of Australia, a position he held until 1981.

Breeding Philosophy

Founded On Tradition

The 1970s and 1980s saw the influence of American genetics beginning to impact on Australian Angus herds. Although Stuart could see some advantages in terms of weight and height, he was determined to keep balance in his cattle and not be swayed by the rush to massive size which later adversely affected many studs. He remained less than impressed by the appearance and structure of most of the American bulls, believing that in due course the integrity of the Angus breed would suffer if their genetics became too widespread in Australia. It was Stuart’s decision at this time to look to New Zealand for stud sires. His experience in New Zealand confirmed that he could achieve the weight performance and marbling that the Australian markets demanded without compromising his ideals of structure and constitution and this ultimately set the foundation for the Glengowan stud as it is today.

Focused On The Future

Today, as a result of Stuart’s philosophy, the Glengowan herd is infused with some of the best New Zealand genetics on offer including bloodlines from major NZ studs such as Hingaia, Turihaua, Tangihau, Rangatira, Kaharau, Turiroa, Te Mania, Cricklewood and Stern. Stuart was forced to retire from active work in 2000 due to failing eyesight and in 2005 his daughter Sandra and her husband Richard Retallack took over the ownership of the Glengowan stud. Over the last fifteen or so years we have strived to retain the thickness, softness and constitution which are a hallmark of NZ cattle while at the same time focusing on our local Australian markets. Today our female herd remains based on NZ genetics but we have also introduced Australian sires such as Banquet J263, Raff Jovial, Raff Hingaia, Millah Murrah Kruze Time K400, Ascot Hallmark, Ascot Lionheart, Millah Murrah Powerpoint Q188, Millah Murrah Paratrooper and Millah Murrah Loch Up P121 which have been carefully selected to add frame to the herd without compromising our multi-generational building blocks of depth, fertility and temperament. The modern Glengowan cattle retain the best of their NZ attributes while also demonstrating a true balance of type and performance best suited to the Australian market. Our core aim is to continue to produce cattle with depth, fertility and quietness with a focus always on profitability.