Overview
Koobabbie has been an iconic farm in the Coorow area for over one hundred years. Founded in 1906, the farm has been in the Rudduck family for 114 years and has passed down through four generations. It has been at the forefront of agricultural practice in WA, with Arnold Rudduck serving many years on the board of Wesfarmers, and its conservation work with both Carnaby Cockatoos and the Buntine Marchagee Catchment garnering Alison Rudduck an AM. It is also notable for having served over 100 years as a meteorological measuring point.
Starting Koobabbie
Koobabbie was started in 1906 by Samuel Burton Rudduck, at the age of 33. He was born in 1873 at Dromana, Victoria, but just after his marriage to Alice Mary Morton in 1903 went to Kalgoorlie to open a new office for the firm of D & W Murray, Wholesalers. By 1905 he had moved to Mends Street, South Perth and was the Western Australian manager.
In 1906 Sam inspected land in the Coorow district on the recommendation of a Mr Patterson of the Agricultural Bank. This was being opened up as farming country by the Midland Railway Company which, in return for building the railway line, the company could select blocks of land within 40 miles of the line. A surveyor had reported to Mr Patterson having seen a good belt of forest country that the Midland Railway Company was not interested in because of the salt lakes and sandy soil between the forest country and the railway line.
Sam exercised an option to purchase before survey, and named the property “Koobabbie”, the aboriginal name for the locality. By this time at least 5 other families had settled in the Coorow district. Long’s 1862, Thomas’ “Nabappie”1901, Latham’s “Jun Jun” 1903, Jones “Turipa” 1904, and Battersbys 1905.
Sam employed a manager to work directly on “Koobabbie”. At this stage Sam was working in Perth and continued to do so for the next six years to finance development of the farm. On Friday nights Sam would catch the train to Coorow and at about the mid-point between Marchagee and Coorow the train would slow down to allow him to get off. He would then walk the 9 miles (14.5 kms) across the salt lakes to the farm and supervise the clearing and fencing in progress. On Sunday night, for his return journey, he would again walk across the lakes and signal the train driver with a lantern for the train to pick him up.
Early Days
In July 1912 Sam, Alice, Samuel Arnold, known as Arnold, (born 1904) and Muriel, (born 1906) moved to the farm and lived in a tent for a few months. There were plans for a new house but when the manager left the family moved into his house. It was to be 1935 before the present house replaced it.
He grew 700 acres of crop in 1912, which made him the largest grain-grower in the Coorow and Latham districts. This was was almost a quarter of that grown across the entire district, with other acreages ranging from 12 to 400 acres.
Building continued apace, with the original stables constructed in 1910, followed by the shearing shed in 1912. A complex containing a big hay shed, chaff room and “new” stables was built in 1914, all using the tall local salmon gums as posts.
A Hard 1914
Unfortunately, 1914 turned out to be a disastrous year, the driest ever on record (Kooabbie has kept weather records since 1911). To add to its worries, Sam had collapsed with TB in 1914 and given six months to live. It tooks years for the farm to financially recover, but Sam significantly outlived his six month prognosis.
With time Sam recovered enough to be able to ride again.
Alice at work
Development of “Koobabbie” continued rapidly through all of this and by 1916 the number of sheep shorn was 2,617 merinos. With Sam’s illness, Alice Rudduck needed to become intimately involved in the running of the farm. Alice classed the wool and personally pushed the heads of sheep under in the plunge dip at dipping time. Sam continued to plan the development of the farm from his sick bed whilst Alice supervised the work. She would ride out in a buggy with a ruler to measure the furrow to check the land was being ploughed to a depth of five inches.
Horses, Sheep, Cattle & Cars
Horses were essential to the development of the property. In July 1918 there were twenty one Clydesdales (three teams), nine riding horses, two newly broken in horses and twenty four young horses, a total of fifty six horses. (The first car, a Buick, was purchased in 1924 at a cost of £200 and was the second car in the district).
By 1935 there were 2,466 sheep, 49 cattle and 36 horses. Also recorded in the annual statistical return are 90 sheep killed for rations, an estimated 1,000 gallons of milk produced and 500 dozen eggs from 60 hens. Of 7,806 acres owned, 1346 were under crop, 1050 acres share crop, 1350 acres fallow, leaving 4060 acres pasture and shelter belts. Eight men were employed.
The sheep business continued to change. In the early 1920s Sam purchased Border Leicester rams and became one of the early fat lamb breeders. By 1935 no merinos remained. In 1940 a Dorset Horn stud was started to breed rams to sire the fat lambs. The flock has continued to this day, but is now Poll Dorset, rather than Dorset Horn. Sam was an excellent stockman and had an Aberdeen Angus Stud and a Red Poll stud. A small herd of Jersey cattle did not prove profitable and was sold.
In September 1932 the Minister for Agriculture remarked he had “established one of the show farms of the State”
The Second Generation: Arnold Rudduck
He and Alice farmed “Koobabbie” until the end of 1948 when they retired to South Perth, both aged 75. Ever indefatigable, Sam had also by this time served as a Justice of the Peace for over 50 years. Sam and Alice died in 1952.
Their son Arnold then took over. Arnold had travelled to South Australia to attend Roseworthy Agricultural College from 1921 to 1923, before returning to the farm in late 1924. On his return he originally lived in “Arnold’s Camp”, as the main house was too small at that time.
In 1927 he settled with his wife Clarice Lavinia Perry on “El Cala”, 2697 acres which had previously been part of “Koobabbie”, but was split off for Arnold. Arnold developed as well 2,500 acres of lighter country to the east of “El Cala”. After the local bushranger, Frank Thomas, was captured, Arnold also acquired the 160 acre Homestead Block Thomas held that takes in Kooba Hill. These later two areas were incorporated into “Koobabbie” when he purchased it from his parents.
When Sam and Alice Rudduck retired, Arnold and Clarice Rudduck moved to “Koobabbie” and sold “El Cala” to the Hogbin family, who renamed the farm “Wandoa”. In 1949 “Koobabbie” employed six men.
Arnold was also very active outside of the farm, serving on various farming co-operative companies. He served from 1936 -1956 as a Director of the North Midlands Co-Operative. He then served as Chairman of the Board until this was bought out by Wesfarmers. He was also an Associate Director, then Director, then Executive Director of Wesfarmers from 1940 until he passed away in 1964.
He was also a keen spelunker, and owned a shack down at Margaret River where the family went each summer so Arnold could go cave exploring. Rudduck Cave near Callgardup is named for him.
The Second Generation: Clarice Rudduck
While Arnold was very active as a director, Arnold’s wife, Clarice Rudduck was extremely active in community service. Warm, friendly and competent, Clarice was the inaugural president of the Coorow-Waddy Forest Branch of the Country Women’s Association when it was formed in 1946. She went on to be Vice-President, then President of the North Midlands Division. Clarice was serving her third term as Divisional President at the time of her death. There is this day a state-wide “Clarice Rudduck Award” for the best branch in the State for Community Service. Both Alison and Wendy remember her as a very caring and wonderful homemaker.
The Third Generation: Alison and Wendy Rudduck
Arnold and Clarice had two daughters, Alison Betty born in 1938, and Clarice Wendy, known as Wendy, born in 1941.
Alison always wanted to be a farmer from a very young age. When she was only four, her Mum Clarice wrote “she really can do a lot to help when she likes, but spends most of her time out with Arnold”. One of Alison’s earliest memories is trying to help her father round up the sheep on her tricycle.
She resisted all suggestions from her mother that she try any other career, but did get off the farm occasionally to participate in debating, horse events, and Junior Farmers.
Wendy was much more interested in the domestic sphere, and became a Home Economics teacher, working in Kalgoorlie and Moora. She married Garry Le Get and moved to Victoria in 1965.
The Third Generation: John Doley
Born in 1937, John was a gifted mechanic (In 1956 he won the Wesfarmers tractor maintenance competition ). He was also a licensed pilot, having learnt on Tiger Moths in his early years.
John arrived to work on “Wandoa” for the Hogbins in 1962. When John arrived, Wylie Hogbin told him that “the little girl next door would take him to Junior Farmers”. Thus started a friendship that grew into a life long partnership. Together they formed part of a strong debating team.
Alison married John Doley in 1965 and they took up the running of the farm together.
In 1973 when the Hogbins retired, John Doley purchased “Wandoa” and it was again incorporated into “Koobabbie”.
John passed away in 2007, but is remembered for common sense, honesty, dry humour, and love of reading The Bulletin.
Koobabbie and Conservation
At this time, Koobabbie became increasing recognised for its conservation work and practices. Many timber belts were preserved in the original farm at Alice’s insistence, and Alison and John took the farm’s conservation efforts to a new level. The property has 136 observed species of birds, including populations of all three of WA’s black cockatoos. The timber belts were recognised as critical breeding sites for Carnaby’s Cockatoos and Alison and John supported research and assistance for their breeding for over thirty years.
John and Alison also purchased around 2200 ha of salt lake country within the Buntine Marchagee Catchment area in 1987. This had been previously used for grazing, but John and Alison fenced out and significantly rehabilitated this country. The saline wetlands and surrounding habitat is now noted for its significant natural diversity, with several rare species of plants, including Eremophila koobabbiensis. This was first discovered on the property and is only found locally. Alison was made a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia for her significant services to conservation.
The work of many hands
In the 21st century, the property (now 7,173 ha) produced prime lambs, wool from a Merino flock, a few beef cattle and grew wheat, lupins, barley and oats. Alison and John did not work alone, but also received decades of help from many others. Most recently these have included Neil Johns, Vern & Jan Muller, and Billy Smith. After their retirements, Wendy and her husband Garry also begun to came back regularly each year to help out during the busy planting and harvest periods. John Doley passed away in 2007 and Alison continued to farm the property until her death in February 2019, at the age of eighty.
For the last two years, the farm has been run by Alison’s sister Wendy, with assistance and the help of her children, Rohan, Naomi, and Ashley. Sadly, these will be the last generation of Rudducks to run the farm. The family has made the decision to sell the farm to the Birch family, neighbours who have been in the district for over 50 years.
A Final Legacy
Alison initially left the antique farming equipment to the Coorow Historical Society, but in addition, Wendy, Rohan, Naomi and Ashley also made the decision to donate some of the original historical buildings at Koobabbie. These have become the core of the new Koobabbie Precinct set up in the heart of Coorow (under the leadership of Jan Muller and Guy Sims). For more details on the buildings themselves, please see the Buildings page on this site.
You can find out more about the precinct itself in this article or video in The West Australian,
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