Certificate of Registration - Brand 23323

The establishment of the dairy industry in the south-west of Western Australia in the 1920’s can be attributed to the State’s Premier, Sir James Mitchell.

With agreement between the State, Commonwealth and British Governments, Mitchell proposed a scheme to recruit new settlers to the region by allocating land to create small farms and subsidising their stock and expenses. Known as the Group Settlement Scheme, it provided nearly 100,000 British migrants free and assisted passage to Western Australia at a time when Britain was experiencing a struggling economy and high unemployment. Immigrants were promised new horizons and tempting rewards of settlement.

The first group was established in the forests around Manjimup in March 1921, and later in the Busselton area in…………………….

Each group was divided into about twenty blocks, all about twenty-five-acres (approximately ten hectares) in size. The group settlers worked together to clear a block which was then allocated, using a ballot system, to one member of the group. Once a small tin shack, yards and fencing were erected, using the materials supplied, the process would be repeated until all blocks were cleared and occupied.

The settlers endured great hardship as many of the holdings were unviable and the stock of poor quality. Of the 2,000 farms established, around 700 were abandoned. Despite the setbacks, the present dairy industry is a testament to the hard work, tenacity and optimistic spirit of the group settlers.

Born in Yorkshire in England, Frederick Jeremiah Slee came to Western Australia in 1921 as a Commander in the Salvation Army. In April 1922, following the inception of "Group Settlement", he took up land which adjoined the State Forest at Group 15 (Hithergreen). In 1929 he married Rose Ifould and together they continued to farm “Hillside”. Over time they expanded their holdings to 660 acres by buying out neighbouring properties.