Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 29 June 1918, page 15


PIONEER PASTORALIST DEAD.

Mr. Sidney Yeates, one of the pioneer pastoralists, died at Toowoomba on Thursday at the advanced age of 88 years. The late Mr. Yeates was born in

London, and arrived in South Australia whtn 6 years of age. He selected Crown land at Mount Remarkable (now Melrose township), South Australia, and carried on sbeep grazing until 1863, when he sold out and decided to make for Queensland. Accompanied by his brother John and Mr. Frank Gardiner, he purchased 4000 sheep at Maitland. New South Wales. and drove them across New England via Quart Pot Creek (now Stanthorpe), Drayton. Dalby, and Jinghi station to Mackay, thence to Mount Dryanda, Proserpine, where country was secured. The party had hardly commenced operations, when the wild blacks killed one of the men and half the sheep, so Mr. Yeates decided to exchange the balance of the sheep for cattle, and moved to the Lynd River, selecting on Myall Downs. Later he disposed of the property, and in 1868 selected land on the Don River, near Bowen, where he resided until 1880. when, having; entered into partnership with the late Mr. J. F. Cudmore, he travelled overland with bis family to Adavale and purchased Boondoon and Mentone leaseholds, with 4000 cattle. Subsequently these properties were stocked with 50,000 sheep and were carried on until 1894, when Mr. Yeates retired from the part nership and lived privately first in Bris-bane and later in Toowoomba. The late Mr. Yeates was a keen politician in the days of McIlwraith and Griffith, and fought vigorously for the transcontinen-tal land grant railway scheme in the early eighties. He was a prominent member of the Wangaratta Divisional Board. His wife predeceased him by 19 years, but he is survived by nine sons. The elder sons are chiefly engaged in pastoral and agri-cultural pursuits, while the two youngest, Kenneth and Herbert, are the principals of the firm of Messrs. Yeates Bros, and Co., stock and station agents, Too-woomba, while Milo is in charge of the Dalby branch.