In 1822 a young James Webber, recently arrived in the Colony, took up his land grant on the Paterson River. In that one act of possession, the landscape, managed and maintained by Aboriginal people for many centuries, was changed forever. James and his convict crew carved out a European-style agricultural enterprise by exploiting the rich diversity of the land. In a nod to the earlier custodians, he named his estate ‘Tocal’, an aboriginal word for ‘plenty’. Through toil and enterprise, successive owners grew rich on the Tocal lands, until, in 1965, private ownership ceased, and a new agricultural college was born on the site. That college, now retaining the name given to the land by its original custodians, grew into a thriving educational centre, with tentacles of training reaching throughout the nation. 2022 marks a significant milestone in the history of the land. This brief overview of its story—including the millennia before dispossession—has been compiled by four authors with over 170 years of combined memories associated with Tocal College and recording its agriculture and its history. Over its history, Tocal has touched many families and many lives, and it continues to expand its reach, including to the descendants of its original peoples who cared for and respected its resources. This book in a small way pays homage to all of those lives.

This book traces the history of Tocal College, and explores the reasons why Tocal has thrived since it was established 50 years ago, while many other agricultural training institutions have declined. In the early years, Tocal was in many ways a smaller brother. But to survive, Tocal had to adapt. This required flexibility, a willingness to innovate, a pioneering spirit, the support of stakeholders and above all, political savvy. It is a credit to the leadership of its Principals over the past 50 years that Tocal has not only adapted, but seized the initiative. It has transformed from a regional, residential-based institution to an industry-based, national training hub. It is embedded as an indispensible part of NSW Department of Primary Industries; a significant state asset with a strong national profile. It provides flexible and customised training in regional areas throughout the State, with diverse projects across all agricultural industries. Tocal has become the service arm and major vehicle by which information and training is delivered to rural NSW. Tocal has always emphasised its practical base. It specialises in training for rural skills; its publications in all their forms are practical and expressed in plain English; its trainers have wide industry credibility. It has been true to its roots, but always alive to greater possibilities and wider horizons. This book is a glimpse into the journey so far.

The magnificent Tocal property in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales stands as a testament to Australian agriculture and Australian farmers. This book is a pictorial guide to Tocal Homestead, the property, the history, the people and the land.

Beef AgSkills provides a basic guide to some of the skills and practices of beef production. The book contains step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and full-colour pictures. Some of the skills included are: · Drafting and counting cattle · Vaccinating · Heat detection · Problems with calving · Dehorning calves

The river red gum has the most widespread natural distribution of Eucalyptus in Australia, forming extensive forests and woodlands in south-eastern Australia and providing the structural and functional elements of important floodplain and wetland ecosystems. Along ephemeral creeks in the arid Centre it exists as narrow corridors, providing vital refugia for biodiversity. The tree has played a central role in the tension between economy, society and environment and has been the subject of enquiries over its conservation, use and management. Despite this, we know remarkably little about the ecology and life history of the river red gum: its longevity; how deep its roots go; what proportion of its seedlings survive to adulthood; and the diversity of organisms associated with it. More recently we have begun to move from a culture of exploitation of river red gum forests and woodlands to one of conservation and sustainable use. In Flooded Forest and Desert Creek, the author traces this shift through the rise of a collective environmental consciousness, in part articulated through the depiction of river red gums and inland floodplains in art, literature and the media.

A vital Aboriginal perspective on colonial storytelling Indigenous lawyer and writer Larissa Behrendt has long been fascinated by the story of Eliza Fraser, who was purportedly captured by the local Butchulla people after she was shipwrecked on their island in 1836. In this deeply personal book, Behrendt uses Eliza's tale as a starting point to interrogate how Aboriginal people – and indigenous people of other countries – have been portrayed in their colonizers' stories. Citing works as diverse as Robinson Crusoe and Coonardoo, she explores the tropes in these accounts, such as the supposed promiscuity of Aboriginal women, the Europeans' fixation on cannibalism, and the myth of the noble savage. Ultimately, Behrendt shows how these stories not only reflect the values of their storytellers but also reinforce those values – which in Australia led to the dispossession of Aboriginal people and the laws enforced against them.