Our Story · John & Susan Hendry
Our path
to Arrawatta.
We are John and Susan Hendry. A search for one bull took us from Australian Lowlines in Queensland to Native Angus in Scotland, and eventually to a new home for our cattle at Arrawatta.
How it began
Onyx Park to Dunlouise
It began with
a search for a bull.
We were farming Australian Lowlines at Onyx Park, near Kenilworth in Queensland, when Susan lost her favourite bull.
Looking for a replacement led us to Native Angus. The connection was familiar: Australian Lowlines and Native Angus share Aberdeen-Angus ancestry. But finding these cattle opened a new possibility for our herd.
In late 2016, Susan travelled to Dunlouise in Scotland. She fell in love with the cattle’s physical type, their foundation breeding and their temperament. Eversfield Pumpkin made a particular impression.
One thing led to another. Our Native Angus journey began with 62 embryos imported from Scotland.
John · A family connection
A familiar name
in the old records.
John knew he had Scots ancestry. As he researched the early herds and farmers, he began finding references to his Henderson and Hendry ancestors.
Then came a discovery that made the connection feel especially personal: his ancestor George Hendry had written Famous Aberdeen-Angus Sires, published in 1898.
“I knew it was fated.”
June 2020 · A new home
Finding the country
for the cattle.
As the first calves grew, it became clear that Onyx Park was not the right country for them.
They struggled with the ticks and worms present there, becoming unwell after weaning. We needed to find country better suited to raising these cattle.
We set out to find the best cattle country we could, and were delighted when Arrawatta became available. The purchase contract was dated 5 June 2020, and settlement took place on 30 June 2020, beginning a new chapter near Inverell in northern New South Wales.
September–October 2024
A visit and
the first delivery.
In September 2024, Grant Hilliard of Feather & Bone visited Arrawatta to inspect the farm before ordering the first Native Angus carcasses.
The first delivery to Feather & Bone’s Marrickville butchery, Sydney, followed in early October 2024.
Susan · Science, farming & food
An interest that
became a way of life.
Susan’s interest in food is personal as well as scientific.
With a background in medical biochemistry, she brought a questioning mind to the relationship between food and health. A health crisis in her late twenties prompted years of reading, learning and reconsidering the food she ate.
Farming gave those interests a practical expression: caring for cattle, learning from the land and taking responsibility for the food we produce.
Read Susan’s personal account (opens in a new tab)
Two roles · One undertaking
“Susan drives a tractor,
I drive a spreadsheet.”
John does strategy and planning. Susan does tactics and execution. It is a practical partnership, bringing decisions on paper into the daily work of the station.
At Arrawatta, that work continues through the cattle we breed, the pastures we manage and the food we produce.
George Hendry’s 1898 paper
George Hendry, Famous Aberdeen-Angus Sires.
Published in Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, fifth series, volume X (1898), beginning on page 52.
John discovered this paper by his ancestor George Hendry while researching his family’s connection with the early Aberdeen-Angus breeders.
- View the digitised volume on Google Books (opens in a new tab) — linked at page 54, in the section on Old Jock.
- Read a transcription of the Old Jock section (opens in a new tab) — reproduced on Pure Grass Beef under “The Story of Old Jock”.
Further reading and photography
The Australian Lowline Cattle Association provides the Lowline breed history.
Susan writes about her experience in Food as Medicine (23 April 2025). Read more of the brand story at Native Angus Beef.
Grant Hilliard photographed the first Arrawatta Native Angus carcasses delivered to Feather & Bone at its Marrickville butchery in early October 2024. Used with the photographer’s permission.