Despite several years of drought, the Central Queensland Meat Exporting Company still managed to run 2827 cattle on their property Fitzroy Vale. Nearby Canoona, on the Fitzroy river, experienced Australia's most insane gold rush in 1858. On a mere rumour, 30 000 southerners rushed north, eventually to be shipped back destitute by their respective governments. The field was a 'duffer'. Find more information about the Melvin Vaniman collection of photographic panoramas in the State Library of New South Wales' catalogue: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemdetailpaged.aspx?itemid=413018