Standing feed but dry conditions for the previous six weeks met the buyers at the annual Mountain Calf Sales last week, where hundreds of people converged for the flurry of activity that is five sales over two days.
The history and stories to do with the people, the cattle and the sales over the years is varied and fortunately a lot of it is detailed in the book Selling the Mountain Calves, A personal history of the East Gippsland Calf Sales, by Ian Balmer, who joined A. McLean and Co in 1939, and retired in 1976.
According to Mr Balmer, the first special calf sale was held at Benambra in 1946 by A. McLean and Co, ‘when the complete yarding comprised weaner calves, and later on, Omeo, Ensay Gelantipy Buchan and Bairnsdale followed suit’.
In his 1993-published book, he says ‘it was in 1949 that Dalgetys, including the former A. Macarthur and Co, started calf sales at Gelantipy and after that held sales at Omeo, Benambra and Ensay, with no set pattern’.
In 1950 A. McLean and Co became part of AML&F, also in the 1950s Goodman and Donoghue was established, while in 1951/52 Australian Estates began cattle sales at Benambra that included numerous calves. 

IMAGE: HINNOMUNJIE: Evelyn Fitzgerald, 9, Benambra, was on hand to watch proceedings at last week’s Mountain Calf Sales. She has been to every sale her whole life.