Our Society

Our History

Some 60 people gathered at a public meeting in Melbourne organised by Allister and Davina Stewart to form the Australian Highland Cattle Society.
‍
The initial Committee elected at that meeting was:

• President: Mr. Allister Stewart
• Vice President: Mr. Jim Black
• Minute Secretary: Mr. David Miller
• Treasurer: Mrs. Davina Stewart
• Members: Mrs. Susan Elder, Dr. Phillip Mutton, Mr. Ernie Hair, Mr. Stan Schuler

The society became an incorporated body in 1990. By 1994 the membership had risen to 204 with approximately 2000 registrations of Highland cattle of various degrees of purity.

In 2017, thanks to the efforts of AHCS breeders through history, the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia announced that Highland cattle had been removed from its At Risk Watch List and reclassified as a Recovering Breed.

Today, there are over 250 members across Australia and nearly 10,000 animals have been registered in the Herdbook since 1975. New cattle registrations average 190 annually, with over 88% of new registrations being classified as Purebred or Fully Imported Bloodlines.

Mission & Purpose

The AHCS mission is to preserve heritage, protect integrity and advance Highland Cattle in Australia through herd registration, education, promotion and fellowship.

The purpose and objectives of the Society are to:

• Develop and maintain the purity of the breed of cattle known as "Highland Cattle" and to promote the breed for commercial purposes;
• Collect, verify, preserve and publish the pedigrees of Highland Cattle and other useful information relating to them;
• Establish and maintain a Herd Book in which to register the pedigrees of Highland Cattle;
• Issue publications on Highland Cattle and generally promote the names and pedigree of Highland Cattle; and
• Grant approval and recognition of Association subcommittees including Regional Highlander Breeder or Promotional Groups.

‍

The Society offers a range of membership packages to support its mission and purpose, Highland Cattle breeders and enthusiasts in Australia.