Keep the Branding Iron Hot: The Pat Underwood Story

In 1950 Pat Underwood was given the chance of a lifetime.

The legendary Tom Quilty offered him the management of his Bedford station in the East Kimberley. Pat never looked back and went on to own Inverway station, shich he turned into one of the most productive and efficiently run family properties in the Northern Territory.

Pat was in the cattle business when shorthorns were run on vast, unfenced range country; artificial waters were few and far between; poddy dodging was a way of life; markets were small, unreliable and distant and the era of long-distance droving of big mobs was in full swing.

By the time Pat retired, Brahman herds replaced the shorthorns; properties were fenced and vastly improved; road trains had taken over from droving; aerial musters replaced many a horse and rider; and cattle markets had improved immensely. This is the story of a strong and united family. Today the Underwoods remain a stalwart force in the Territory cattle industry.