Bryvonlea Droughtmaster Stud was established in 1998 and is owned and operated by Brian and Yvonne Heck and family at Glastonbury, Queensland. Brian & Yvonne both grew up on dairy farms so after they married they purchased 80 acres of property at Kybong where they commenced with a small commercial breeding herd.
A Little History: Brian commenced an apprenticeship in joinery after finishing school completing his apprenticeship in aluminium joinery in Gympie. Yvonne worked on her fathers property before joining the office admin staff at the Kilkivan shire council. Yvonne moved to Brisbane to undertake her General and Midwifery Nursing Training and following completion, worked interstate and travelled overseas. Yvonne returned to Gympie where she met Brian. In 1988 Brian and Yvonne commenced a glass & aluminium business in Gympie which they owned and operated until they sold in 2007.
In 1998 we commenced Bryvonlea Droughtmasters with the purchase of females from the Coolalinga Stud Dispersal, Haigslea, Yackatoon, Sylvan Springs, Glenlands, Billabong and Minlacowie bloodlines. Billabong Jackson was purchased in 2001 and so began the success of Bryvonlea. Our later sires were Glenlands D Jet Set, Mungalla Tyrell, Billabong Riley and Vale View Ripper all of whom have bought a great dimension to our brand. For several years Brian & Yvonne and the children ran the Gympie Handling School with up to 140 attendees. We had a great time and met and made many friends and fellow breeders. We had the opportunity to sit in on many of the lectures from well respected cattlemen. The most memorable being that of the late Mr Noel Perry on Female Selection. It was disappointing to see the school close but an assessment school is now run in Nanango in July which is highly recommended. In 1999 the stud commenced showing cattle and the children competed in various judging and show events. Over the years many ribbons have been won by both the cattle and their 3 children. In 2001 we purchased a steep but very fertile scrub block at Golden Hills Road, Glastonbury where a single sire herd of 50 females is pastured. It is a rough environment but the droughtmaster cattle perform to the maximum here regardless of the ticky and steep, rocky terrain. We believe if a bull and his females can breed in this environment year after year they must have, athleticism, structural soundness, good constitution and stamina and the droughtmaster breed have done this very well with the added advantage of varied market suitability. As a result of the Kybong property being acquired by the Main Roads Department for the planned Bruce Highway Upgrade (having traffic through the living room was not a viable option) in 2007 we purchased a property at Glastonbury Creek Road which has given us room to expand up to 120 to 150 females and places both properties within 10 mins of each other and just 16 mins out of Gympie. 2013 - 2014 has seen a record flood followed by a record dry season. We have been fortunate to agist a 500 acre property just 4k down the road. This will help Bryvonlea thru this dry time and when the season breaks enable the expansion of Joshua's Bryvonlea J Herd and Tennille's interests. At the 2014 DN Bull Sale we purchased Skye Wilfred the 2nd top priced bull for $50,000. He stands on great bone accompanied by length and skin. Determined bidding by Yvonne beat off the combined efforts of Glenlands and Medway. Since then we have added to the sire battery Medway Urie (sold to Kross Country Droughtmasters), Glenlands D Ultimatum, Yaralla Stanford, Needmor Digby and Billabong Fergus. 2018 Bryvonlea Rolleston 2nd Top priced bull at the DN. Bull Sale sold to Huntly Droughtmasters for $52,500. We greatly appreciate the support we have had over the years from fellow breeders, our children and the blessings and favour from the Lord.
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