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Top 10 Facts about Sir Sidney Kidman

Sidney Kidman and J. R. Chisholm in 1905 by Unknown Arthur/

Sir Sidney Kidman known as Sid Kidman and popularly named the Cattle King, was an Australian pastoralist and entrepreneur who owned or co-owned large areas of land in Australia.

Kidman & Co Pty Ltd is one of Australia’s largest beef producers with a herd of 171,000 cattle.

The company has pastoral leases covering approximately 80,000 square kilometers in three states and the Northern Territory.

He was then regarded as one of the most famous Australian of his day, and he caused a sensation when he decided to try and recruit new stockmen from the drivers of London.

1.S. Kidman & Co was founded by Sidney Kidman one of the greatest Pastoral in Australian history

Kidman & Co was founded in 1899 by Sidney Kidman. He was one of the greatest pastoral landholders in Australian history.

In 1875 he set up as a butcher in the canvas town of Cobar, New South Wales, where copper had been found, and made money selling meat to miners.

Kidman & Co is still the largest private landholder in Australia, although now on a much smaller scale.

The entire landholding was placed up for sale in 2015, with eleven cattle stations with a total area of over 100,000 square kilometers with a herd of 155,000 cattle.

2. During world war I the famous Sir Kidman gave fighter planes to the armed forces

Army planes by Museums Victoria/

During the First World War, Kidman gave fighter planes to the armed forces and in 1920 presented the Salvation Army with a half share in one of his cattle stations.

He made his main home at Kapunda, at a property called Eringa, which he gave to the South Australian Government for use as a high school in 1921.

Kidman’s annual horse sales were first held at the rear of the North Kapunda Hotel in October 1900, when 350 horses were auctioned.

The event became a fixture for the next thirty years. Kidman charged admission to these world-famous sales and donated the proceeds to local charities.

3. Growing into a young man Kidman astonishingly rescued twenty castles from wild dogs

Cattle by Jakob Cotton/

Growing into a young man, Kidman was also growing in the ways of the outback. He spent his days in the saddle chasing off packs of dingoes trying for a kill.

Once he had to rescue 20 heads of cattle from the wild dogs. His growing knowledge of the country led to his being hired out as a pilot for squatters looking for water holes.

Herding cattle to the gold fields to feed miners, Kidman not only encountered plagues of rabbits.

Kidman learned the ways of the frontier and put his entrepreneurial talents to work when he saw an opportunity, eventually, he would make a fortune transporting.

4. The famous Sir Kidman was knighted for his services to Pastoralism 

Sidney Kidman was knighted for his services to pastoralism in 1921, Sir Sidney Kidman owned 3.5% of Australia’s land, 68 cattle stations.

In 2016, S Kidman & Co. the company he created in 1899, was still listed as one of the largest landholders in Australia.

5. The exquisite Kidman’s family has a net worth of $364 million 

The Kidman family, with a net worth of $364 million, the Kidmans are descendants of the Adelaide-born Cattle King.

Sir Sidney Kidman, left the South Australian capital as a 14-year-old in 1871 with one horse.

The beef producers have benefited in recent years with increased demand from new markets in Indonesia Vietnam and South East Asia.

6. The famous S. Kidman & Co has survived five generations 

One of Australia’s most enduring family-owned pastoral companies, S. Kidman & Co had survived five generations the Kidman name had been bred out of the family tree.

For 117 years it had survived drought, disease, rising and falling cattle prices, and an ugly split within the family following Kidman’s death in 1935.

At the time of its sale, S. Kidman & Co had 64 family and employee shareholders. Many of those family members had only a tenuous link to the colossal pastoral group.

The family had become investors in the company confirmed by Don Manifold, managing partner of Ernst and Young in Adelaide which sold the business.

7. Astonishingly Nicole Kidman is a relative among the largest landowners of Kidman Holdings

Nicole Kidman au festival de Cannes by George Biard/

Nicole Kidman’s relatives are among the largest landowners, Kidman Holdings was founded by Sir Sidney Kidman in the 19th century.

He reputedly started the family firm after running away from home at the age of 13, with his sole possession a one-eyed horse. He died in 1935.

Nicole Mary Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were studying in the United States.

Her roots lead back to the very early days of colonial Australia, the company Kidman Holdings is the 8th biggest on the planet.

8. Fire destroys a school located at the home of the pioneering pastoralist famous Sir Sidney

The school is located where the home of pioneering pastoralist Sir Sidney Kidman but has now been gutted by fire.

Kidman, known as the Cattle King, donated the building which suffered extensive damage in a fire in 1902 to the education department in the 1920s.

A fire broke out in a historic building at Kapunda High School, and the teachers have been left heartbroken by the destruction of a historic school building.

9. Interestingly Sir Kidman a pastoralist is the third son of George Kidman a farmer

Sir Sidney Kidman, pastoralist, was born on May 1857, probably at Athelstone near Adelaide, the third son of George Kidman, farmer, and his wife Elizabeth Mary, née Nunn.

Kidman was educated at private schools in Norwood and left his home near Adelaide at age 13 with only five shillings and a one-eyed horse that he had bought with his savings.

He joined a drover and learned quickly, he then worked as a roustabout and bullock driver at Poolamacca cattle station.

10. The Famous Sir Sidney dies at his home his body interred at the Mitcham cemetery

Sidney Kidman and J. R. Chisholm in 1905 by Unknown Arthur/

Following a brief illness, Sidney Kidman died at his home at 76 Northgate Street, Millwood aged 78 September 1935.

His body was interred at the Mitcham Cemetery in the presence of hundreds of mourners his cortege extended for more than 1.5 miles.