New yards completed

on 25th September 2025

Fifteen years ago, Dad’s wish was seemingly simple: “just work around the hill and the trees.”

On opening the 2025 Gyranda sale, Nikki reminisced on the gradual transformation of the yards and selling complex.  Plaques acknowledging contributions from Burnett Joyce, Frank Van Bael and others were unveiled on the day.

“Fifteen years ago, when we first planned the saleyard renovations, Dad’s wish was simple: “work around the hill and the trees. He loved the quiet charm of the old wooden yards, but he insisted steel was the way forward — and warned, “whatever you do, don’t paint it.” (Situated on the banks of the Dawson River, Burnett could attest to the never ending requirement for repainting rails, vigilantly treating for whiteants and repairing whiteant damage in the fifty year old wooden yards)

From the start, the Van Bael family have been central to this project. Alan Van Bael helped replace railway sleepers with sandstone blocks in 2012, while Frank re-designed the race and working section in 2017, and completed the backyards in 2022. After a determined 12-month recovery from a severe burns incident, Frank returned in 2025 to somehow combine my love of straight lines with Pete’s flowing curves and sandstone. The result is less like a set of yards and more like an art installation.

I can only imagine how chuffed Dad would be, especially knowing we still dodge trees in gateways, old posts were recycled into leaky weirs and creek crossings, and some of the old rails now form the floor of the auctioneers stand.

A long-standing tradition is our local ICPA branch (Dawson Valley ICPA) catering for this sale and doling out some of the best steak sandwiches on the sale circuit.  As their main fundraiser of the year, your support helps them continue advocating for better education access for rural and remote families.

Our Gyranda crew are usually too busy behind the scenes to hear our praise at the start of proceedings, yet they carry much of the weight leading up to and on sale day. They are worth their weight in gold and will be feeling the pressure of today being their live dress rehearsal in these new facilities.

To you, our clients — we know you want to select bulls with trust and confidence. Every bull here meets our non-negotiables of performance, fertility, and longevity. Enduring a tough season and some infrastructure setbacks, the bulls before you today are resilient, reliable, and backed by a Gyranda guarantee over 70 years in the making.  Thank you for continuing to back our product and service.”