Paddington’s Goats
Photo: Chris Roberts, Unsplash
Paddington has had many offensive and criminal behaviours to contend with in the past. From pub brawls to prostitution, burglary to murder, but no abomination endured as persistently as goats. That’s right, goats were once the most bemoaned affliction in the town of Ithaca.
For at least 54 years, from the mid 1800’s, Ithaca had a very infamous and enormous goat problem. Their indiscriminate destruction of the neighbourhood was the subject of many heated town council meetings and strongly worded letters to the editor.
Billy Carts on the streets of Paddington, Alan Miles Collection, 1930s
Goats were introduced to Australia with the First Fleet, and in Ithaca they were sources of milk and meat as well as working farm animals capable of pulling a small cart. Of course there was an enthusiastic goat racing circuit which generated a gambling economy too.
Goats are notoriously difficult to contain in a yard. They are excellent climbers and of course, eat most things from plants to fabrics and leather; there’s not much that can thwart the will of a hungry goat it would seem, and our predecessors had a difficult time keeping their goats under control.
Not only did the straying goats get into people's gardens and eat their flowers and vegetables, but goats also went on to school verandas in swarms, stuffing themselves by eating the student’s hats and lunches. Complaints to the council included evidence that goats were entering houses, tearing up gardens and damaging fences. The pests were also reported to have been attacking pedestrians and children, tearing their clothing.
In particular the Upper part of Paddington was infested with stray goats that were “destroying public gardens and ravaging private efforts to beautify the district by cleaning up front patches and making the borderline of the streets attractive.”
Solutions included banning goats altogether, impounding straying goats, extermination (a popular choice), banishment to paddocks or reserves out of town, or registration with fines for owners of straying animals. Sometimes goats that were registered and wearing the appropriate triangular collar and identification were still killed by authorised personnel if found outside of their yard!
Goat Nuisance: Telegraph Saturday 22 January 1887, page 5. (Trove, NLA)
In 1887 A. Victim wrote asking the Editor; “Is there no remedy for the ratepayers of the Ithaca Division against the great flocks of goats that roam and feed about the roads and streets of Paddington? I myself counted a flock of 12 running along Given Terrace, opposite the Paddington Hotel, not one registered, and doing their work of destruction and otherwise annoying residents.”
In 1902 Mr J. Stevenson who owned Fernberg Paddock wrote to the council asking what they might do about the goats in his paddock which are a nuisance to residents and are attracting complaints. The Council said, as the paddock belonged to him, he should take care of it himself. We can only imagine that “Take care of it” would entail, with years of frustration building, that it would likely be the great meadow in the sky.
It seemed that the only solution for the goat plague was to seize and cull the animals. This letter to the editor from 1900 describes a resident’s point of view:
“I think a quite effectual and far more humane remedy for the destruction of goats could be found instead of brutally cutting their throats in the presence of females and innocent little children. Last Tuesday a lady friend of mine, who lives at Paddington, had a goat and for a few minutes it got out of her yard; the next time she saw the poor animal it had been dragged to the top of the hill and its throat cut. It was registered and had a yoke on its neck; its milk was the nourishment of her poor sickly invalid infant.”
In 1908 The ravages of goats was once again up for discussion with the question posed to Council once again - Can you kill a trespassing goat? What was the law in regard to the goat nuisance? How could a man deal with a goat if it walked into his garden? Could he kill it?
The Mayor was of the opinion that the goat question was a difficult one.
The council decided to leave the matter in the mayor's hands. (This was a common “conclusion in council meetings - and clearly for 50 odd years, no Mayor of Ithaca had ever come up with a definitive solution!)
In 1910 rogue goats appeared to be increasing in numbers.
The ensuing discussion included the idea of registering goats and fining owners of unregistered goats. Alderman McCook said the registration was no good unless owners were compelled to keep their goats on their own premises. He also pointed out that a registered goat could eat a rose bush just as easily as an unregistered one.
The Mayor declared that something was going to be done about these goats very shortly and If anyone wanted a night’s sport ….(ripple of laughter)
Registration of goats went ahead at the cost of half a crown per goat, with the following legislation:
“It shall be a condition of registration upon breach whereof the registration may be revoked, that every registered goat shall at all times have a wooden triangular collar around its neck, which collar shall also be equilateral, and each of the sides thereof not less than fourteen inches in length and the name and address of the owner of such goat, and the registered number of such goat, shall be legibly written or impressed on such, collar. The town inspector ...or any other officer or servant of the Council authorised in that behalf may, at any place within the town, seize and detain any goat not duly registered, or not wearing such collar as aforesaid, which is found straying In the town, and may forthwith sell or kill every such goat, and in the latter case burn or otherwise destroy and dispose of the carcass thereof.”
In 1868 resident Joseph Baker was told that a strong limewash applied to trees would stop goats from barking the trees. Evidently this did not work as the goats, he wrote to the Editor, not only ate the lime washed bark, but the bark underneath it as well. Joseph reported that his own mixture of limewash, cow dung and the gum of a red-gum tree, instead, worked.
