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 in 1979 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 Kilkivan shire council as a secretary. Yvonne moved to Brisbane to undertake her General and Midwifery Nursing Training following completion, worked interstate and travelled overseas. Yvonne returned to Gympie where she met Brian and in 1979 they married. In 1988 Brian and Yvonne started their very successful glass and aluminium business in Gympie with up to 8 employees . The aluminium business was sold in late 2007 to focus on the droughtmaster stud.
They have 3 children Leanne, Tennille and Joshua. Leanne is currently studying for a certificate in ministry. Tennille recently married Tim Hughes and now lives and works in Toowoomba. 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 recommenced. In 1999 the stud commenced showing cattle and the children competed in various judging and show events. Many ribbons have been won by both the cattle and the children. In 2001 we purchased a steep but very fertile scrub block at Golden Hills Road, Glastonbury. This is where Billabong Jackson and his females run. It is a rough environment but the droughtmaster cattle perform to the maximum here regardless of the steep, rocky terrain. We believe if a bull and his females can breed in this environment year after year they must have structural soundness, good constitution and stamina. In 2005 we purchased our second stud sire Glenlands D Jet Set. His first sons will be sold in 2008 with some very promising young sires among them. 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). 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 12 mins out of Gympie.
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