Did you know there was an ostrich farm at Sydney’s South Head from 1889 until the early 1920s? In addition to providing the highly sought after commodity of ostrich feathers for the discerning fashionable lady, the farm became a popular tourist attraction run by the enterprising Joseph Barracluff and his wife, Jane. I spoke to Nic on 2SER Breakfast this morning about Barracluff's Ostrich Farm, an article by Kim Hanna published here in the Dictionary of Sydney. Joseph Thomas Barracluff arrived in Sydney from England in 1884, and began to sell feathers in a shop on Elizabeth Street opposite what was Devonshire Street Cemetery, now Central Railway Station. In 1889, he and his wife Jane established an ostrich farm on 11 acres of land at South Head, which was largely unpopulated at the time. Ostrich farming had begun in South Africa in 1867. While Barracluff’s farm was often referred to as Australia’s first ostrich farm, the truth was that the first had been established in Victoria in 1875. The ostrich feather trade was a booming one during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; at one stage their value per pound was allegedly almost equal to that of diamonds. The delicate feather exemplified luxury and extravagance and were particularly adopted in women’s fashion items such as hats, boas and fans. By 1902, Barracluff’s farm had 100 ostriches and the original ones had come from Morocco and Egypt. Barracluff fed them a ton of food a day, which comprised of discards from markets, hotels and the railway depot at Darling Harbour. While Barracluff’s ostrich farm thrived, it also became known for its famous visitors and dramatic incidents. In 1901, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V, visited the farm with his wife. The Daily Telegraph described the Duchess as ‘one of those women whose photographs don't do them justice’ and the Sydney Morning Herald reported she was presented with a gold frame and a fan embellished with tortoiseshell and Barracluff's feathers as a gift. After their visit, the farm was permitted to use the words 'Under Royal Patronage’, and two birds were renamed 'Duke' and ‘Duchess' in their honour. In 1906, there was one dramatic incident reported when a male ostrich escaped the grounds, with a group of men, boys and dogs following in ‘active pursuit’. The ostrich was finally retrieved three hours later. Joseph Barracluff died on the farm in 1918, aged 57, and despite efforts by his sons to revitalise the business, the farm folded soon after. Ostrich feathers fell out of fashion, and movements in bird protection also contributed to the decline in the trade.

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Ostriches on a farm near Sydney c1905 https://dictionaryofsydney.org/media/5401