News

Morrissey & Co have welcomed their fifth generation into the family blacksmithing business.

For more than 150 years, a blacksmith called Morrissey has forged on the Western Downs of Queensland, and from its workshop in Jandowae, Morrissey & Co has remained at the global forefront of cattle-handling equipment. Each generation to take to the anvil has bettered the work and welfare of pastoralists and their livestock....

Origin Story of the Morrissey Hydraulic Crush

My name is Greg Rolfe, and I run Rolfe Designs with my wife Neiliya, not far from Armidale, NSW. Let's take a step back in time to my childhood. I grew up on a farm called "Wheelholme," between Springsure and Tambo, where we raised cross-breed cattle. Life on the farm involved a lot of tough, slow, and sometimes dangerous work like branding calves and dealing with uncooperative bulls with only basic wooden equipment...

Old school craftmanship: Morrissey & Co finds 1920s wooden calf cradle still in use.

The Morrissey family has been hand-forging cattle handling equipment and brands on the Darling Downs since the 1800s.

Their calf-cradles and irons can be found on stations all over Australia, and even on iconic ranches in America.

Deciphering the cryptic code of cattle brands.

Beyond simple marks of identification and deterrents to cattle theft, brands have evolved into a language of their own.