North Taylors is the name of a paddock on the southwest slopes of New South Wales, south of the Murrumbidgee River, in the Birrego district, between the towns of Narrandera and Boree Creek.
Once a year, National Museum of Australia curator and environmental historian George Main visits North Taylors and writes a report that binds global issues of climate change and food security to the local, present day realities of this paddock, its history and possible futures.
North Taylors and Oakvale
The 60-hectare North Taylors paddock is part of Oakvale, a farm owned by the Strong family, leaders in the development of new, ecological farming methods. Oakvale was established in the first decade of the 20th century by George and Mary Taylor.
Before 1904 the rectangle of farmland now called North Taylors was part of Buckingbong, one of the great Murrumbidgee pastoral stations, established on Wiradjuri country by the Jenkins family in the 1830s.
Used to grow cereal crops for generations, today North Taylors is cloaked in self-sown pasture, and nourishes merino sheep.
View North Taylors paddock, Oakvale in a larger map
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‘From Our School House’ video on YouTube
This installation by the Cad Factory, a regional arts initiative, explores the history and significance of old Birrego schoolhouse, located alongside Oakvale.
‘Well Beyond Water’ website
A short documentary film by English composer Andy Ross about the Strong family’s efforts to adapt to climate change.