White Rocks – Brunswick Junction

White Rocks at Brunswick Junction attraction is watching cows being milked (free) daily at 3pm. By appointment only. If you would like to visit the great White Rocks museum and collection of old horse drawn machinery, please call to arrange a time. Groups only and fee applies. 2 – 4:30pm.

Learn from the original pioneers of this historic and picturesque farm. Set alongside a wall of white rocks overlooking the green pastures of Brunswick Junction. Look through the restored original buildings, one-room school, modern dairy and a history of one family tell a story of farming and local development from 1887 to the present. A great photo opportunity for you to be milking a cow the original way!

White Rocks is a dairy farm of 525 hectares, of which 120 hectares are irrigated. It was founded in 1887 by John Partridge, the grandfather and great grandfather of the current owners. Currently, around 450 cows are milked all year round. This necessitates a herd of around 600 cows, as each cow only milks for 9 to 10 months and spends 2 to 3 months dry. All cows are tested each month by HISWA (Herd Improvement Service of WA) for milk production, protein content and fat content. Also, a computer print gives out somatic cell counts and progressive totals of each cow’s production for the current lactation. The herd averages around 25 litres per cow per day. Cows remain in the herd for an average of four or five years. The cows are milked in a 50 stand rotary dairy. Each cow has a transponder around her neck which allows electronic identification and computerised feeding to her individual requirement. For example, freshly calved high producing cows receive around 6kgs of concentrate per day in early lactation but this reduces as their requirement drops off after the first three months.

The farm also raises dairy fed veal which is marketed as “White Rocks Veal” to top restaurants in several States as well as Singapore. Friesian bull calves are raised as steers and Friesian heifers as herd replacements.