In Part 1, we explored the golden era of rabbit trapping in Bingara, including Ken Bilsborough's fascinating recollections of working at the Bingara Freezing Works in the early 1950s. Today we continue the story of how the rabbit industry transformed when science entered the battle.
The Game Changer: Myxomatosis
Just as Ken Bilsborough was working at the freezing works, everything was about to change. In 1950, the Myxomatosis virus was introduced to Australia, and the results were dramatic. According to the NSW Office of Environmental Heritage, the virus initially wiped out between 95% and 100% of rabbits in some areas.
Imagine the impact on Bingara's rabbit industry. The freezing works that Ken described, processing 3000 pairs of rabbits twice weekly at 2/6 pence per pair, suddenly faced a drastically reduced supply. The trappers who had been making lucrative livings, like the one reported in the Warialda Standard earning ninety-three pounds in just eleven nights, saw their income streams dry up almost overnight.
Nature Fights Back
But the victory was short-lived. Rabbits, with their legendary breeding capacity, developed resistance to Myxomatosis. Populations recovered, and the battle was far from over.
Round Two: Rabbit Calicivirus
The introduction of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, also known as Rabbit Calicivirus (RHDV or RCD), brought new hope, particularly in Australia's arid areas. Once again, rabbit numbers plummeted. And once again, the resilient rabbits developed resistance, cementing their status as one of Australia's most formidable pests.
The Modern Battle Continues
As Chris McLennan, ACM national agriculture writer, reported on 11 April 2021: "The fight against Australia's rabbit plague never ends; scientists are already searching for the next weapon." Australian researchers continue working in laboratories, developing what McLennan calls "a pandemic of their own, against rabbits."
Scientists are searching for the next biological control breakthrough, though they acknowledge significant obstacles remain. The rabbit wars that provided employment for Ken Bilsborough and countless Bingara families during the Depression and World War II continue today, fought now in laboratories rather than in the bush with traps and spotlights.
A Changed Landscape
The Bingara Freezing Works building still stands behind the service station in Maitland Street, a silent reminder of an industry that once employed locals and processed thousands of rabbits weekly. Ken Bilsborough's 1924 Dodge truck, carefully loaded with up to 300 rabbits on racks, is long gone. The trappers' screens hanging in creek beds, the spotlighters with their .22 rifles and head-mounted lights, the twice-weekly runs to Tamworth—all are now part of Bingara's rich history.
Today's rabbit control looks very different from Ken's era of chipping ice in the freezing rooms and wondering "what it must have been like to be an Eskimo." Yet the fundamental challenge remains the same: how to control a pest that has proven remarkably adaptable to every weapon we've thrown at it.
The rabbit wars continue, and Bingara's role in that long battle remains an important chapter in both local and national agricultural history.
This story is preserved thanks to the late Ken Bilsborough's recordings and his wife Lucy's generosity in sharing them. These authentic accounts form part of Bingara's proud heritage, carefully curated by Rodney's Relics.
We can gift wrap and post to anyone in Australia - just use their address when checking out. Rodney of Rodney's Relics absolutely guarantees returns/refunds for anyone unhappy with their purchase. Call our Bingara main street shop on 02 6724 1500 with any questions.