Renowned Jersey matriarch recognised with Bette Hall Excellence Award

It's among the many amazing achievements of this 87-year-old, the matriarch of the Anderson family whose stud Jerseys have played an influential role in the breed in Australia.

Mrs Anderson's work was recognised at the 2024 International Dairy Week, when she received the Power of Women Bette Hall Excellence Award.

Her involvement with Jerseys has been lifelong.

She was born into the De La Rue dairy-farming family, who bred Jerseys under the Lucerne Vale and Glenwyn prefixes in Victoria's Western District.

She married Bert Anderson, one of the Anderson brothers who at that time operated Kings Vale Jerseys, in 1959.

Two years later, the brothers dissolved their farm partnership, and Bert and Winsome established their farm and a new stud, Kings View, on the undeveloped part of the farm.

When Mr Anderson died in 1987 at the age of 61, Mrs Anderson showed great courage to continue the farming and stud operation.

"My youngest son was only 15 at the time, and it was a big responsibility to hold things together," she said.

Two years later the Kings View herd was divided between her three sons, who all wanted to carry on the Jersey business - Ian keeping the Kings View name, and Lindsay starting Kings Vista and Rob Kings Ville.

"I have been able to appreciate what they have been able to do with the small amount they got from their father's herd," Mrs Anderson said.

But she was not content to just watch her boys continue in the breed and in 1993 decided to create her own Jersey herd.

"I started from scratch; I named my stud Kayvee," she said.

In 1996 the Anderson family celebrated 100 years of exhibiting at the Royal Melbourne Show.

Mrs Anderson's fascination with the family's long history was in part behind her move to create a private museum dedicated to the breed.

She created the museum when she moved to her current home at Nar Nar Goon, which had a large shed.

The museum includes paper clippings dating back to 1912, photos to 1895, original herd books from 1901 to 1969, every Jersey Journal, Melbourne Show and International Dairy Week catalogue and reports and show ribbons back to 1918.

Antique dairy and farm equipment is housed in a separate shed, including a two-bale wooden dairy, complete with old milking machines.

The collection continues to grow as dairying people donate items to her they don't want to see destroyed.

Mrs Anderson said Jerseys were a great breed.

"Jerseys are very talented animals - they produce perfect milk," she said.

"They are so easy to work with."

Mrs Anderson said she was "gobsmacked" to receive the Bette Hall Award.

"I wasn't expecting anything like that at all," she said.

"Women play a vital role in the dairy industry.

"Even from my own point of view, how would our stud have matured and carried on if I wasn't supporting it, filling the gaps when I needed to.

"For after all, when Bert was at the royal show who was at home running the farm?"