In July 1859 James (Piccaninny) Smith of Yanac signed the first lease of the Kow Plains Run. This event was celebrated on the 26th July 2009, with an open day. New interpretative signs were in place and smoke was coming from the Homestead & Cookhouse chimneys as visitors arrived.
Official proceedings took place when the crowd made their way to the original stable site, and looked to the west to see three horsemen arriving. The horse riders represented James ‘Piccaninny’ Smith & his brother-in-laws William & David Little who in 1853 brought cattle from Yanac to Kow Plains & wintered cattle there for the next 5 years. Ray Wandel representing Piccaninny dismounted and presented two letters to Jocelyn Lindner, President of Kow Plains who handed them to Ian Castles, great-great-grandson of Piccaninny & Richard Castle great-great-great-grandson of Piccaninny Smith. The letters were from David Johnson on behalf of Piccaninny Smith’s hundreds of descendants in New Zealand where he & some of his eleven children settled after leaving Kow Plains and John Jennings great-great grandson of William Little. The letters praised the strength of character & spirit of adventure of these three young men.
A plaque was unveiled by Richard Castles to mark the site of the original stable. A plaque was also erected to mark the site of the original hut.
The lease of Kow Plains was taken up by Dugald Macpherson in 1867 and a number of his descendants were present on the day. Bruce Macpherson great great nephew of Dugald planted a Murray Pine near the stable site, symbolic of those that had grown there. Photos taken 2015