In what is now known as the Guy Fawkes River National Park, horses were allowed to run free since the 1930s. It is no surprise that small mobs of these horses became wild. Originally bred for their strength, endurance and athletic ability, free ranging horses were managed by local graziers.
Generations of pastoralists had intentionally turned out well-bred stallions and mares and a mixture of bloodlines were introduced. Clydesdales were in use in the area in the timber industry and their genetics are clearly evident in many of the brumbies. Bay horses with white blazes and feathers on their feet clearly show their ancestry.
A mob of creamy Saladin mares, descendents of Australia's most famous jumping and racing Arabian stallion, were introduced and to-day the buckskins and palominos are still present, representative of these bloodlines.
In 1972 the main section of the Park was gazetted and the National Parks and Wildlife Service took over the land. Local management of the free ranging horses ceased and this resulted in large increases in wild horse populations.
The aerial cull in October 2000 left over 600 horses dead and created a public outcry. In 2002 the Government formed the Heritage Working Party to investigate and establish the heritage value and background of the Guy Fawkes Horse. The final report by the Heritage Working Party for the Minister for Environment found that these wild horses had significant historical and cultural value. They are direct descendents of Australia's wartime cavalry horses, known as Walers.
Horses were bred on Guy Fawkes Station, much of which is now the National Park, from the late 1800s to the early 1940s specifically for the remount trade. The Colony's first export was "War Horses" and in 1834 the first horses left Australia consigned to the British Army in India. The criteria set down by the Army was "that the horse be entire, sound in wind and limb, over 3 years and under 7 years, over 14hh and under 15hh, 1/2 Thoroughbred, and able to carry 17 stone". Over 320,000 horses left Australian shores with over 120,000 coming from this area.
The direct links with the horses drafted for use by the Australian Light Horse Brigade of World War 1 has secured the unique heritage value of these horses. The ancestors of these brumbies carried the Australian Light Horse Brigade to victory in the great cavalry charge at Beersheba in 1917.
The Heritage Working Party concluded that these horses:
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are important in the cultural history of the Guy Fawkes area
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have a special association with a group of persons of importance in the cultural history of the Guy Fawkes area, namely the Light Horse regiments
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have a strong association with some sections of the communities in the Guy Fawkes area
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are important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of an item of significant national cultural heritage, namely the brumby.
The NSW Heritage Office's publication, the NSW Heritage Manual sets down that the NSW Heritage Management System comprises three steps:
1. investigate significance
2. assess significance
3. manage significance
The first two steps were completed in 2002 and the GFHHA continues to manage the significance of these Heritage Horses, the brumbies of the Guy Fawkes.