John Peter, Prince of Squatters

Was John Peter of Tubbo a "Prince of Squatters" or the "greediest man in New South Wales"? He was certainly a polarising character - driven, ambitious, influential.

He arrived in New South Wales in 1832 from Scotland as a 20 year old with a handy £50 in his pocket. When he went back to Britain 30 years later, he owned 17 stations (comprising close to 750,000 acres) and had an annual income of around £40,000. 

He found economic success in the Riverina, where he married Mary Bourke, the widow who owned and ran the Gumly Gumly Station, and became very influential in the early days of Wagga Wagga. But the jewel in his crown (so to speak) was Tubbo Station, the massive property between Narrandera and Darlington Point.