Vivienne Kerr, Tibooburra Angus stud founder, dies aged 93

The former Carlton Football Club number one female ticket holder died peacefully at her home, The Ridge, in Canterbury on October 17.

Mrs Kerr founded the iconic Hoddles Creek stud with her late husband and Carlton great Laurie Kerr in 1968.

Together, the pair went on to build a successful Angus herd which remains in the Kerr family today.

Tibooburra Angus stud principal Matthew Kerr said he had fond memories of his grandmother growing up on the farm.

"She didn't like being called gran or grandma, so Viv it was," Mr Kerr, one of 35 grandchildren, said.

"Some of my best memories with her were driving around in a car and checking on calves."

The interaction between the pair undoubtedly sparked Mr Kerr's interest in cattle, along with his father, Peter, and son, William, who both work and live on Tibooburra today.

"Viv would visit the property every Christmas ... it was one of her favourite times of the year," Mr Kerr said.

"The family would gather at the homestead as well as at the vineyard which Viv and Laurie established.

"Last year we had about 100 people here for our family lunch, 100 on the knocker."

In 1979, Mrs Kerr became the inaugural Angus breeder to win the Dalgety Commercial Herd of the Year, and started to import cows and bulls from the US in the mid-1980s.

Tibooburra hosted the World Angus Forum in 1997 with hundreds of breeders from around the world descending on the Sheepstation Creek Road property, and in 2002, Mrs Kerr judged the Angus competition at the Melbourne Royal Show.

It was that year she was awarded a life membership to the Angus Society of Australia for her significant contribution to the organisation, her success as a breeder and for being a gracious ambassador of the breed.

Mr Kerr said his grandmother was supported by an loyal team of workers at Tibooburra, who had the property "looking like a park with nature reserves and maintained tracks and good paddocks with shelter belts".

He said the Yarra Valley property received its name because of a piece of artwork which was purchased by his grandparents on the same day as the Tibooburra.

"The same day they bought the property, they bought a painting of the town Tibooburra in New South Wales painted by Australian artist Kenneth Jack," Mr Kerr said.

"Tibooburra means pile of rocks in Aboriginal and our Tibooburra has a ridge of rocks running through it so they opted for a traditional name instead of something English."

Mrs Kerr's family remember her as a meticulous record keeper, known for her red books where she would list everything from the bloodlines of her calves to joining information and health treatments.

She had nine children and 40 great-grandchildren and Mr Kerr attributed her longevity to her morning walks around her garden and feeding the magpies at her residence in Melbourne, and regular family visitors.

Angus Australia chief executive Scott Wright extended his condolences to Mrs Kerr's family and the broader Angus community.

"Angus Australia is saddened at the passing of Vivienne Kerr," he said.

"Vivienne was inducted as an Angus Australia life member in 2002, in recognition of her dedication and commitment to the Angus breed in Australia.

"She was also recognised for her involvement in such groups as the Gippsland Angus Breeders Group and for the support of events in her local community."

Outside of agriculture, Mrs Kerr was a passionate supporter of Carlton and the Navy Blue's number one female ticket holder for 20 years until 2022.

Mrs Kerr is survived by 84 direct descendants.