 Up to 1890 the cattle industry in north Queensland struggled for profitability because the supply of cattle greatly exceeded demand, and cattle prices were depressed.This appears to be borne out by the Wairuna lease being held by the Bank of New South Wales as mortgagor for James Atkinson from 26 September 1887, which was still the case in 1900.However, Geoffrey Bolton states that "[g]radually between 1870 and 1890 most of the northern graziers achieved, if not prosperity, a modest standard of comfort".