 The Palmer River rush in 1873 sent cattle prices up to an average of £10 a head.The new demand for beef as a result of the establishment of goldfields, the growth of the sugar industry, the establishment of ports and a run of fair seasons restarted squatting in north Queensland.This second wave of expansion, from 1874, created a demand for stores and breeders not only in north Queensland but in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.