GENERATIONS of one of the most enduring pioneering farming clans in Australia still reside in and around Bathurst after more than 188 years.

They are the descendants of the Suttor's - with grazing properties in the Bathurst, Triamble, Orange and Euchareena districts - who all relate back to George Suttor, who arrived in Sydney in 1800 before crossing the mountains to seek land near Bathurst in 1822.

In recent years one of the Suttor properties, The Rocks, Dunkeld, has been run as a mixed grazing operation based on merino and crossbred ewes and angus cattle, by Edmund Suttor and his sister and brother-in-law, John and Lesley Press. A feature of the property is the pioneering The Rocks Inn building that local government authorities would like to see heritage listed.

Lesley and Edmund are resigned to being the last of the family to live at The Rocks with the estate being wound up. Mr Edmund Suttor will continue to live on a portion of The Rocks into the future, pursuing his passion to establish a woolshed museum.

"We have heard from the council about the potential to heritage-list The Rocks Inn," said Mrs Press. "The building is quite historic because it remains on the property, near where the old road used to run.

"The Rocks Inn was later called The Travellers Rest by its first licensee, James Woodley. Joseph Poole became the licensee from 1865 to 1874 followed by John Reddan in 1874-1875.

"The Travellers Rest then ceased trading, however Joseph Pole and William Poole remained as farmers at The Rocks until 1904 when they sold to Henry Suttor, and Cyril Suttor ran the property."

It was the fourth and youngest son of Henry Edward Suttor, Cyril Vivian Suttor, who first farmed The Rocks, from 1904 developing the 7,052 acre property.

About 80 per cent of The Rocks is arable, a number of the 55 paddocks cropped in rotation for winter grazing and in good years paddocks sown to wheat and oats.

With further pasture improvement and 400ha cropping program the property could easily support a cattle, prime lamb and/or woolgrowing with 20,000 dry sheep equivalents.

It was perhaps the pioneer Mr George Suttor's third son, William Henry Suttor, who did much to establish the Suttor dynasty in the Central West of NSW.

Mr William Suttor had been given responsibility for management of the property Brucedale, Peel when only 16-years of age.

Mr William Suttor fathered 14 children and eventually took up more than 600,000 acres of land around Bathurst and on the lower Lachlan (NSW) as well as property near Beaudesert (Qld) while sitting as a politician in the Legislative Assembly.

One of his sons, Herbert Cochrane Suttor, who was born in 1850 and died in 1939, conducted Brucedale with his son Roy Culbert Suttor, a property much bigger than the original 320 acres that Mr William Suttor started in 1822.

Herbert Cochrane Suttor's brother was the late Sir Francis Bathurst Suttor who was prominent in political activities at the turn of the century prior to his death in 1915.

Mr Cyril Suttor's move to The Rocks in 1904 followed Henry Edward Suttor's acquisition of what was formerly the landmark Rocks Inn property off the Mitchell Highway midway between Bathurst and Orange.

At the time of Mr Cyril Suttor's death on October 2, 1959, the Suttors were regarded as the oldest family of free settlers in inland NSW.

He was survived by his widow and two sons - Lionel, Edward and Texas - and two daughters.

Mr Cyril Suttor subsequently passed The Rocks to his son Lionel (Ted) Suttor who in turn left the estate to his children.

Two of his children - Mr Edmund Suttor and Ms Lesley Press - will continue to own and work a mixed farming enterprise until the estate is wound up.