The acknowledged doyen of Scottish auctioneers in the boom days of the export trade in Aberdeen-Angus and Beef Shorthorn bulls to North and South America, Rowland (Roley) L Fraser, has died at the age of 91.

Mr Fraser was a descendant of JM Fraser, who with another auctioneer, a Mr Macdonald, founded the Perth auction firm of Macdonald Fraser in 1876, which grew to become the leading auctioneers of pedigree cattle in Scotland, with seasonal spring and autumn sales at Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness, and weekly sales of commercial cattle and sheep at various centres in central Scotland and at Inverness.

Roley, as he was always known, joined the family firm in the 1950s and succeeded to the management in the early 1960s following the retirement of his father, Lovat Fraser, and his uncle, Harry Fraser. This was during the post-war boom in the export trade for pedigree cattle when overseas buyers beat a path to Scotland to buy the top Aberdeen-Angus bulls at the spring sale held over four days during the first week in February and the Beef Shorthorn sale the following week.

In those days, the Angus sale attracted an entry of almost 1000 bulls from all over the UK and the Beef Shorthorn breed somewhat fewer as the breed started its long decline.

A new record price for Aberdeen-Angus bulls was achieved every year over the four years from 1959, starting when Tom Brewis’ Elevate of Eastfield sold for 25,000gns (the first bull to make over 20,000gns at Perth) to 1963 when Sir Torquil Munro’s Lindertis Evulse realised the amazing price of 60,000gns – still a record for the breed – when sold to Black Watch Farms, in New York State.

Black Watch was managed by Jack Dick, who was to become a notorious figure in the Angus breed on both sides of the Atlantic. The sale of Evulse was subsequently shrouded in scandal when the bull proved allegedly to be infertile.

Mr Fraser was the lead auctioneer at these sales, along with Eddie Hutcheson and Jack Young, later to be joined by Iain Thomson, but Mr Fraser, who always sold the champions, missed out on the sale of Evulse, which was not one of the champions and was sold by a dumbfounded Mr Hutcheson.

However, Mr Fraser came close to matching the record price the following year when he sold the champion, MacRobert Farms’ Essedium of Douneside, for 54,000gns, again to Black Watch Farms, and was later asked to act as auctioneer at a Black Watch sale in the USA, which was a singular honour for a Scottish auctioneer.

Despite the high prices for Aberdeen-Angus, Mr Fraser’s first love was the Beef Shorthorn breed and he and his wife, Dimps, had their own Shorthorn herd for many years on their farm at Scone.

But, while the sale of pedigree cattle at Perth and dispersal sales all over the UK was the icing on the cake, the selling of commercial cattle and sheep was the 'bread and butter' of the business. Mr Fraser always said his favourite sale of the year was the annual sale of sheep at Lairg, in August, which was started by his grandfather in 1875, originally on behalf of the Duke of Sutherland.

Mr Fraser, with his innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, went on to forge relationships with other auction companies, such as Speedie Brothers and Livestock Marts, in Stirling, and Corson’s of Oban, to create what became United Auctions (UA), with the McDonald Fraser name disappearing and Bosomworth’s of Edinburgh later joining the group.

Mr Fraser was also instrumental in expanding the company’s activities to include property and insurance broking and McDonald Fraser for many years acted as official auctioneers to the Royal Smithfield Show in London.

A major move in 1990 saw the opening of a new mart on the outskirts of Perth following the sale of the old mart in Caledonian Road – home to the company’s most memorable high-priced bull transactions – for the development of a supermarket.

The mart has since been demolished and the site sold for housing with the decline in livestock in Perthshire resulting in the move of the auction business to Stirling.

Mr Fraser was pre-deceased by his wife and daughter, Sarah-Jane, and is survived by daughter, Nina, and her husband, Walter Alexander, and two sons, Mark and Simon.