On August 6, Crown Prosecutor Richard Pointing in the Rockhampton District Court formally entered a nolle prosequi in regards to the indictment against Mr McDonald, effectively dismissing all charges against him and preventing a trial from proceeding.

Nolle prosequi is a Latin legal phrase meaning 'do not pursue' and is used to describe a prosecutor's application to discontinue criminal charges before trial.

Mr McDonald, who operates a number of grazing operations with his wife Susan, including the property Albeni, 135km from Springsure, was charged with stealing or alternatively receiving a number of cattle.

The charges stemmed from the discovery of cattle on Albeni on February 28, 2006.

The cattle, which included 30 heifers, were owned by the Nobbs family and the neighbouring property Cungelella, which the Nobbs family had sold earlier that month.

Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squads (SARCIS) State coordinator, Inspector Ian Robertson, said this week that SARCIS had not been advised as to why the DPP withdrew the charges and would not comment further on the case.

"We are waiting on advice as to why the charges were withdrawn," Inspector Robertson said.

Meanwhile, Mr McDonald said he would be seeking recompense for legal costs and damage to his reputation as a result of the protracted case.

Mrs McDonald is also writing a book about their experience to set straight a lot of untruths which they said were published by the media during the case.

"There was definitely a crime committed, but I did not do it," Mr McDonald said this week.

"People who know me well enough to know my moral fibre know I would not do something like that.

"The media printed things that were not in any way connected to the case and a lot of untruths, and that's what started Susan writing the book.

"At times we just had to shake our heads and wonder where it was all coming from.

"There are so many chapters in this whole thing that if you hadn't lived through it like we did, you wouldn't believe it."

* Extract from a full report in Queensland Country Life, September 4 edition.