There are few descriptions of the biology of bovine paratuberculosis in a sub-tropical environment. We therefore analysed data collected over a thirty three year period in a sub-tropical region of Australia. The objective was to describe attributes of the epidemiology and control of the disease such as: the success of eradication programs, the manner in which diagnosis was achieved, the cause of herds becoming infected, the risk of herd-to-herd transmission and the impact of timing of diagnosis on subsequent eradication.Records of all cattle herds in the study area were reviewed and those with a history of infection with MAP infection between 1971 and 2004 were identified. Records contained comprehensive descriptions of each outbreak and had been collected and maintained by the senior author for the same period A further 207 herds with no history of BJD and at least one negative whole-herd test were also identified for descriptive comparison of spatial patterns of herd-level infection.Descriptive analysis of the 78 herds with a history of MAP infection revealed 56% had achieved eradication with the proportion of successes higher in beef herds (70%) compared to dairy herds (32%). Herds infected earlier in the study period took much longer to be diagnosed than herds recently infected. The former also took much longer to eradicate infection. De-stocking was a key component of successful eradication programs but had a limited benefit in dairy herds with evidence of chronic infection and within-herd transmission. Over the thirty three year period there was no evidence of spread between herds in the study other than that due to the introduction of infected animals or sharing of contaminated facilities. Improved diagnostic tools, flexible eradication programmes and education of herd owners are possible reasons why MAP infection is being more successfully managed.