The Australian Merino is an Australian

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

or group of breeds of

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, forming a significant part of the

Merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

group of breeds. Its origins lie in Merino sheep imported to Australia from South Africa in about 1796. By about 1830 there were almost two million Merinos in the country. Using the skills of breeding and selection, the Australian Merino developed inline with Australia’s large variations in climatic conditions, management and husbandry techniques. The Australian Merino produces a wool that is the world’s finest and softest.

History

In 1790,

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

sent a gift of Merino sheep from the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial and about n ...

''cavana'' to the government of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. They did not thrive there, but did well in the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape of Good Hope () was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) supplystation in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original supply station and the successive states that the area was ...

, in what is now

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The origins of the Australian Merino lie in some of those sheep imported to Australia by John Macarthur in 1796. By about 1830, there were almost two million Merinos in the country. The original strain bred by Macarthur survives as the Camden Park or Macarthur Merino. The four principal breeds or strains that developed within the Australian Merino group were the Peppin, the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, the South Australian and the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. The

Poll Merino The Poll Merino is a subtype of the Australian Merino breed of domestic sheep, without horns, that was developed in Australia. Characteristics These sheep are early maturing, large framed and relatively plain bodied, producing a fleece which i ...

or Australian Poll Merino is a recently created polled variant. Other strains recognised as breeds include the Booroola Merino, the Bungaree Merino, the Dohne Merino, the Fonthill Merino, the Tasmanian Merino (which derives from the Saxon); and the Trangie Fertility.

References

{{Sheep breeds of Australia and New Zealand Sheep breeds originating in Australia Sheep breeds