Dora Maclean (12 April 1892 – 14 September 1978) was an Australian pedigree horse-breeder known for her

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...

s. During the war she was obliged to employ women from the Australian Women's Land Army. She only employed women after that.

Life

Maclean was born in 1892 in the Melbourne suburb of

Fitzroy North Fitzroy North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of City of Merri-bek, Merri-bek and City of Yarra, Yarra Local government areas of Victo ...

. Her parents had arrived in Australia three years before. She was educated at the local Presbyterian Ladies' College but she chose her father's farm at Yan Yean for recreation where he bred large

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a horse breed, breed of draught horse which originated in the seventeenth century, and takes its name from the Clydesdale (district), Clydesdale district of Scotland. The first recorded use of the name "Clydesdale" for the bre ...

s. In 1918, her father died and she and her sister, Eve, inherited the farm. For five years they bred sheep until 1923 when both Eve and her mother died. She went to Europe where she used her knowledge of horses to buy examples of purebred Arabian horses and of Shetland ponies. She was said to be able to spot a good horse when it was still a foal. She had been interested in Arabian horses after seeing a photo of an Arabian mare owned by Wilfred and

Lady Anne Blunt Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, 15th Baroness Wentworth (née King, later King-Noel; 22 September 1837 – 15 December 1917), known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, along with her husband the poet Wilfrid Blunt, was co-founder of the Crabbe ...

. (Lady Blunt's mum was

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-pur ...

). The Blunts had begun breeding Arabian horses in 1878. While she was in Britain she purchased her first Arabian horse from Lady Blunt's daughter, Lady Wentworth, and it arrived in Australia in 1924/5. The Crabbet horse was called "Rafina" and it arrived with a colt. She imported more horses from the Crabbett line because of its pedigree. Her business led to her exporting horses around the world where the Fenwick name was also valued. In 1931, the Australian Pony Stud Book Society was established and she was a founding member. In 1935, she imported two more Crabbett Arab horses Indian Light and Nisirich in order that she could breed better horses for polo and hunting. The staff on the Maclean's farm were mostly men but during the war there was a loss of staff. Staff were found from the Australian Women's Land Army and this was very successful. After the war when the men returned, the farm continued to employ women. In 1961, Cecil Covey sold the Fenwick stallion, Sindh, to Maclean.

Death and legacy

Maclean died in 1978 in the Melbourne suburb of

Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name ...

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Dora 1892 births 1978 deaths People from Melbourne Horse breeders Australian women