Despite their widespread distribution the sheep is not an indigenous animal to Australia. A good guess that they were brought over from England with the First Fleet. Perhaps not so easy to guess or well known is Sir Joseph Banks’ involvement with the Merino sheep industry. It must also be said that his blunt assessment in 1803 of the potential for high quality wool production from Australia was not good. He said that he had “..no reason to believe from any facts that have come to my knowledge, either when I was in that country or since, that the climate and soil of New South Wales is at all better for the production of fine wools, than that of any other temperate climates and am confident that the natural growth of grass in that country is tall, coarse, reedy and very different from the short and sweet mountain grass of Europe upon which sheep thrive to the greatest advantage”. How wrong he was!
The Merino is a very economically influential sheep breed and regarded as having the finest of all wools. Sheep were introduced into North Africa from Asia Minor by the Phoenicians and then into the Iberian Peninsula in the 12th century. Over the next two hundred years genetic material was introduced from other parts of Europe, notably England. Spain built up a fine wool monopoly between the 12th and 16th centuries selling the wool to the Flemish and English wool mills.
Before the 18th century the export of live sheep from Spain was a crime punishable by death so important was the sheep industry. In 1723 some were exported to Sweden and more in 1765 to Saxony to the King of Spain’s cousin. Louis XVI received 366 Merino sheep in 1786 and they founded a stud at Rambouillet. Marie Antoinette used to tie ribbons around their necks and walk them at Versailles believing she was no different to the ordinary French people as she did. This and the cake comment explain why the French people revolted in 1789.
Sir Joseph Banks was President of the Royal Society and a large Lincolnshire landowner producing wool from his Wiltshire sheep. He also campaigned passionately to allow English wool producers to export their wool overseas and not be forced to sell to the domestic woolen mills and worsted makers’ cartels at lower prices. King George III asked Banks to oversee the improvement of the Royal Flock with a cross breeding programme and the overall goal of improving the British wool industry which yielded a staggering profit of £13.9 million in 1782. Banks obtained the first Merinos in 1785 and crossed them with Southdowns, Herefords and Norfolk breeds. By 1791 the King’s Flock stood at over 200 mostly with Merinos that had been smuggled out through Portugal. The Napoleonic Wars (1793-1810) almost completely destroyed the Spanish Merino industry with many flocks killed or dispersed. The first Merinos to arrive in Australia were from the Royal Spanish bloodline via Cape Town in 1797. They were sold to Captain John Macarthur upon their arrival in Sydney.
John and Elizabeth Macarthur arrived in Sydney with the second fleet ships Neptune and Scarborough in 1790. John was granted 100 acres of land near Parramatta and as a reward for improving it (with convict labour) he received another 100 acres. The farm was named Elizabeth Farm. The Macarthurs did not cross breed their Merinos but kept their stock as pure breds. By 1803 they had over 4000 Merinos (about 10% of all sheep in Australia at that time) and a strong bloodline. In 1805 Macarthur establish a new farm, Camden Park, and brought over some Merinos from the King’s Flock that Joseph Banks had been breeding. Macarthur later imported some Saxony Merinos in 1812 and in 1820 it is recorded that he sold 39 rams for £510-16s-5d. In 1830 there were 2 million sheep in Australia.
Elizabeth and John Macarthur were the founders of the Australian sheep industry and there are over 110 million sheep here today. Sir Joseph Banks was very wrong about the future of sheep in New South Wales but thankfully he did establish and improve the King’s Merino Flock. Who knows, some of Daramalan’s Border Leicester rams may mate with Royal Merinos next year!!
No comments:
Post a Comment