The wool collection held by the Powerhouse Museum contains thousands of wool samples collected between 1804 and 2003. These samples provide a record of wool growing in Australia. The different fleeces reflect the breeding programs and environmental conditions under which the fleeces were grown and, as such, they provide a valuable history of the areas of Australia in which sheep were grazed.

Sheep were introduced into Australia in 1788 from Cape Town in South Africa. Since then sheep from other countries, including the Spanish Merino were imported into Australia and selectively crossbred. Careful crossbreeding, paying particular attention to the impact of the environment on both animal and fleece, led to the evolution of the Australian Merino. It is an excellent example of the engineering, through selective breeding, of a domestic animal. Wool went on to become the mainstay of the Australian Economy from 1807 to 1960.

This particular wool specimen is from a sheep bred at Mumblebone station near Warren in New South Wales. The station was purchased by the Kater Brothers in the 1870s and they based their flock on sheep purchased from John Smith at Gamboola, near Orange, New South Wales. Smith's sheep were directly descended from the Reverend Samuel Marsden's flock. They concentrated breeding large framed, plain bodied sheep through heavy culling and selective breeding. Mumblebone became recognised as one of the two great parent studs of the main alternative medium-wool type to the Peppins merino.

Erika Dicker
Assistant Curator
September 2007

Reference:
Charles Massy. 'The Australian Merino', Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Victoria, 1990.

Source:

Powerhouse Museum