History
1788
The first sheep stepped upon Australian shores, arriving in Sydney with the First Fleet.
1797
Some of the first dozen or more Spanish merinos, brought to Sydney from South Africa, were acquired by John Macarthur, a soldier, and Samuel Marsden, a clergyman. Away from their native Spain the merino changed due to differing climate conditions and the selection pressures applied by breeders in different countries. In Australia the Merino began to slowly to develop in a distinct way, noted for the whiteness of its fleece and soft touch.
1804
Eight samples of the first wool ever grown in Australia were submitted to the Governor, Captain P G King by the Reverend Samuel Marsden at Parramatta, on August 11.
1805
John MacArthur returned to Sydney in June with Merinos bought from the flock of King George III.
1807
In November the Reverend Samuel Marsden, owner of the third largest flock in Australia, arrived in England with a cask of his Australian wool. The same year, John Macarthur sent more than 400 lbs of his wool to England aboard the HMS Buffalo which sold at 45d a lb.
1808
At William Thompson’s mill in Yorkshire, Marsden’s wool was woven into a piece of cloth from which a black suit was tailored. He proudly wore it when he was introduced to King George III.
1813
The largest shipment of Australian wool so far sent to England left Sydney in the ship Minstrel in July. Most of the wool came from the Macarthur and Riley families; that year, Marsden also sent more of his own Australian wool to Thompson’ mills in Yorkshire.
1815
The potential demand for Australian wool had increased as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. One battlefront was in Spain and that impaired the export of Spanish wool, while the English naval blockade of continental Europe lessened exports of German wool. Australia had established a foothold in the English market when the long war ended in 1815.
1821
The first auction of Australian wool in London took place at Garraway’s Coffee House in Change Alley.
1829
One of Marsden‘s Saxon rams yielded a fleece which was acclaimed by London wool buyers as ‘the softest and finest fleece of wool we have seen’.
1830
The Australian sheep population, close to two million, was multiplying with speed. In the previous decade an inflow of Merino’s increased the quality of the wool in many flocks.