Home Of The Corriedale

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31012, 18 March 1966, Page 15

Home Of The Corriedale

There are probably more Corriedale sheep in the Hawarden area than in any other comparable area in the world. Consequently the Corriedale sections and the show tomorrow will be very strong, and visitors will see Corriedales of the very highest class. James Little, the originator of the now world-famous Corriedale breed, farmed the Allandale estate at Hawarden. He was born at Midlothian, Scotland, and was educated in Peebles-shire, coming to New Zealand on the vessel Canterbury under contract to a Dr. Webster, of Corriedale, Otago, for whom he brought out some Romney Marsh sheep. Until the 1870’s the main breed of sheep in the Canterbury district was the Merino. It was found that halfbreds, particularly the offspring of Merino ewes and Lincoln or English Leicester rams, thrived better on coarser grasses, also producing a fleece worth nearly as much as Merino wool but being rather heavier. However, the halfbreds did not show sufficient uniformity, and in 1868 Mr Little, then manager of the Corriedale estate, began to experiment. He used Romney Marsh rams and Merino ewes, and proved it was possible to pro-

duce uniformity without sacrificing quality. Mr Little took over the Allandale estate in 1879, and continued his experiments, this time using Lincoln rams. And so a new breed was born, and Mr Little became the most famous of all Canterbury sheepmen. Mr Little exhibited widely at many agricultural and pastoral association shows entering his sheep as inbred halfbreds but advertising them as Corriedales. By 1887 Mr Little had more than 6000 Corriedales which had been interbred for several generations without any bad results, and slowly the new halfbred became firmly established as a new and important breed. In time it became known all over the world, and the famous studs

in the Hawarden area have exported Corriedales to manydifferent countries. In 1892 Mr Little established a stud flock of English Leicesters, and as a show exhibitor he gained an enviable number of championships and first, second and third prizes. In the last year of the century, Mr Little’s English Leicester flock won for him a 30 guinea cup at the Christchurch Metropolitan Show, as well as three championship gold medals. Mr Little was also wellknown for the herd of Ayrshires he bred at Allandale, and he was active in public affairs, including being a member of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association. His lease of Allandale expired in 1903, and all his stock was sold.