The History of Babydoll Sheep in Australia

Babydoll Sheep History Timeline

From the South Downs of England

The Babydoll’s story starts in the chalky hills of Sussex, England, an area known as the South Downs. For hundreds of years, farmers there kept small, hardy sheep who thrived on the thin pastures and produced meat that was prized in local markets.

In the late 1700s, a farmer named John Ellman of Glynde began carefully selecting the best of these sheep. Ellman wanted animals that were early-maturing, compact, and good at producing both meat and wool. His work created what we now recognise as the Southdown sheep.

By the early 1800s, the Southdown was famous across Great Britain. It became the foundation of many other “Down” breeds (such as the Dorset Down, Oxford Down and Hampshire Down). One of Ellman’s successors, Jonas Webb, also helped spread the Southdown’s reputation by selling sheep far and wide.

The Southdown’s friendly nature, small size, and excellent meat quality made it popular not only in England but also in Europe, North America, and eventually Australia

The Southdown Sheep’s Arrival in Australia

Sheep came to Australia with the very first settlers, and the Southdown was one of the earliest recognised breeds to arrive.

By 1805, Reverend Samuel Marsden, a key figure in Australia’s early sheep industry, was writing about Southdowns in New South Wales. He used them for crossing purposes on the Asiatic breeds brought from India during the first few years of the settlement in Australia. This makes them one of the first British sheep breeds to become established in the colony. In Tasmania the Cressy Company founded the breed in 1825. These sheep originated from the renowned and well-established flock of John Ellman.

When the first Flock Book for the British Breeds of Sheep was issued by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria in 1898, it included the Southdown sheep and this was the first authentic and permanent record of the Southdown breed.

Southdowns quickly gained a reputation in Australia for producing high-quality lambs. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, they were used both as a pure breed and as an improver in cross breeding programs. Their genetics were especially valued in the development of Australia’s prime lamb industry.

From Traditional Southdowns to the “Modern” Southdown

For a hundred years, from 1780 to 1880, the Australian sheep industry was regarded solely in terms of wool. As time went on, the population increased, refrigeration was invented and the sheep meat industry began to emerge. By the mid-20th century, buyers wanted bigger lambs with heavier carcasses. To meet this need, breeders began selecting Southdowns that were taller, longer and heavier than the original compact type.

A major turning point came in 1974, when restrictions on live sheep imports were lifted. New genetics arrived from New Zealand and England, where Southdowns had already been bred to be larger. These imports reshaped the Australian Southdown into what is now called the modern Southdown; a sheep very different in size and appearance from the original Sussex type.

The modern Southdown remains popular as a terminal sire breed in commercial lamb production, but its look and build are a world apart from the small, teddy-bear sheep of Ellman’s day.

The Babydoll 

“Dick and Bill Metcalf, who together with their father James, were the first owners of the Hillgrove Southdown Stud”

“Advertisement for Southdown sheep from the Hillgrove Babydoll Stud.”

The Hillgrove Babydoll Stud

A key reason Babydolls survived in Australia is the Hillgrove Stud, established in 1921. Hillgrove is one of the country’s oldest Southdown studs, and for more than a century it has maintained the smaller, traditional bloodlines. Many of today’s Babydolls in Australia can trace their lineage back to Hillgrove sheep. The stud has remained active for well over 100 years, continuing to breed and sell Babydoll sheep true to the original heritage type. Without Hillgrove, the Babydoll may not have survived in Australia.

Why Babydolls Matter Today