Walter Merriman
Sir Walter Merriman (1882-1972) was an Australian sheep breeder who bred a type of Merino sheep known today as the "Merryville" type which produced a high quality and high yield fine soft wool.[1][2] Regarded as "some of Australia's finest wool",[3][4] this Merino wool has contributed for more than half a century to Australia's export-earning wool industry.[5]
Early life and education
[edit]Merriman was born on 18 May 1882 in Yass, New South Wales. His parents were George Merriman, a sheep breeder, and Mary Ann, née Dowling. Beginning in 1865 his father developed a fine-wool merino stud named Ravensworth in the Yass district, based on bloodlines from Tasmania and from Mudgee, New South Wales. Walter attended the Public School in the village of Murrumbateman.[1]
Career
[edit]In 1903 Walter Merriman established his own stud named Merryville located on part of his father's Ravensworth property. At the beginning his sheep were Merinos of the "Saxon" type.[2] He acquired ewes and a sire from his father's estate and in 1911 added sheep of the Peppin bloodline to his flock. In 1915 he acquired more ewes and rams from Ravensworth and in 1921 more from the Murgha stud dispersal sale in Deniliquin.[6][1]
He became known for breeding fine-woolled sheep. Undertaking "selective breeding practices",[7] he protected the quality of his clip by keeping his flock, now registered with the name of the Merryville-Murgha Stud, separate from the sheep on other properties.
In 1937 he formed a family company, Merryville Pty Ltd, and extended his holdings to included properties at Yass, Boorowa, Murrumbateman, Bowral and Narrandera.[1]
An expert wool classer, Merriman saw his merinos win top prizes at the Royal Agricultural Society's Sydney Sheep Show[8] as well as in similar shows in Melbourne, Albury, Goulburn, Dubbo and Yass.[9] During his long career that lasted half a century he not only maintained the quality of his fine merino wool but increased "average yield of his flock to fourteen lb. (6 kg) a head and at the same time more than doubling the yield of his top breeds".[1]
Community service
[edit]Over the years he served in local government as a member of the local Goodradigbee Shire Council, was president of the Yass Pastoral and Agricultural Association, and served in senior posts in the local bush fire brigade, Yass District Hospital, the Pastures Protection Board and the local District Soldiers' Memorial and Literary Institute.[1]
Honours
[edit]- 1954: Knighted "for services to the wool industry"[10]
Personal life
[edit]Merriman died in Yass, New South Wales on 25 January 1972. Survived by two sons and four daughters, he was buried in the Anglican section of the Murrumbateman cemetery.[11]
Sir Walter Merriman's youngest son, Bruce Merriman, became the managing director of Merriville after his father's death, and Bruce's son, Walter ("Wally") Merriman, continued the family connection to the Australian merino wool industry, serving as the chairman of the non-profit, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).[12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f G. P. Walsh, Sir Walter Thomas Merriman (1882–1972), Australian Dictionary of Biography, adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ a b History, merryvillestud.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ MerryvilleHomestead, historicmerryvillehomestead.com. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Sir Walter Merriman: The Visionary Behind the Merino Wool Revolution, sirwmerino.com. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Camden sheep a living link to Australia’s modern-day Merino, abc.net.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Murgha Stud Dispersal", The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 February 1921, p. 11. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Sir Walter Merriman: The Visionary Behind the Merino Wool Revolution, sirwmerino.com. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ Walter Merriman at the Sydney Sheep Show, archivescollection.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ Breeding, merryvillestud.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Stephen Burns, Challenging the merino, stockandland.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Walter Merriman, billiongraves.com. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Australian Wool Innovation Chairman Walter Merriman steps down, wool.com. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Bob Garnant, Walter Merriman to vacate Australian Wool Innovation chair after year of chaos, countryman.com.au, 20 November 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Stephen Burns, Merriman family has long history in growing wool, farmonline.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
Further reading
[edit]Books
[edit]- New South Wales Sheepbreeders' Association, The Australian Merino, Sydney, 1955
- G. Day and J. Jessup, The History of the Australian Merino, William Heinemann, 1984
- Charles Massy, The Australian Merino, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 1988
Articles
[edit]- Merriman the Merino Trendsetter, at farmonline.com.au
- "Portrait of a Grazier", The Sunday Herald, 31 May 1953, p. 10.
External links
[edit]- Photograph of Mr Walter Merriman, ca. 1925 at Fairfax archive of glass plate negatives
- Historic Merryville Homestead - "homestead and home built in 1903 by Sir Walter Merriman"