Polwarth sheep

Polwarth
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007), world-wide: not at risk: 147      
  • DAD-IS (2021), Australia: extinct
Other names
  • Carrsdale
  • Dennis Comeback
  • Ideal
Country of originAustralia
Distribution
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Nepal
  • New Zealand
  • Romania
  • United Kingdom
  • Uruguay
Use
  • meat
  • wool
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    60–90 kg: 13 
  • Female:
    45–55 kg: 13 
Wool colourwhite
Face colourwhite
Horn statuspolled, sometimes horned

The Polwarth is an Australian breed of sheep of Comeback or Merino cross type. It was developed from about 1880 in western Victoria by cross-breeding long-woolled British sheep – usually Lincoln Longwool – and Saxon Merino stock, and was initially known as the Dennis Comeback.

It is a dual-purpose breed, reared mainly for wool but also for meat. Stock has been exported to many countries, among them some in South America, where it is known as the Ideal.

History

The Polwarth was bred in Victoria from about 1880 with the aim of creating a sheep that would have the wool qualities of the Merino, but be healthier, be better suited to cool and wet climates, be more resistant to fleece rot and fly-strike, and be better conformed for the production of mutton.: 13 

Richard Dennis, of Colac in the Western District of Victoria, started cross-breeding long-woolled British sheep – usually Lincoln Longwool – and Saxon Merino stock, and then breeding ewes from this cross back to Merino rams.: 350  The resulting offspring – genetically 75% Merino and 25% Lincoln – were then interbred for five or more generations to fix the type, which at first was known as the Dennis Comeback.: 886 

A breed society, the Polwarth Sheepbreeders' Association of Australia, was formed in Melbourne in 1919 and a stud-book established; this was closed in 1948 to registrations of stock not originating in registered flocks.

In Australia it is raised mostly in cold southern areas where rainfall is more than 500 mm per year and where pasture land has been improved; it also does well in areas where the soil is sandy and light.: 27  In 1986 there were approximately 1.9 million head in Tasmania, about 68% of the total number of the breed and over 50% of all sheep on the island.: 886 : 416  In New Zealand it has been found to adapt well to a wide range of climatic conditions and types of terrain.: 886 

Stock has been exported to many countries, including New Zealand – where the earliest imports arrived in 1932 – and some countries in South America, where it is known as the Ideal. In 2011 the Polwarth and the Corriedale were the principal sheep breeds of the Falkland Islands.

Characteristics

The Polwarth is similar in appearance to the Merino. It is of medium size, large-framed and robust, and is usually polled though it may also be horned. It is white-woolled, with a long, soft, fine fleece, and is white-faced, although the nose may be mottled with black; the face and legs are free of kemp.: 13 : 417 

Body weights of mature ewes vary from 45 to 55 kg and for rams from 60 to 90 kg.: 13  Ewes can be bred year-round; the twinning rate is approximately 10%.: 886 

Use

The Polwarth is reared principally for wool, although it is better suited to mutton production than the Merino and may also be used for that purpose.: 417  Ewe fleeces usually weigh from 4 to 5.5 kg greasy, with a fibre diameter of some 23 to 25 μm (equivalent to a Bradford Count of 58s–60s);: 886  the wool has a staple length of 100 to 140 mm and is soft and crimped.: 13  It is used to make a variety of wool products; these include woollen, worsted and gabardine cloth for dresses, coats and suits; knitted clothing; yarn for hand-knitting; and felts.: 27 

Notes

  1. ↑ the date is variously given as 1880 or 1887: 13 

References

  1. ↑ Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Breed Data Sheet: Polwarth / Australia (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 David Cottle (2010). International Sheep and Wool Handbook. Nottingham: Nottingham University Press. ISBN 9781904761860.
  4. ↑ Polwarth: Origin and History. Christchurch: New Zealand Sheepbreeders Association. Archived 13 March 2026.
  5. ↑ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. ISBN 9781789241532.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  7. ↑ J. Ann Hone (1972). Alexander Dennis (1811–1892). Australian Dictionary of Biography, volume 4. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 9780522844597.
  8. ↑ About Us. Barongarook, Victoria: Polwarth Sheepbreeders’ Association of Australia. Archived 19 May 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Robert Lovell Reid (editor) (1990). The Manual of Australian Agriculture, third edition, edited for The Australian Institute of Agricultural Science. Sydney; London; Boston; Singapore; Toronto; Wellington: Butterworths. ISBN 040930946X. E-book edition published 2014 by Elsevier, ISBN 9781483100340.
  10. 1 2 M. Stephens (2000). Handbook of Australian Livestock, fourth edition. North Sydney, New South Wales: Meat & Livestock Australia. ISBN 9781740362160.
  11. ↑ Transboundary Breed Summary: Polwarth. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2026.
  12. ↑ Agriculture. Stanley, Falkland Islands: Falkland Islands Government. Archived 2 July 2021.