The Cowpastures in Camden, New South Wales, Australia | Landmark & historical place

The Cowpastures

Locality: Camden, New South Wales, Australia

Address: Old Hume Highway 2570 Camden, NSW, Australia

Website: https://camdenhistorynotes.wordpress.com

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25.01.2022 Outside St Matthew's Church, The Old Oaks, early 1970s. Mrs Wally Turner, Rev Jim Pettigrew, Helen Taylor, Nets Blacker, Kaye Brown, née Goff, Minnie Roberts,... Sylvie Dawes (The Oaks), Jim Goff (Glenmore), Judith Blacker (Murdoch), Louie and Bob Brown (Merlin Street The Oaks), Cec and Georgina Childs (Glenmore) and Mark Goff (Glenmore). Debra Shepherd (Noakes) in front. Thanks to Judith Murdoch for filling in the blanks and making corrections. See more

24.01.2022 On this day, 4th October 1797, the first flock of Spanish Merinos, upon which Australia's wool industry was founded, arrive in Sydney. In the early years of set...tlement, the colony of New South Wales struggled to achieve self-sufficiency. Most early convicts were not skilled in farming and British farming methods, seeds and implements were unsuitable for use in the different climate and soil, and the colony faced near-starvation in its first two years. An industry suited to Australia's harsh conditions needed to be established. On 4 October 1797, the first flock of Spanish merino sheep arrived in Australia. The sheep, offspring of a flock originally owned by Prince William of Orange in the Netherlands, had been bought in South Africa for 4 per head by British officers Henry Waterhouse and William Kent. More than half of the sheep died on the voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia with bad weather nearly doubled the time spent at sea. Captain John Macarthur, an officer in the NSW Corps, offered Waterhouse 15 guineas per head for all the surviving sheep; however, Waterhouse refused the offer and in August he acquired a 140-acre property on the Parramatta River, known as The Vineyard and introduced his new flock to the estate. As his flock increased, Waterhouse distributed a few sheep between Macarthur, the Reverend Samuel Marsden, Lieutenant Kent and Captain Thomas Rowley. When Waterhouse returned to England in 1800, William Cox bought most of the flock from him, including several of the original sheep from the Cape. The remainder went to Macarthur. The Spanish Merino was a hardy sheep which was tolerant of Australia's extreme conditions. Unlike other settlers, both Waterhouse and Macarthur did not try to cross-breed the sheep with other breeds, which only resulted in sheep with coarse wool of lower quality. By 1803, the Macarthur flock numbered over 4000. The Macarthurs had improved the bloodline and strength of the flock by purchasing merinos from flocks in different regions, thus limiting inter-breeding of similar bloodlines. For this reason, John Macarthur is often regarded as the founder of the wool industry in Australia. Pictured: Champion Merino ram, 1905 Sydney Sheep Show. Courtesy: Wikimedia.

19.01.2022 The legend of John Macarthur

18.01.2022 One of the most important pieces of public art in the Macarthur region was placed on the southern edge of the Camden township in 1962. The artwork is a mural an...d was designed and completed by artist Byram Mansell. The work is called the Camden Rotary Pioneer Mural. Camden, New South Wales, Australia Rotary Club of Camden See more

17.01.2022 The Cowpastures was more than a location on a map.

12.01.2022 Cadmans Cottage The Rocks.

10.01.2022 I am really pleased to see my article published after a lot of work and many long months. The subject matters include local newspapers, John Macarthur, Macarthu...r region, local newspaper owner-editors, journalists, and lots more local stuff. #History #localhistory #Regional #mythology #legends #newspapers #media #hyperlocal #LocalNews See more

07.01.2022 An afternoon breeze. #mycamden #mycamdenstory #afternoon #breeze #cool

03.01.2022 Two lovely books from @australianbg bookshop. #mycamden #mycamdenstory #naidocweek #stories

03.01.2022 What a privilege to live in such a lovely locality. #mycamden #mycamdenstory #landscape #landscapes #vista Camden, New South Wales, Australia

01.01.2022 The Cowpastures district

01.01.2022 The anniversary of an important piece of public art. @rotaryaustralia #mycamden #mycamdenstory #rotaryclubinternational #rotaryclubofcamden #community #mural #muralart