From Time to Time. In Strict Confidence By Donald Macdonald. Excerpt – I had always been interested in Bungaree from the time I first heard of it – a boy sitting about the fireplace on winter nights, hearing tales of how my grandfather, greatly daring, rode out from Buninyong in search of new sheep country and through that very forest, dank, silent, and sinister, more than 90 years ago. He found the Yuilles, who had prospected with some sense of prophecy yet missed the reward, for they were squatting imperturbably right over the golden millions that were afterwards Ballarat. He went hence along the Divide, until, looking down upon the pleasant meadows, which immediately became Ercildoune, he paraphrased another pioneer with the thought, “This will be the place for a Homestead.”

Deer-hunting in Victoria. Sambar and Fallow. By Tom Fisher. In a recent issue of “Bush Notes” I read with very great interest some inquiries about the deer of different breeds, which many years ago were established in various parts of Victoria. As one born and bred upon Ercildoune I could hardly fail to be interested in the many acclimatization experiments which so strongly appealed both to Sir Samuel Wilson and to the Learmonths, who were the first owners. Each had an ambition to establish not only those things of fin, fur and feather, which appeal to the shooting man and angler, but also animals of industrial value. So the Learmonths had both Llama and alpaca in the early days, while Sir Samuel Wilson brought out ostriches, which bred freely enough, and were afterwards sent away to an ostrich farm in South Australia. The first owners also brought Murray fishes to the south of the Divide in tanks fixed upon drays, but I cannot recall them as a success. Sir Samuel Wilson’s experiments with salmon and trout are well known, but not many people are aware that the game birds which he introduced to Ercildoune included English pheasants and partridges and Californian quail. In my infancy, and long before Sir Samuel Wilson came into possession of Ercildoune, both the Indian Sambar and the British fallow deer had a good footing upon its once wide pastures – the Sambar chiefly among the hills. The fallow deer, distinguishable by that beam pattern of antler, which we see in American elk or moose, were more numerous, and aparently less suspicious, though in springtime the stags were inclined to be rather vicious. They might have prospered long and have further multiplied and spread, had they not become a nuisance just when Mr. Andrew Learmonth commenced to plan and plant the famous garden which was such a picturesque feature of the old in late years. It quickly came to a question of giving up the garden or of getting rid of the fallow deer, and I remember well the morning when my father was called upon to shoot the last of them upon a newly formed lawn.

Upland Sambar. As I have said, the larger Sambar, with their lion-like mane and very fine heads, kept to the rocky heights where they were first turned down, and found the land so much to their liking that when Sir Samuel Wilson bought Ercildoune it had two separate herds of Sambar, numbering about 100 head of deer, scattered over the hill country, especially on the northern and western sides. Many of them had gone over to the Lexton Ranges and the Pyrenees. Even in those early days Sambar were often seen as far out as the Mt. Cole Ranges and beyond Ararat. Some 20 years ago, when I was liberating trout from the Ercildoune ponds in the Grampians, I saw the skin of a Sambar which had been recently shot; Mr. Tom Cumming, who was caretaker at the inflow, told me that he had seen many of the same deer in the locality, the general belief being that the Sambar had ranged into the Grampians via Mount Cole, which seems to me a likely theory. As late as 1908 or 1909 Mr. Dunn of Raglan, shot several Sambar on his property, and brought one very fine head over to Captain Wilson to hang in the hall at Ercildoune. I then heard of a great many Sambar at Mt. Cole. It was indirectly the rabbit that destroyed or drove off the last of the Sambar deer upon Ercildoune, but all that happened before 1900. As soon as rabbit destruction became an urgent matter, and the rabbiters went roving abroad with their mixed packs, everything else but killing rabbits was of minor importance. The deer were not only hunted by the dogs, but secretly shot by rabbiters, who could always get a ready sale for a good stag’s head and occasionally also for a carcass of venison. The deer seemed to have a special fascination for the big lurcher type of dog so often used in the rabbit packs, and when one of those sighted a deer nothing could turn him off it until he had killed it, perhaps in a swamp or dam, after a few miles of hard run. Occasionally the lurcher had the worst of the Sambar’s last stand and paid for his sport with his life.

The Last Stag. From the days of Sir George Bowen to the time when Lord Hopetoun was Governor or Victoria, many Vice-regal parties came to Ercildoune for a deer shoot, and it was Lady Hopetoun, afterwards Marchioness of Linlithgow, who in fair sport shot the last Sambar stag that was got upon Ercildoune. Many a tiring day we station boys had in driving the deer for such a shoot, and it was always a real sporting affair, the shooters content with two or three stags, and never a doe in any circumstances. Nor was the venison ever wasted, and I have no doubt that many a fine old head and antlers got at Ercildoune in those memorable days may still be found about Melbourne. Red deer were tried on two occasions at Ercildoune. The first lot of three came direct from Scotland, but unfortunately the stag – a noble specimen – had his leg broken on shipboard. To save him the ship’s doctor amputated the leg near the hock, and the stage made a good recovery. When it was brought to Ercildoune they tried the novel experiment of making an artificial wooden leg for it, and I remember very well the day the stag was chloroformed and fitted with his wooden leg. It was not a happy notion, because on recovering from the anaesthetic the fine old fellow simply went mad with fright, and breaking his leg a second time, had to be shot. On being let out into the yard prepared for them one of the does cleared the ten-foot fence in one bound and made off to the hills. The other poor doe could never be tempted to eat, and I am convinced that she just fretted to death. The second lot of three were brought over from Mr. George Russell’s Langi Willan Estate, and were about the hills for four years. Then with two fawns they suddenly disappeared, and these were, I think, the last deer seen upon Ercildoune. I think it very likely that the spotted red deer of the Grampians which were mentioned in “Bush Notes” were from Longerenong, for it was while he owned that property that Sir Samuel Wilson was so keenly interested in the acclimatization of deer and other animals, and very often in later years he spoke to me of the efforts he had made in that direction. The next time I saw Sambar was at Warburton about eight or nine years ago, and I was told that there was a fair number of them along the valley of the Don. One thing that may save them from the killers’ car and the kind of “sportsman” who so often occupies it, to whom, stag, doe, and fawn have much the same meaning, is that the Sambar makes for the highest peaks, keeps as much to cover as possible by day and only feeds at night. There is nothing too high for them in the eastern peaks of Victoria, for in their native Himalayan hills they range to an altitude of 10,000ft. in summer. The opposite in habit – though often in company – with the Sambar are the little Indian hog deer, of which along the valley of the Latrobe I saw often the sign and frequently came upon the lair, which one of these little fellows had occupied. They are short-legged deer, seldom more than 2 ft. high at the shoulder, but nearly double that length. The antlers are usually only a foot long, and 18in. is an exceptional trophy. Up to six months the fawns are spotted, and even in the adult this little deer puts on a spotted coat every summer. They like the valleys and plains for a pasture, and it is rare to find even two of them in company, and then only in the mating seasons. My belief is that the axis deer, sometimes mentioned, is better known as the Indian chital or spotted deer, the stags of which are about 3ft. high at the shoulder, with antlers 30in. long. The usual colour is a bright reddish-brown, spotted all over with white and they become lighter in colour as they age. Unlike the fallow deer, which lose their spots in winter, the chitral or axis, keep their coat through the years. Like the hog deer, they prefer the lowlands and especially thick scrub by the waterside. Whenever rabbits become plentiful, as in the Grampians, I think it is likely that they may have starved out the deer, which would soon find “rabbit-sick” country much to their dislike. (Interesting fact – Sambar are quick to recover from adversity – when a female loses a calf to a predator, she immediately comes into oestrous, and produced another offspring within 8 months.)

Pastoral. Ercildoune (V.). By R.V.B. No. I. A Pastoral Romance. The march of progress – a hackneyed phrase often implying development on lines unsound and costly – has caused the breaking up of most of the old pastoral freeholds and the obliteration of interesting landmarks. This march of progress has dispersed and destroyed many priceless flocks from which sprang our principal primary wealth, and even the efficient methods employed by the great stock-breeders of earlier times have largely been forgotten or replaced by other practices sometimes less effective if not harmful in their results. Nevertheless a few of the old properties still remain, though much reduced in size. Some of them are occupied by descendants of leading pioneers. Around all these properties there lingers the fascinating atmosphere of romance. When visiting any of them, one can scarcely fail to allow his reflections free play among the events of the past. An old building, the ruins of a sheep-washing plant, or other relics, kept there, perhaps, for the sake of associations with other days, seem to lay open the pages of early colonial life, of pastoral enterprise with its lively ups and downs, of the rich rewards and heavy penalties, when all the pioneers, the successes and the failures, helped to plant the British nation of Australia. Of such properties there are few richer in historic interest than Ercildoune, near Burrumbeet (V.). In the library here there are almost complete records from the days of the first discovery of Port Phillip till the gold rushes and after. Material there is in abundance about the amazing progress of wool production, of the cattle industry, through the so-called squatting period till the bitter controversies which resulted in the Land Acts of Nicholson, Duffy, and Grant, but to refer in more than passing terms to these phases would be beyond the scope of these articles. One cannot, however, write about this Ercildoune in Victoria without recalling the Livingstone-Learmonths and the eminence they reached in the science of sheep-breeding. For centuries some families have been closely linked with adventure and romance, and it would appear that the Livingstone-Learmonths were in this category. In their direct line were Thomas the Rhymer, Mary Livingstone, the favourite maid of Mary Queen of Scots; the great African explorer, and other figures known to history.

Exploration Trips. The settlement and exploration trips of these pioneers in Australia were frequently referred to by them, as interesting adventures. Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth came to Hobart Town from Calcutta in 1835. His four sons, Thomas, Somerville, John, and Andrew, became interested in Port Phillip. They shipped to the new colony three cargoes of sheep aggregating 3,000. They were concerned in the first occupation of the Barwon, Moorabool, Buninyong, and Mount Emu districts. In August 1837, two of them joined an expedition to explore the country round Buninyong. With another expedition they traversed the country across the Wardy Yalloak to Mount Elephant, which they named; then went to the Cloven Hills and returned to Geelong over the Pirron Yaloak. In January, 1838, with a third exploration party, they went from Macedon over the Coliban to Mt. Alexander, thence to the Loddon, south-west to the future site of Bendigo, south-west over the site of Ballarat, and across to point which they called Mount Misery, returning to the Barwon; but from the Barwon, where they found themselves “too confined,” the young Livingstone-Learmonths removed their flocks to the Buninyong locality, and thus came to establish Ercildoune. These pioneers were interested in most of the activities of the young colony, in several other properties, as well as in mining adventures during the gold boom period; but it is by the foremost place they won in the wool world through the high standard of their merino sheep that their name is most deep impressed upon the early historical records of this country. The sheep brought from Van Diemen’s Land in 1837 rapidly increased, and by other purchases a large flock was soon accumulated; but it was not till 1848 that the famous Ercildoune stud was formed. The foundation was pure Saxony merinoes known as the Furlonge blood. The following year Thomas Shaw, upon who expert advice the Livingstone-Learmonths frequently relied, obtained for them some Mona Vale (T.) rams, and other pure Camden rams were added – Camden, Furlonge, and Mona Vale, the very essence of the choice merino strains. Camden and Macarthur will always live conspicuous in the annals of this country. The Furlonge – or more correctly, the Templeton – sheep, no less important than the Camdens in the development of the fine-wool industry, recall a most amazing example of sustained fortitude and enterprise on the part of two Scottish women. There was romance as well in the plans financed and directed by Mrs. Janet Templeton for the expeditions of her daughter, Mrs. Furlonge, and grandsons to Germany to secure the best pure merinoes money could buy, the successful droving of their purchases across Europe in the face of exceptional difficulties, taking them over to England, the ultimate transfer of the Templeton and Furlonge families and their sheep to Australia, and the influence their sheep had upon the fine-wool flocks of this country. Nor were any breeders better known than the Kermodes, who founded the Mona Vale stud in 1829, and brought it to a place equal to the best in the world.

Disposal of Property. So these were the foundations of the Ercildoune merino stud, and there is little wonder that by skill and care it came to be one of the most valuable in Australia. Rams from this stud were sent to every colony. Some went to New Zealand, some to Africa, and some to other countries. On the show floors the Ercildoune sheep were always at the top or near it. At the intercolonial show of merino sheep held in Melbourne in 1868, the most important in Australia to that time, Ercildoune won the supreme award for the best ram against all comers. This was acclaimed as the highest tribute till then conferred on any sheep breeder in Victoria. These breeders also sent wool, not a few fleeces, but bales, to exhibitions in London, Paris and New York, as well as to the local shows, and wools grown by them were rarely beaten.

Part of the Ercildoune house was built in 1858; about eight years later the upper story was added, and later still the back portion was built. The design is typical of the Scottish border architecture. The builders were their own architects, the bricks made on the property; the granite was taken from the hill close by. With the pointed gables and stone set on, there are few more picturesque structures than this, nor are there many as enduring. Recently a stone taken from the Rhymer’s tower, which dates to the 11th century, at Earlston, near Melrose, was sent by Mr. Somerville Learmonth, a son of one of the pioneers, to the present owner, who is having it inscribed and built into the wall of the house to add to the interest of the place and perpetuate the memory of the founders of the locality. In 1872, the Ercildoune property, with all stock, plant, furniture, books, and relics, was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson, another impressive figure in Australian pastoral and public life. Sir Samuel also possessed Longernong, Greenhills, Corangamite, Marathon, and Mt. Bute in Victoria; Yanco and other properties in New South Wales, and he had some holdings in Queensland. Longernong and Greenhills he sold before acquiring Ercildoune. After the South African war the Wilson family’s interest in Australia gradually diminished. One of Sir Samuel’s sons was killed in that war, and another was badly and permanently wounded. Two other sons, one of whom was a leading polo player in England, were killed simultaneously in the Great War, and about 12 years ago negotiations were entered into for the sale of Ercildoune to the Government. Mr. Currie was approached to offer Mt. Elephant to the Government at the same time, and he said he would sell provided he could obtain Ercildoune. Arrangements were thereupon made for him to purchase Ercildoune, then reduced to about 12,800 acres, and he retained a square block of 7,400 acres round the house, letting the Government authorities have the farming land of about 5,400 acres at their own figure, which was much lower than the market value of the land at the time.

Valuable Sheep Arrive. The arrival by the City of Brisbane of a large number of valuable merinos from the Lara flock, Victoria, was announced, also Messrs. Kent and Wienholt received 49 ewes and eight rams from the celebrated Ercildoun flock of Messrs. Learmonth, in the same colony. The Ercildoun property had recently changed hands for the enormous sum of a quarter of a million, and some idea of the reason, for such a great purchase price, for a comparatively small property, might be formed from the fact that the 57 sheep imported by Messrs. Kent and Wienholt cost £1300 landed at Brisbane. The Ercildoun sheep had long stood unrivalled as the merino par excellence of Australia. Those just imported from the pure stud, bred in by Messrs. Learmonth without any interchange of blood whatever for the last 30 years.

Founders of Australia’s Priceless Heritage. The Coming of the Shepherd Kings. Names that are Moulded into Our History. Genesis of the Wool-broking Firms. The Shepherd Kings of Australia occupy a most astonishing position. In hardly more than a century they have built up a world empire, of wool. The story of the merino in Australia dates from the time when Captain John Macarthur, of Sydney, produced wool equal to the finest product of Saxony, and commanding 16/4 per lb., a price never previously known in wool history. From the beginning, Australian owners have gone from triumph to triumph, their sheep superseding older wool producers, until to-day they, and the nation, hold a priceless heritage. Flocks are registered at 110,000,000, giving nine hundred million lbs. of wool. This is just double the world’s average. In the very early days sheep carried 3 or 4lb. fleeces. First-class flocks in a good season now will yield fleeces of 12 or 13lbs., with the ram wools reaching as high as 40lbs. The increase has proceeded by scientific measures of breeding, by selection and culling, and in proportion reflects tremendous credit on the flock masters. Excerpts – To write of the pioneers of the sheep and wool industry as in Victoria is like producing an epic. The struggle with the elements was of a titanic nature. Fire and flood assailed them, droughts worked their havoc. Not all won through, but many made good their footing. The Hentrys landed at Portland the first sheep of the flocks, brought from Tasmania, when it took nearly three weeks to cross the strait. Batman and Fawkner followed with their possessions. After Major Mitchell’s report of the felicitous conditions, influx set in from Sydney… Russell was with the earliest comers and settled on Barunale Plains, his family afterwawrds accumulating great properties, Langi Willi, Carngham, and others. Livingstone Learmonth went to Ercildoune, and built the historic homes, selling to Sir Samuel Wilson, who owned Longerenong and Yanco, and pursued the grass as far as Queensland. The Wilson family and estate became absorbed in the British nobility by marriage…

The Learmonths of Ercildoune – By Stanley Moore. Among the leading pastoral pioneering families of Victoria, there is none with a more romantic history than that of the Livingstone Learmonth’s. Their early seat was the Rhymer’s Tower, near the Scottish border, and Thomas the Rhymer was the first figure in their family to become famous. Mary Livingstone, one of the bevy of Mary’s, who surrounded Mary Queen of Scots, as maids of honour, was another member of the family who has her place in history. Lastly, there is the famous African explorer. Thomas Livingstone Learmonth sailed to Hobart Town from Calcutta in 1835. His four sons, Thomas, Somerville, Andrew, and John, shortly afterwards became interested in Port Phillip. They shipped 3,000 sheep to the colony, and took part in the pioneering of the Barwon, Moorabool, Buninyong, and Mt. Emu districts. In August 1837, they were in the expedition that explored the country round Buninyong. In another expedition they crossed the Wardy Yalloak and came across the hill, which they named Mt. Elephant. From Mt. Elephant they struck across to Cloven Hills, then they crossed the Pirron Yalloak, and returned to Geelong. Undertaking a third expedition in January 1838, they travelled from Macedon over the Coliban to Mt. Alexander. They reached the Loddon, and, turning, crossed the site of Bendigo. From there they struck south-west till they reached the site of Ballarat. After leaving that spot a curious thing happened to the party. After a long march, they were without water at nightfall, and they could find none in the country about them. Feeling thirsty and dispirited, they named the hill in the vicinity Mt. Misery. The weather was cold, and they kept a fire burning during the night. To prevent it from going out, one of the party got up during the night, and went off to look for wood. In the course of searching, he suddenly stumbled into a small stream, which yielded the much-desired water. From this point they struck back to the Barwon. As an outcome of these expeditions the brothers removed their flocks from the Barwon to the Buninyong district. They called their station Ercildoune, after an old place on the Scottish border. They struggled successfully through the pastoral depression of 1842-3. As a consequence of this depression, when sheep fell from 30/ to 1/6 a head, they established at Ercildoune a great boiling-down plant, which extracted from the carcasses of sheep the tallow, which had become more valuable than mutton. The liquid by-products from the plant were used to irrigate certain crops with splendid results. The Learmonths took part in the mining operations of the gold rush period. But their special claim to distinction lies in the very fine quality of the merino wool they grew. In 1848 they first formed the Ercildoune stud that later became famous. It was of pure Saxony merinos of the Furlonge blood. By later purchases Camden and Mona Vale strains were added to the original Furlonge. The stud came to be recognized as one of the best in Australia. Rams were sent from Ercildoune to every Australian colony, and to New Zealand and South Africa. In 1869 Ercildoune won the highest recognition up till that time awarded to any stud in Australia. The Learmonths gained the open prize for the best ram against all comers. This was the blue-ribbon of sheep-breeding. In London, Paris, and New York, their selected show wools were rarely beaten. The first part of the Homestead at Ercildoune was built in 1858. In 1866 the upper storey was added, and additions were made later. The design followed the type of architecture, which is common on the Scottish border. The materials were granite and bricks. The granite was quarried on the property and the bricks were made on the spot by the builders. The feature of the house is its gables. The façade of the building consists of three pointed gables, one greater and two lesser. It is half-covered with green creepers, and faces a fine ornamental lake. From the house shrub-studded lawns slope gently down to the water. Swans, rushes, and water-lilies decorate the lake, and on the other three sides of the house a picturesque dense clump of eucalyptus and other trees surround it. All about is open rolling country studded with gum trees. Recently, Mr. Somerville Learmonth a son of one of the brothers, who founded Ercildoune, had a stone taken from Rhymer’s Tower, near Melrose in Scotland, and sent to Mr. Alan Currie, the present owner of Ercildoune. Mr. Currie has had it inscribed and built into the wall of the house.

In 1872 the Learmonths sold Ercildoune to Sir Samuel Wilson, a conspicuous figure in the later period of Victorian wool-growing. At various periods, he owned Longerenong, Greenhills, Mt. Bute, Corangamite, Trawalla, and Woodlands stations. During his time, Ercildoune was famous for its sale of surplus ewes. Great hospitality was extended to buyers, and drovers gathered there from all parts of the country. After the Great War, in which two of Sir Samuel’s sons were killed, Ercildoune was sold by him to the Government. It was immediately resold by the Government to Mr. Alan Currie, who had sold to the State his own station, Mt. Elephant, on condition that he could buy Ercildoune. Of the 12,000 acres to which the station had been reduced at that time, Mr. Currie sold back to the State 4,000 acres, and retained 8,000. The present owner, Mr. Currie, has made energetic attempts to settle English ex-Army officers and others on grazing and irrigation lands in Victoria, and has worthily carried on the great work of the Ercildoune stud in maintaining the high quality of Victorian merino wool. There is now at that stud a flock of pure Camden Merinoes descending directly from Macarthur’s first flock. Although they have passed through the hands of a number of owners since Macarthur’s day, they have been kept pure, and were bought by Mr. Currie in 1924. All the old furniture, books and relics from the earliest days of the Learmonths are still at Ercildoune; and the library contains interesting material connected with the early history of Victoria.

Stately Country Home. A patch of old England, with a touch of Scotland, nestling beside hills and lakes, will greet the Duke of Gloucester when he visits Mr and Mrs Alan Currie at their beautiful home, “Ercildoune,” near Ballarat. “Ercildoune” combines a sheep and cattle station of 8000 acres, as well as a stud of thoroughbred horses. There the Duke will find a variety of sport, including riding, shooting, swimming, fishing and tennis. “Ercidloune” is itself almost due for a centenary. The original building, of two rooms, was erected in 1838 by the Livingston Learmonths, and still remains beside the present home, which was commenced shortly afterwards. The whole building is of grey granite, dug out of the hills, and bricks made on the property, and is modelled on a house near Earlston (or Ercildoune) in Scotland. The Livingston Learmonths were direct descendants of Thomas the Rhymer, and the tower on the right of the house is a reproduction of the Rhymer’s Tower at Earlston. The trees of Ercildoune are almost as old as its stone and mortar. Huge planes, more than 100ft. tall, behind the house, were brought out in pots from Britain 96 years ago. Successive shiploads brought out precious cargo of garden plants, and antique furniture and fittings for the house – old steel grates, Chippendale chairs and mirrors, walnut cabinets, Adams mantelpieces, oak tallboys and valuable china.

A Glimpse of Persia. One Chippendale is probably unique in Australia. It looks from one end of the drawing room to an antique oval mirror that reflects it at the other end. Chinese screens of ruby lacquer are of great value, and one of the outstanding beauties of the interior decoration is the Persian rug in the hall, made of nine prayer mats joined together. It was handworked in all its beautiful blues and greens and vermillion by Persian women long ago. There is also some beautiful old silver; and oils and water colours collected over many years include works by great masters. In keeping with Ercildoune’s age is the library – a complete historical record of Australian literature collected partly by the original owners, and kept up by Mr Currie, who has added considerably to its shelves.

Picturesque Views. From its large windows “Ercildoune” looks out over one of the loveliest views from any homestead window in Australia. The eye takes in a group of lakes stretching away into the hills: a rose-garden with a granite wall, probably unique in this country; a beautiful swimming pool; a huge expanse of law, sweeping past Engish and Australian trees in a glorious mixture of British and colonial greens; and undulating pastures and wooded hills, wonderful country for riding. Its fishing is one of the prides of “Ercildoune,” which had the first trout hatchery in the State. The trout, in fact, arrived much as Royalty might, to be met at the Ballarat station by a party clad in top hats and dress clothes – in 1870. If it were not for the gum trees, the Australian grasses and the sun, “Ercildoune” might be taken for a slice of England or Scotland. Mr and Mrs Currie have carefully nursed the illusion, and all the furnishings, and even the garden, are in keeping with the period.

Excerpt from a letter by A. J. McConnel. In 1839 Messrs. Livingstone Learmouth, of Ercildoun (Vic.), brought Hereford heifers from the Cressy Co., of Tasmania, which were descended from cattle imported from England in the ship Albion in 1826. These Messrs. Learmonth mated with English bulls and bred a large herd.

Country Page. Sheep Like Snowballs. Washed Wool Sold at 122d. Per Lb. The Livingstone Learmonths. By R.V.B. of “The Australasian,” and A. S. Kenyon.
Among the most enterprising of the early Port Phillipians were the Livingstone-Learmonths. Representing the ill-fated Port Phillip Association, Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, senior, visited Sydney in 1838 to attend the first sale of the colony’s country lands. An area on the Moorabool, afterwards known as Lawrence Park, was knocked down to his bid of 38/ an acre. At a lower figure he purchased another area, which came into pastoral prominence. This was Mount Mercer. It was, however, the sons of Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, Sen., whose work of colonization is more historic. Out of the wilderness they fashioned Ercildoune, an estate of great value, and improved other properties. Many of the best cattle and horses in the land were bred by these pioneers. They spent money freely on the advancement of any district in which they were interested. The merino stud flock established by them at Ercildoune was unsurpassed. Thomas Shaw placed these breeders with J. L. Currie, William Campbell, and Alexander Cunningham in the forefront of stud masters. “To sheep men” he wrote, “the Ercildoune flock was a constant pleasure – beautiful wool, highest prices, and splendid mutton sheep. In the act of sheepbreeding the Livingstone-Learmonths reached, as far as men could, absolute perfection. It was a bad day for Victorian sheepbreeding when they sold out and went to live in Britain.”

The property won a world’s record, 122d. a lb. for 2-tooth wethers’ washed fleece. Ercildoune sheep in the old days were hot water washed and currycombed before shearing. They resembled big snowballs when they came out of the wash. The clip was classed as extra extra and extra super combing.

As was the case at Larra, annual ram sales were held at Ercildoune, and frequently £10,000 worth of rams changed hands on a sale day. No ewes were sold. These breeders preferred to destroy the surplus ewes. In 1872, the property, with everything on it, was acquired by Sir Samuel Wilson, who continued the annual sales for a time. He provided a bar and fare of the best free for visitors. The paddocks were full of drovers and their camps for a week or more before the sales. But later the old stud flock was transferred to Mount Bute, and the Ercildoune ram sales on the spot became a memory.

Ercildoune. A Retreat for the King’s Son. By Angela Booth.
“This thorn tree as long as it stand, Earlston shall possess a’ her lands.” Thomas the Rhymer.
If you had been on Mount Buninyong in the spring of 1837, you might have seen a party of disappointed men viewing the country to the north of it. They were the Livingstone Learmonths. They had set out from Geelong in search of land likely for settlement, and were daunted by the heavy and thickly timbered condition of the country. The party separated, but some of its members returned later with an aborigine for a guide, and he took them to Lake Burrumbeet. It was then decided that the country was too far off for occupation. This we learn from a letter of Thomas Livingston Learmonth. In January 1838, they set out on another expedition and this time they found that beautiful open country to the north of Lake Burrumbeet. They settled on it and called the station Ercildoune (the Look-out Hill) after the birthplace of their ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer. In the 13th century Thomas the Rhymer lived at Earlston – the early name for Ercildoune – the old Gaelic form being Arciol-Dun. Three brothers of the Livingston Learmonth family developed Ercildoune station and built up a flock of merino sheep for which it was celebrated, and which is still being carried on. The Learmonths were enthusiastic builders, and were endowed with a strong aesthetic sense. They chose a place for the Homestead in naturally picturesque surroundings. The house is of granite excavated on the property. It is two-storied, and is built in the Scottish style of architecture. Considering the time and locality, the masonry is admirable, and the effect has not been spoilt by attempts to modernize the structure; for example, the lofty windows have not been robbed of the original small panes. Standing a few yards from the house, but connected with it by an arm of ornamental stonework, is a border tower, ivy covered – a facsimile of the border towers of Scotland. Built into the wall of the house is a stone taken from the Rhymer’s tower by the Learmonths. A garden of 13 acres once surrounded this interesting home, but time wrought the inevitable changes. Still the existing garden is fine and spacious, comprising chiefly lawns and trees. The trees planted in 1838 and subsequent years have attained a height of 100ft., and give dignity to the landscape. The house is approached though a drive of satisfying beauty. It winds for one mile and a half between Mediterranean pines and deodars. Many of these splendid trees are 15ft. in circumference. The garden trees, the oaks, elms, the poplars, chestnuts, and plane trees were brought in pots from Scotland. Mrs. Livingstone Learmonth gave this information to the present owner of Ercildoune, Major Currie, M.L.C., when she met him in England. She was aged then 96 years. The vitality of this old lady was remarkable; she spent most her time playing piano-forte music. She had a sister-in-law aged 85 years, who was equally remarkable, but Major Currie did not meet her. She was out hunting! This lady is now the Dowager Lady Portman. In 1872 the station was “held up” by the bushranger Gowrie. He occupied a cave in a fortified position on the Ercildoune hill, from which he raided the surrounding country. He took all the gold from Ercidoune, but Thomas Learmonth was able to gallop across country to warn the Robertson family on Mount Mitchell station. There were 1,500 gold sovereigns at the Homestead ; these were hidden in a sack of flour and saved. Later Gowrie was shot dead on Ercildoune hill by the police. His skull, now at the Homestead, shows the passage of the bullet through the forehead and out at the base of the skull. It is an interesting object, and tells a plain tale of Gowrie’s mentality. One day it may find a place in the medical museum. The brothers Learmonth caught the fever then raging at Ballarat. They bought and developed the Egerton Mine, and became involved in a lawsuit over it. The case went to the Privy Council, and was lost to the Learmonths, costing them some thousands of pounds. Then they sold Ercildoune to Sir S. Wilson and went to live in England.

Sir Samuel Wilson occupied the place in 1872. He built the walled garden, an abode of perfect peace. It is less than an acre in extent, and the wall enclosing it is 10ft. in height. Breakwinds of cypress divide it, but now the garden consists mainly of lawns and roses. The Wilsons were collectors. In the grounds there is a marble well-head at least 2,000 years old. It was excavated in Palestine. One of the sons interested in archaeology bought it for his father’s favourite home. Sir Samuel Wilson used to retire to Ercildoune to escape the summer heats, the property being 1,800ft. above sea level. The house contains many fine pieces, an Adam mantelpiece among them. The Chippendale furniture is very fine. There are chairs, cabinets, and bookcases, but more interesting than these is a pair of Chippendale wall mirrors, rare even in England. Sir Samuel Wilson’s interest in the acclimatization of fish is known. He established a hatchery at Ercildoune, which he stocked with ova from Scotland. The hatchery is still working breeding trout of various kinds to stock the ponds on the property. The time came when the Wilson family, too, retired to England, where they lived at Hughenden Manor, Disraeli’s former home. They revisited Ercildoune only at rare intervals till 1914. In the Great War all the Wilson sons lost their lives (The Argus (Melbourne) 15 November 1938 reports that Clarence Chesney Wilson died in London in 1936 leaving an Estate valued at £626,436 that included his Estate worth £128,111 in New South Wales). After the war the trustees sold the property to Major Alan Currie, the present owner.

The Curries come from Larra in the Camperdown district; Major Currie’s father settled there in 1844. At one time Sir Samuel Wilson and Mr. Currie, Sen., seriously considered exchanging properties. It is curious that Mr. Currie’s son should have acquired Ercildoun. Major Alan Currie, M.L.C., when no longer a young man, left wealth and security to live in the trenches for four years. It is fitting that the King’s soldier son should tarry a while under his roof. The station provides opportunity for exercise and recreation in perfect conditions. There are riding, shooting, fishing, and swimming. And the lady of Ercildoune, so quiet mannered and gentle, will be an ideal hostess for a tired guest.

The Australian Home Beautiful 1 September 1934
Aspects of Ercildoune. The Home in which Prince Henry will be a Guest. One afternoon last month the household at Ercildoune – Major Alan Currie’s home, at which Prince Henry is to be a guest – were startled by the drone of an aeroplane engine. Looking up, they saw a machine dip and swerve. They endeavoured to direct the pilot in what appeared to be a forced landing, but the plane banked and turned – the two occupants waving their hands in greeting – and disappeared beyond the trees. Several days later the puzzle was solved when Major Currie was shown the aerial view of “Ercildoune” that appears overleaf. It gives a comprehensive view that is supplemented by the photographs taken from the ground. Ercildoune is one of the most interesting as well as one of the loveliest properties in Victoria. Covering, with its sheep and cattle run, some 8000 acres, it was selected by Mr Livingstone Learmonth in 1837, and remained the family home of that branch of the Learmonths for sixty years, when it was bought as it stood by the late Sir Samuel Wilson, a picturesque figure in the squatting world. Twenty-odd years later Mr Alan Currie repeated the “Walk-in-walk-out” purchase, and the result is a continuous development of the property over a period just short of a century. What more fitting episode can be imagined in a Centenary celebration than a visit by a great-grandson of Queen Victoria to a home whose foundations were laid in the year she came to the throne! The article goes on to include much of the previous one of 1929 and finishes off by stating – Amid such surroundings our Royal visitor should find a happy, if short, respite from his arduous labors.

Ercildoune. By D.D. Excerpts – Ercildoune is one of the historic places of interest in Victoria, and was founded ninety-six years ago. Among the early settlers to arrive in Victoria in the year 1837 were Thomas Livingstone Learmonth and his brother, Somerville Livingstone Learmonth. They were sons of Thomas Learmonth, of Tasmania.

Deep down in their hearts there was the love of Scotland, and particularly that part on the Scottish border known as Ercildoune, the ancestral home of the Learmonths for over thirteen centuries, also on an elevated piece of land, 12,000 miles from Bonnie Scotland, the new Ercildoune arose from out the primeval bush. It is situated 200 feet above the level of the sea, and has a cool and equable climate. The name Ercildoune recalls one of the sweetest legends of Scotland, and Scotland is the happy possessor of many beautiful legends, myths and romances. Thomas Learmonth, the founder of the Ercildoune in Scotland, is known in history as “Thomas the Rhymer.” He was asleep one day in the shadow of Eldoun Hills, in Earlston, under the Eildon Tree. It was near the “Bogie Burn,” or in other words, the “Ghost stream.” The Queen of the Fairies, dressed in “green-grass silk,” came riding on a “milk-white horse.” She dared him to kiss her, which was a dangerous thing to do to a red-blooded, poetic Scotchman. He kissed her. The Queen told him that he would now have to serve her, through weal or woe, for seven years. He mounted behind her and they galloped away into Fairyland. While there, Thomas received an apple from the Queen, which bestowed on him the gift of prophecy, and a tongue that could never lie. After seven years had passed he returned to his home. He then composed many rhymes, which are still recited in Scotland. He was not, however, contented or happy. Before leaving Fairyland, he had given a pledge to the Queen to return to her when she called to him. One night while holding a banquet in the “Rhymer’s Tower” at Ercildoune, a messenger came and whispered to him; without a word he at once arose from the feast and passed out into the darkness and was seen no more.

Another Thomas Learmonth is associated with the founding of the Australian Ercildoune. He was a descendant of “Thomas the Rhymer,” and was a fine type of Scotchman. There were many hundreds of aborigines in the district when he settled there; yet he never came into collision with them though the natives were guilty of provocative actions. They killed one of his servants and stole a number of his sheep. He had a just, as well as a kindly nature. He wrote to Governor La Trobe “considering the wrong that had been done to them by depriving them of their country, they have shown less ferocity, and have exhibited the desire to retaliate less than might have been expected. It would have been a good thing if some of the other settlers at the time had shown similar understanding and throughtful consideration for the blacks”. The aborigines became excellent horsemen and boundary riders with the women employed as harvesters, servants, guides, trackers and bush food gatherers.

Ercildoune was developed and made beautiful under the direction of Thomas Learmonth, and it was regarded as one of the finest estates in the colony. Early in the seventies the property was purchased by the late Sir Samuel Wilson, who made further improvements, making it even more beautiful than it was when he purchased it from Mr. Learmonth. It became the favourite summer resort of Sir Samuel Wilson, and it became also celebrated for the fine class of merino sheep, which were bred there. Sir Samuel Wilson and his family resided afterwards in England for many years, and lived in Hughendon Manor, the home of the famous Earl of Reaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli. The property finally came into the hands of the present owners, Major and Mrs. Alan Currie, who will have the distinguished honour of entertaining the Duke of Gloucester. It is fitting that Ercildoune, with its historic associations, apart from its charming surroundings, should have been selected for the Duke’s first resting place in this State. After the strain of the many functions through which he will have to pass, Ercildoune will prove to be an enchanting haven of rest.

The Duke Wields the Shears. Shearers Impressed. From our special representative. The Duke of Gloucester is thoroughly enjoying his brief stay at Ercildoune, the station home of Mr. Alan Currie, M.L.C. This morning, feeling completely refreshed, the Duke went for a short gallop in the home paddocks before breakfast. The weather was fine after the recent heavy rains, and there was a rare nip in the air. Several of the best shearers of the district had been summoned to give a demonstration, and when the Duke arrived at the shearing shed he was persuaded to try his hand with the automatic shears. He did not attempt the task in real earnest, but with competent guidance he ran the machine up the nether part of a sheep by way of commencement, and the shearers of six sheep were flattered to have their job begun by a Royal hand. They said that the preliminary cut was done well. The Duke remained to see the shearing of the merinos, whose wool will be sent to the Geelong woolen mills, which have undertaken to make him a travelling rug as a souvenir. During his short stay at Geelong on Saturday morning, the Duke will press the button setting in motion the machinery, which will weave the rug. This afternoon the Royal party motored 30 miles to Banongil, the Fairbairns’ property at Skipton and the Duke bagged 20 snipe. This was considered good shooting, as snipe have not been plentiful in recent weeks. The shooters were out until dusk, and the Duke pronounced it a good day’s sport. Half a dozen snakes were encountered during the afternoon march, and the Duke did some short-range shooting in disposing of them. He had never before killed a snake, and he said he felt it was just murder, but he braced himself to the unaccustomed task when he was told that it was a local ritual that had to be followed for self-protection. In dealing with the birds, he showed himself as accurate a gun as his father. The run back to Ercildoune meant a late dinner, and the dance was not begun until shortly after 10 o’clock. The Duke was in great humour after his second day in the out-of-doors. There were not more than 60 persons on the dance floor, and as Ercildoune boasts a spacious ballroom, there was none of the crowding that has occurred at the official dances in the capital cities already visited. His Royal Highness danced until the early hours. It has been arranged that to-morrow the Duke will have some more riding, and he will participate in a rabbit shoot. In the evening he will rejoin the Royal train for Mildura. He will return to Ballarat on Thursday afternoon, and afterwards go into the south-west and motor along the Great Ocean road from Colac to Geelong. The Duke will be in Melbourne for the Henley Regatta on Saturday afternoon, and he will be in this district again during the week-end spending a couple of days at Mr. A. Russell’s Mawallock station at Beaufort.

The Woman’s World – Continued. While I remember. By “Annette’.
“Ercildoune” Tonight after days of fishing and shooting, and riding, the Duke will be leaving Ercildoune and the members of one of the most memorable of house-parites will disperse to the city to get ready for the Cup time festivities. Ercildoune has been picked for Royalty week-ends several times now and with its huge ballroom, billiard room and stables, it would appearl to any sports loving person as a pleasure resort. Then like most of the larger western district station homesteads, it has a lake stretching away before the house. Among the guests Major and Mrs Alan Currie invited to meet the Duke over the week-end were Miss Janet Landale and Miss Margaret Brookes, I hear from a reliable source. When he meets Miss Brookes, he will see a girl who is a typical produce of our country life. She plays a pretty game of golf, there are few horses that can worry her, and I believe she is equal to most women out of championship class on a tennis court. Not so long ago, Miss Brookes came back from a Parish finishing school, and now at almost every festivity season, she helps her mother give one of the large all-day parties at Woodend, which will be held next Sunday.

Woman’s Realm. Social Notes. Major Currie, M.L.C., and Mrs. Alan Currie had the honour of entertatining His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester in their famous station home, Ercildoune, Burrumbeet, during the week-end. Members of the house party incuded Major-General R.G.H. Howard-Vyse, Captain Derek Schrieber, Mr. and Mrs. Ewen Mackinnon, Mr. and Mrs. John Ritchie, Miss Helen Stephen, and Miss Elyne Chauvel. At dinner on Sunday evening…..

At the dance Mrs. Alan Currie wore a lovely gown of moonstone white bark-ridged crepe with a white velvet cape adorned with a snow-white fox fur. Exquisite flowers were used to decorate the reception-rooms and adorn the dinner table on each night of the Duke’s visit. The first evening the table was laid with a pinapple cloth inlet with exquisite laces and the flowers were sweet peas and lily of the valley, while shaded candelabra cast a soft light. The second evening a cloth of filet lace covered the table, while rhododendrons bloomed in the light of silver candelabra, veiled by delicate pink shades.

Coliban Park Herefords. By R.V.B. No stud has made more rapid headway than Coliban Park. Second paragraph states – “Soon after Coliban Park was acquired by the late Mr. Anthony Barber a number of pure Herefords was purchased at the Ercildoune dispersal sale. For many years the Ercildoune Herefords were foremost in the land, but strangely enough the pedigrees of these cattle had been lost, and those purchased by Mr. Barber could not gain entry in the stud-book in consequence. Thereupon he and his sons determined to experiment with different breeds at Coliban Park to see which was most suited to the country. They found the Herefords to be outstanding, and decided to adhere to that breed alone.”

Ercildoune Stud. For nearly 100 years Ercildoune has been noted for sheep and wool of the highest standard. By R.V.B. No pastoral property in Victoria can boast a longer or more distinguished record than Ercildoune. Taken up as a pastoral run in 1837, the property was held by the Livingstone-Learmonths for 35 years. These pastoralists founded a merino stud, which became one of the most valuable in Australia. In 1872 the property with all stock and plant was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson, and about 15 years ago the estate, as it is known to-day, greatly reduced in area, was acquired by the present proprietor, Major H. A. Currie. Soon after the property changed from the ownership of Messrs. Livingstone-Learmonth to Sir Samuel Wilson most of the Ercildoune stud sheep were transferred to Mount Bute. When Major Currie purchased, the sheep on the property were crossbreds principally, and the new owner decided to sell practically all the sheep on the place. He brought over his own Mount Elephant stud, which was part of the old Gala stud. The Gala sheep sprung from John Aitken’s early Tasmanian importations, which were regarded as the best of the foundation merinoes of Victoria. In the Galas there was also a strong infusion of Larra blood, through Larra rams, which in turn were developed largely from Camden stock brought down from New South Wales. In addition a number of stud ewes were bought at Mount Bute, where the earlier Ercildoune blood remained. Such are the foundations of the principal merino flock, which thrives at Ercildoune now. There is another merino flock preserved on the property, however, and in some respects of even more interest than the chief flock. This little flock is descended in a direct line from Macarthur’s first importations, and for more than a century has been kept inbred. Brought to Victoria by William Campbell, who was associated with Macarthur, the Camdens were depastured first at Strathloddon, then at Towral, near Clunes, but later they were returned to Strathloddon, and later still they were transferred to Mount Hope. The sheep were prized by William Campbell, but while at Mount Hope, he was obliged to sell his flock, which went to the possession of Griffiths and Green, who parted with the flock to the owners of Dunmore. Subsequently the Camdens came back to Griffiths and Green, but afterwards Campbell became the owner once more, and he took the sheep first to Auchmore, near Bendigo, then to Riverina, where they encountered drought conditions and most of them perished. The survivors were sent down to Wooriwyrite, in the Western district, and at the request of the owner of Wooriwyrite the Camdens were taken over by Major Currie in 1924 for preservation at Ercildoune. Students of the development of the merino find much to interest them by comparing these old Camdens with other sheep at Ercildoune. There side by side can be seen the present-day merino and the inbred direct descendants of the foundation merinoes of Australia. The Camden flock is kept down to 200 breeding ewes, which are much more than curiosities. These sheep have improved by selection, and have the conformation of first-class stud animals, but their fleeces, although gaining steadily in weight, are still rather light. The pastures have given the wool a little more strength, but it is of beautiful quality, and specialists have pronounced the Camden wool as remarkable for its silkiness and lustre. The old Camdens are very hardy and rear a high percentage of lambs. They have no coarse hair or black spots on the face, which were considered to be bad faults in the early days, but are tolerated now. A pure Camden ewe of fine quality bone joined with a suitable outside ram will produce almost by her first progeny the ideal fine-wool merino sheep cutting a fleece well up to the average. The owner of Ercildoune has set out to bring his chief flock back to the fine merino of even type, growing wool with plenty of character and style, and he has set a high standard for his stud and flock. At the Geelong auction sales the wool is now always among the top lots, and the Ercildoune lambs’ wool is frequently right at the top. The cut a head at Ercildoune ranges from 7½lb in an average year to 10lb. in a good year. Then there is the Ryeland stud, established three years ago. Ryelands, in the opinion of Major Currie, have a sure future in Victoria. He has found them of great value to cross with cast for age merino ewes, and with comebacks to produce early maturing lambs for the export trade. The Ercildoune Ryeland stud was purchased from Mr. C. Llloyd, who had founded it by acquiring about 50 very high-class New Zealand Ryeland ewes and stud rams from the Woodburn stud established by the late T. H. Payne. A stud ram of Woodburn blood purchased from Mr. J. McIntosh was added recently and there are now 90 ewes in the flock.

Visit of Japanese Diplomat. Guest for Weekend at Ercildoune. During his visit to Melbourne next month, Mr. Katsuji Debuchi, the leader of the Japanese good-will mission, will spend the week-end from September 7 as a guest at Ercildoune, the beautiful home of Major Currie, M.L.C., and Mrs. Currie. Ercildoune is one of the historic station homes of the State, where many distinguished visitors have been entertained. The history of Ercildoune goes back as far as 1837, when the Learmonth brothers, the sons of Thomas Learmonth, of Tasmania, arrived in Victoria. In the following year, after a long and exhausting expedition in search of suitable country for settlement, they came upon the lovely open country in the neighbourhood of Lake Burrumbeet, and established themselves there, building a Homestead, which they named Ercildoune, which means the “Look-out Hill,” after the home of their ancestor, Thomas Learmonth, in Scotland. The Homestead is set in charming surroundings, and is built of local granite, which to-day is picturesquely ivy-clad. In the spacious garden there are some magnificent trees, some of which were brought from Scotland in 1838, and have attained amazing height and girth. The lovely old walled garden, was built by Sir Samuel Wilson, who bought Ercildoune from the Learmonths in 1872, and whose name is perpetuated in the Wilson Hall, at the University of Melbourne. Many treasures were added to the house, by the Wilson family, and it was sir Samuel Wilson who founded the famous hatchery of which the late Mr. Tom Fisher was in charge for many years. Ercildoune is admirably adapted for entertaining, and it has some very fine Chippendale pieces in its furnishings. Major and Mrs. Currie have been at Ercildoune for more than 15 years. The Duke and Duchess of York were to have been their guests during their visit to Australia in 1927, but circumstances prevented it. They had, however, the honour of entertaining a Royal visitor when the Duke of Gloucester was here. Mrs. Currie, as a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Albert Miller, has inherited a tradition of gracious hospitality, which she has carried on in very delightful fashion. She is a keenly interested member of the Australian Women’s National League, and has given many interesting parties for fellow members at Ercildoune.

A House That Is Full of Lovely Things. Ercildoune. (Illustrated.) Victoria may be only one hundred years old in the history of her settlement, yet in the possession of homes like Ercildoune, she can lay claim to a history that goes back over many centuries. Apart from the beauty of the place itself, the dignity of its ancient Scottish architecture, the loveliness of its setting, incomparable with its mixture of the gentleness of the English garden landscape, and the rugged Australian wildness of the stern and stony hills behind it, and all that the combination of these three things implies, Ercildoune breathes the romance of history, with its memories of the adventurous spirits who founded it nearly 100 years ago. The Livingstone Learmonths came from the borderland of Scotland, and when they built their new home on the peaceful open country adjoining Lake Burrumbeet, they added to it a border tower, a facsimile of the tower at their ancestral home, the Scottish Ercildoune, the history of which goes back beyond the 13th century. Added to from time to time, but always maintaining the character of the original architecture, Ercildoune stands today one of the most splendid mansion homes of the Victorian countryside, beautiful without and beautiful within. There are few Australian homes so filled with rare and lovely things. The majority of them were there when Major and Mrs. Currie went there after the war, and no-one knows whether some of them were brought out by the Learmonths, or by Sir Samuel Wilson, or from the trustees of whose Estate Major Currie purchased the property. Everywhere one looks, there is something to find joy in, not merely because of its intrinsic worth, but because it is beautiful. There is the mellow beauty of old English oak, the richness of mahogany, the soft gleam of walnut, and the depth of old cedar in tables, chairs and cabinets from the hands of world famous craftsmen. Chippendale cabinets are full of lovely English China and priceless ivories from the East. Delicious Hogarth and Bartolozzi Prints, and some exquisite old coloured French engravings hang on the walls. Occasional tables carry valuable burdens in curios from various parts of the world, and there are some marvelous porcelain and china bowls of both eastern and western origin in odd corners of the house, sometimes purely ornamental, sometimes carrying masses of blooms of the early Australian springtime. There is however, nothing of the atmosphere of a collection of museum pieces in the rooms of Ercildoune. Its treasures have been absorbed into the living of its owners. To Major and Mrs Currie, they are the furnishings of their home, and as such they are cared for and loved. Built of stone quarried out of the great granite hill in the background, an offshoot of the Great Dividing Range, Ercildoune, the home of Major Currie M.L.C., and Mrs. Currie, near Lake Burrumbeet, is one of the most historic and the most beautiful country homes in Victoria. Many distinguished visitors from many parts of the world have enjoyed its gracious hospitality, the most recent of them His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, while the Japanese ambassador, Mr Katsuji Debuchi, will be the guest of Major and Mrs Currie during his visit next month to this State. Above (picture) is the lovely vista that welcomes the visitor to the front entrance at Ercildoune. The further portion of the hall has been added by Major and Mrs Currie. The sunshine of an early Spring morning flooded this hall through a spacious window hung with curtains of deep green velour, and brought out the gold of early wattle in the lovely old vase on the circular mahogany table. A bowl of stylosa in the forefront (of the picture) stands on a small table of walnut, and soft tapestries upholster the easy chairs and sofa. Hanging on the walls of this hall, are some very interesting oil paintings of war scenes. Two of these are by the famous artist, W. L. Wylie. One depicts the Ypres Salient in 1916, seen from the air, as it will never be seen again, before it became pitted with the ravages of war. Another represents the battlefield of Villers-Bretonneux in 1918 at the same time when the Australian troops were checking the advance on Amiens. On another wall hangs a lovely water-colour, the work of a young subaltern (an officer in the British army below the rank of captain, especially a second lieutenant) named Gilbert Halliday, in Major Currie’s brigade, and later a well known artist. The pictures in the centre of the page shows two corners of the lovely drawing room, with its vivid green carpet and curtains of old moire damask in a dun green that belong to the early furnishing of the house. Over the Adam fireplace hangs a Chippendale gilt framed mirror, a replica of which hangs on another wall of the room. Set in the far corner is a Chippendale cabinet with a lovely collection of Stafford china. Softly coloured tapestries and chintzes have been chosen to harmonise with the character of the room. Sliding doors divide the two ends of the room, and on one side set in the walls around an alcove leading to a tiny writing room is a set of bookshelves, which form a lovely pattern of colour against the cream walls. A reflection of these shelves may be seen in the tall mirror. Set in the window of the alcove of the second picture and forming a pedestal for a lovely bowl of wattle, is the little old organ, with its golden pipes, from the convict church at Port Arthur. Another Chippendale cabinet serves as an escritoire and receptacle for treasures from the Orient, and a priceless Persian carpet is on the floor. The dining room is carpeted in old rose and dark rose coloured wallpaper, repeats the pattern in the shaded rose coloured curtain of moire damask, which belongs to the same period as the drawing room curtains. Pale rose brocade was chosen by Mrs Currie, for upholstering the chairs set around a magnificent mahogany table, which was part of the original furnishings of the Victoria Barracks. Paintings of famous racehorses hang on the walls, and the marvellous rose lacquer screen in the background is a rare specimen of an almost forgotten Japanese art. One of the most rare pieces in the house is in the dining room, an early Empire sideboard in mahogany. Experts say it is the work of either Sheraton or Thomas Hope, who bids fan to become as famous as Sheraton and Chippendale. The old iron-gate on the right opens into a lovely, peaceful old walled garden. Against the stonewalls, also hewn out of Ercildoune Hill, fig and other orchard trees spread their gnarled branches and the garden is divided into three by perfectly clipped cypress hedges. Everywhere as one wanders through the garden there is the sound of running water from the little lakes and ponds, which are all over the property fed from the lakes in the hills. Set in the centre of a giant lawn is an archaeological treasure, an old marble well, the origin of which goes back beyond Christianity. It was dug out of excavations in Palestine, by a party, which included members of the Wilson family, and because they had been working on consecrated ground, which was against the law, they were fined £63,000

Romance of a Stone. From the Tower Where Rimer Lived. Of connection between the historic Homestead of “Ercildoune,” where the Japanese good-will ambassador, Mr. Debuchi, will be the guest of Major and Mrs. Currie during the week end, and the quaint thirteenth century poet popularly known as Thomas the Rimer, who wandered in the borderland of Scotland compiling his verses and indulging an eerie gif of second sight, there at first glance seems to be very little. But Cr. Angela Booth established a very interesting link in the course of an address to members of the Victoria Centenary Club yesterday afternoon. “Thomas the Rimer” is to a certain extent lost in a medieval mist, but many of his sayings have been handed down to posterity, and it is recognized as historical fact that during part of his lifetime he inhabited a border tower named Ercildoune. A granite stone from this tower has found its way into an entrance porch of the other Ercildoune, which was established nearly a century ago no – in 1837 – near Ballarat by a party of pioneers on the look out for good sheep country, and a replica of one of the border towers is connected with the house itself by massive ivy-clad stone masonry. A fact, which is not at all surprising, when one remembers that the Homestead was built by the Livingstone Learmonths, who are direct descendants of Thomas the Rimer. Cr. Booth recounted innumerable fascinating incidents connected with the history of the “modern Ercildoune.” To the left of the Homestead, for instance, is the hill on which Gowrie, the famous Australian bushranger, evaded the police before being finally sighted and shot. His skull, with a clean round bullet hole in the centre of the forehead and the base of the cerebrum, is locked away in a cabinet drawer, and to see it is to appreciate the bushranger’s low mentality. Then in the garden at “Ercildoune” is a well brought out from Palestine, and about 2000 years old, and one approaches the Homestead along a drive a mile and half in length, lined with giant pines and chestnut trees (*they are actually deodars) also brought from across the sea. Cr. Booth spoke of the hatcheries, which were the contribution of the second owner, Sir Samuel Wilson, to Ercildoune. He was particularly interested in the acclimatization of fish, and had built ponds where they were still kept.

Queensland Country Life, 26 November 1936
The Effect of In-breeding. Injurious or Otherwise? Continuing his lectures on wool growing and merino breeding before the Queensland National Association 50 years ago, Mr. J. S. Hermann Schmidt said that generally speaking it must be supposed “that every peculiarity was more or less liable to be inherited; the qualities of the body and of the mind, such as shape, size, and constitutional tendencies, disposition to diseases, and other deficiencies, temperament, virtues, vices, and habits. Since, however, the domestic animals possessed the power of transferring their individuality in different degrees, it was often found that some did not transfer their own individualities, but allowed the qualities of their ancestors to reappear in their offspring. This phenomenon was called reversion. Reversion generally meant the reappearance of the bad qualities of some inferior ancestors. Some animals possessed a greater degree of inheriting power than others, but wherever it was possible to trace back to the qualities of ancestors, it was found that the ancestors of such animals were in possession of those qualities in a higher degree of perfection and constancy of blood. The degree of the power of inheritance depended upon the frequency of certain qualities in many generations backward, and the closer the animals were related, the higher would be their inheriting influence on their offspring. If father and mother had an equal degree of inheriting power, they would have an equal influence on their offspring. After citing instances, human and animal, where in-breeding had no ill effects, Mr. Schmidt said: “The question whether in-and-in breeding has any unconditionally injurious effect upon the offspring is a purely physiological one, and can only be decided through a series of experiments instituted for the distinct purpose of find it out.” Amongst instances of in-breeding – insofar, as, he says: “None of the proprietors of these flocks would ever dream of jeopardizing their peculiar character through fresh blood” – Mr. Schmidt quoted the Australian flocks of “Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, Currie and Shaw in Victoria; Kermode, Tasmania; and the Mudgee sheep.” None of these flocks suffered harm from the process, nor did other flocks in Saxony and elsewhere, which the lecturer cited. In Silesia, however, what he describes as “two excellent flocks, brought to the highest possible standard of fineness, evenness, and closeness by means of in–and-in breeding,” were, he tells us, utterly ruined through a peculiar infection of the spine called Traber disease, which was not infectious, “but fatally inheritant.” Ewes and rams lost the use of their hindquarters, and the rams were unfit for work when past three years old. These instances, however, furnished no conclusive evidence that in-and-in breeding was injurious to the posterity, because the true nature of the Traber disease was not fully understood, the owners of flocks so affected having kept the matters as secret as possible. It was quite possible therefore that what appeared to be an inherent disease might be occasioned through many other things; for instance, as the late Dr. Spinola and many others suggested, a reflex action emanating from the brain, and occasioned through a hydatid. Summarising, Mr. Schmidt said that there was at present no evidence that in-and-in breeding would deteriorate the constitution of the domestic animals.

The Midland Country Is Tasmanian Home of the Flockmaster. Development of Merino. Tasmania’s original sheep came from New South Wales, but with the growing importation of Saxony sheep of good blood the Merino in Tasmania developed along definite lines. The interchange of blood between the mainland and the island greatly benefited the Australian Merino breed. Sheep were first imported to Tasmania in 1803, when settlers were induced to transfer from Norfolk Island with their stock, including Bengal and Cape sheep. Three years later the first Merinoes arrived, their introduction being attributed to the enthusiasm of Captain Paterson, Lieutenant-Governor of the northern part of the island, who played a leading part in the new venture. From Captain MacArthrur he ordered 300 sheep of Merino extraction, with a view to improving the mixed breeds then on the island. Although not pure Merinoes, MacArthur’s sheep had a definite Merino strain. Of the 300 ordered 100 died during the passage to Launceston; the remainder at £5 per head, plus a grant of 4,368 acres at 7s 6d an acre, brought the purchase price of £9 a head.

Mutton or Wool. At the Hobart end the authorities were concentrating more on production for mutton owing to shortage of food, but by 1819 the Merino blood had spread through the flocks, and the improved staple brought higher prices on the London market, which had been utilized first in 1816, when 2s 6d a lb. was paid for wool. Governor Sorell distributed 181 pure Merino rams among the most capable settlers in 1820, and in 1825 the industry gained further impetus from the formation of the Van Diemen’s Land Co. The organization landed in 1827, 28 rams and 266 ewes of 310 Saxony Merinoes purchased in Germany, and in 1828, 28 rams and 668 ewes with lambs from a well-known flock in the same country. Following these importations came the purchase of 24 rams and 146 ewes from George III’s Spanish Merino flock, and by 1830 the V.D.L. Co. had 6,129 sheep, which were exceptionally well bred. A great deal of their land being unsuitable for Merinoes, however, they imported English long wools. About this time came the exodus to Port Phillip. Many settlers took their flocks to the mainland, amongst them being the Hentys, with their pure bred Merinoes. This movement relieved the congestion of the cleared pastures of the island, a congestion, which had become very serious. Immediately the industry showed increased prosperity from the lightened demand on the pastures. A study of the wool returns of Tasmania shows a remarkable growth in 1827, exports of wool totalled 192,075lb.; by 1836 the quantity exported had increased to 1,986,786lb. The industry prospered steadily until the gold rush period, 1851-53. In 1844 the quantity exported was 4,421,802lb. The flight of the men to the diggings was a decided setback, but eventually conditions righted themselves. The pure bred Merino for very many years was bred up and developed in Tasmania entirely independently of the industry on the mainland. In fact, the Australian Merino, as evolved in Tasmania, had become a definite type before the exchange of blood began to take place. The pure flocks of the island drew their foundation sheep from the same sources, as did New South Wales from Germany and England.

Source of Pure Flocks. And the bulk of the sheep were Saxonies from the same studs. This was the most beneficial to the industry as a whole, for although of the same blood, the sheep developed differently because of the difference in climate and fodder. In representatives of both lines of breeding, were fine point, not altogether common to both. The result was that when the time came for an interchange of blood in both the island Merino and the mainland types, the sheep and wool faults could be eradicated more rapidly and easily, both having arrived at a uniform stage of development. Though Tasmania did not begin her sheep history until a little later than New South Wales, it is interesting to note that she began the building up of the pure bred Merino studs at practically the same date. The beginning in New South Wales was really the sale of the Waterhouse flock in 1810 to Cox. In Cox of Clarendon we find that one of the earliest – if not the first – to go in for pure bred Merinoes was James Cox of Clarendon, a son of William Cox of New South Wales, who founded his stud in 1812. This first stud flock grew to be very famous and to have a huge influence upon the industry in the island, supplying the foundation blood, which were to be world famous at a later date. In the foundation of this Clarendon flock there is a very interesting connection with New South Wales, for Cox obtained his original sheep, one ram and seven ewes, from MacArthur of Camden. They were not bred in New South Wales, but were part of an importation made by MacArthur from Electoral stud at Hamburg. Tasmania appears to have been more fortunate than New South Wales, in that in the early days of the industry, there more breeders went in for importing pure blood, so that by about 1840, there were actually more pure bred Merino flocks of the best imported blood than in the older colony. There again aparently was the hand of Providence, for Tasmania, from 1836 on was to send some of the best of its flocks to found the industry in the new colony of Victoria, when island and mainland bloods were to be fused to create one more distinct branch of the family tree of the Australian Merino. The ultimate result was a constant interchange and mingling of the blood of the three branches for the benefit of the whole.

The Spanish Strain. It has been an outstanding characteristic of the Spanish Merino from which all other Merino sheep are descended to develop upon certain definite lines according to the climatic conditions and type of food available. In considering the revolution of the Australian branch to its present stage of perfection it would seem that the rapid strides made have been because (a) Climate and food conditions here have been more suitable than in any other home the much travelled Merino has found (b) The blood of its foundation stock was drawn from the well-developed parent flocks of the Old World (c) The size of the continent and the different in natural conditions between Tasmania and the mainland allowed the main stems and then a third arising out of the first two to be developed almost simultaneously. In order to follow the later developments of the Merino in Victoria, it would now be as well to review the early pioneers of the pure breed of Merinoes in Tasmania. James Cox of Clarendon has been already mentioned. The Clarendon flock was kept pure and steadily improved by judicious breeding, classing, and importations. The next addition was a ram imported by Gillies from the flock of the Elector of Hanover. This was described as a sheep of splendid quality. He was followed by a ram imported from Saxony by Newton and Sons of Symmons Plains, who described him as being remarkable for fineness and brightness of colour. Another excellent ram was obtained from Leake of Ashby who had a pure Saxony flock. Cox gave £100 for his sheep in the early twenties. This purchase was a departure from his policy of importing when fresh blood was required. The Clarendon sheep became famous for symmetry as well as for the quality and lustre of the wool. During the 60 years after its foundation, the main flocks of the island drew blood from it.

A. Leake of Ashby. The flock of A. Leake of Ashby was one of the earliest and best of the pure flocks. Founded by A. Leake in 1819 the original importations were from the stud of the Elector of Saxony – one of the very foremost flocks in Germany. These importations were worthy representatives, the wool showing density, evenness, splendid quality and elasticity. The standard, kept up for many years, was eventually ruined by injudicious experiments with outside blood in order to get a longer staple. Leake imported two rams from the Steiger flock. One of these was the famous “No. 203.” He was by the “Battersea” ram, so called because he was exhibited there in 1862. “Battersea” was afterwards sold to Lloyd of New South Wales for £400. He was by “President” – considered to be the best ram in Europe. No. 203 was generally adjudged a wonderful sheep. His wool was lustrous, fine all over and entirely free from kemp. His frame was not so good. It is thought that the only reason why Steiger let him go, for he was one of twelve reserved for use in his own stud. This was the ram that afterwards went first to G. Parramore of Wetmore and Beaufront, and then to David Taylor of St. Johnstone. It is impossible to estimate the great influence that he had in Tasmania. His progeny was splendid; one ram by him cut 16lb. as a six-tooth. For uniformity and quality, Leake considered him the best sheep bred in Tasmania.

W. Archer, of Brickendon. The Brickendon flock was founded in 1824 with 30 pure Merinoes imported from England and two rams. These ewes were very densely woolled and fine in quality, but very short stapled – only about an inch in length. Archer continued breeding with this blood until 1854, when he bought some of J. Youl’s best ewes. This blood nicked splendidly and from its introduction, the length of staple steadily increased without losing in density and quality.

R. Willis, of Wanstead. Willis founded the stud at Wanstead Park in 1824 with 50 selected ewes and three rams chosen by himself from the flock of George III, at Kew, England. For 10 years the flock was bred in and up with no outside introductions; in 1834, rams were obtained from the famous Furlonge stud, which was founded on the best blood in Saxony. These rams were good sheep, but smaller in frame, and the wool was shorter in staple than the Wanstead stock, but with all the density and beauty that chacterised the sheep of Saxony. In 11837 the bulk of the Wanstead Park stud went to Victoria, where it became famous at Koolamurt.

Wetmore and Beaufront. This famous flock was founded in 1825 by G. Parramore, with three ewes and a ram, imported from the stud of the Elector of Saxony by Gillis and Horney in 1823. In 1829 a ram imported from Saxony by Stephens was added to the flock, and also two ewes that were brought out by Mrs. Furlonge. In 1833 and 1837 pure Saxony sheep were obtained from the Van Diemen’s Land Co., and in 1838 again from the Furlonges. In 1869 the famous Steiger Ram No. 203 was used; he was sold as an old sheep to David Taylor. The next step was the introduction of the Mona Vale ram, Sir Robert, used in 1871-75. Sir Robert was by a Steiger ram from a Mona Vale ewe. He sired Wool King, a ram that was sold to Dowling and Son, of Jellalabad (Victoria), for £300 and a half the first year’s progeny from picked ewes. Sir Robert’s influence was excellent, the flock gaining particularly in length of staple and in the quality of the wool. The Parramore flock was divided in 1876, T. Parramore taking Beaufront, and G. Parramore, Wetmore. The Parramore blood has gone all over Australia, having a great influence on the development of the Australian Merino. The great Belle Vue stud was founded with this blood. The famous Sir Thomas, which was bred there, was descended from a Parramore ram. In 1878 the wool averaged 3s 8d all around. In 1877 the flock averaged about 7lb. in the grease. In 1825 George Hobler imported two pure Merinoes from Germany. Then in the following year, the Wedge brothers imported ewes and rams from England. They bred these up for 10 years, when the bulk of the flock was taken to Victoria. The Wedge sheep were exceptionally good, and had a good influence. The Carngham (Victoria) flock was founded on this blood.

W. Kermode of Mona Vale. The stud at Mona Vale was founded in 1829 with ewes and rams imported from Saxony by the Van Diemen’s Land Company. By 1837 the stud had grown to 100 ewes; no other blood but imported rams was introduced up to the sale of the stud in 1872. In the early fifties, Steiger rams were successfully introduced, one costing £150. By 1855 the flock numbered some 2000 ewes of excellent quality, the wool being fine, dense, and long in staple. The policy of constantly importing fresh Saxony blood was carried on with great success. One Steiger ram bought in Melbourne in 1857 for £180 averaged 20lb. of wool for years. In 1873 an Ercildoune (Victoria) was introduced. This sheep was much akin to the Mona Vale Flock, for in 1862, Learmonth of Ercildoune got 100 ewes from Mona Vale through Thomas Shaw, and it was from these ewes that this ram was descended. In 1876 Kermode got a ram from D. Taylor, of St. Johnstone, which was descended from a Mona Vale ewe. The flock had a great influence not only in Tasmania, but throughout Australia. The sheep were excellent in constitution and most adaptable. All three Kermodes – the founder and the two who carried on after him – were great sheepmen. From 1856-76 the wool averaged 2s 7 3/4d per lb. The prizes taken in Australian make a formidable list. Mona Vale did good work for the industry. As far back as 1877 it evolved a sheep that was a heavy cutter. The rams averaged 11lb. greasy, and the wool was fine, of splendid quality, dense and long stapled.

Founding of Delightful Inland Centre. “Roaring, Romantic Gold DIGGING,” The Glamor of the Past. By Nathan F. Spielvogel, President, Ballarat Historical Society. Early in 1837 the brothers Thomas and Somerville Livingstone Learmonth drove 3000 sheep and took up land on either side of the Barwon River. The Port Phillip Settlement was very young. Each young sheep farmer took his flock three miles further into the bush than the last settler. Then he “squatted” down. Hence the term “squatter” once used sneeringly, but later considered to denote one of Australia’s aristocracy. From their by the Barwon, the Learmonths could see a lone peak standing out against the skyline away to the north-east. In August 1837, Thomas Livingstone Learmonth organized a party of young squatters to go out and explore the country about this mountain. This party consisted of George Russell, David Fisher, Henry Anderson, Captain Hutton, Dr. Thomson and Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, all young Scotsmen and belonging to what the historians term the Glasgow invasion. They wisely took with them a young Government surveyor, named D’Arcy, or Darcy, I am not sure which. They carried an ample supply of goods and their tent in a cart drawn by Learmonth’s horse. With them they had one of the Barwon tribe of aborigines to interpret should they meet with any local tribes. For two days the party ploughed their way through swampy country. On the afternoon of the second day they reached the foot of the mountain, and there made a camp. Their black guide told them the mountain was Bonan Yowang, meaning “a man lying down with his knee up.” Looking at the mountain we can see a resemblance to a man in this posture. Next morning the party scrambled to the top of the mountain and there, on that bleak August morning in 1837, they looked down on the hills and valleys, of what is now the city of Ballarat. I wish I could tell you that they raised the Union Jack and took possession of the country in the name of Queen Victoria. But I must stick to the truth. The only thing these young Scotsmen were interested in was if the land in front of them would be good sheep land. In a letter, written by Thomas. L. Learmonth in 1853, I read that they were very disappointed with the thickly timbered and inferior appearance of the landscape before them. Perhaps some of them were disappointed, but Learmonth left the party and returned to the Barwon and began making preparations to bring his sheep up to the newly found pastures. The rest of the party went on further till they came to a large lake of brackish water, which their black guide told them was called “Burrumbeet,” meaning “muddy water.” The party finally decided that this district was too far away from Geelong to be worth taking up, so all of them returned to Geelong. One of them, Henry Anderson, told about the new country to a tall, eighteen-year old Scotsman, William Cross Yuille, who had a small station at Point Henry. The two determined to steal a march on Learmonth, and get there before him. So, while the Learmonths were leisurely preparing to move, these two quickly and quietly slipped away with their sheep by way of Mount Mercer. When the Learmonths arrived at the River Leigh they were disagreeably surprised to find Yuille and Anderson in occupation. There was a rather bitter altercation. The Learmonths claimed the land, but the two young Scots said, “First come, first served.” The trouble was amicably settled. There was plenty of land for everybody. The agreement was that the Learmonths should go three miles in one direction, Yuille and Anderson three miles in the other. This plan brought the Learmonths to the foot of Mount Bonan Yowang, soon shortened to Buninyong, and the other party to the banks of a large, reedy swamp, which they called Black Swamp, afterwards called Yuille’s Swamp, and to-day the beautiful Lake Wendouree. In 1933 the Ballarat Historical Society erected a monolith on the site where Yuille and Anderson made their first camp, near the shores of the lake, and during the forthcoming centenary celebrations and a pilgrimage will be made to this spot.
Picture of Thomas Learmonth under which the writer has stated that he (Thomas) was the first white man to see Ballarat, March, 1837.

Old-established Sheep Studs. From the time the land in the environment of Ballarat was taken up as squatting stations in the late thirty’s of last century, the district has been noted for its sheep. The suitability of the pastures for growing the finest merino wool in the world was realized, and pioneer pastoralists set about improving their stock. Merino studs reinforced by the introduction of Tasmanian sheep, were developed, and some are in the forefront to-day. Perhaps the most famous was that of Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, formed in 1848 at Ercildoune, a beautiful property near Ballarat now owned by Sir Alan Currie. The originals were selected by, Mr. William Forlonge, from some of the most famous studs in Germany, and principally from the stud of the Elector of Saxony. Mr. Forlonge brought these sheep to Tasmania in 1829, and they were kept on the island for several years. He subsequently transferred his sheep to Victoria, where he found difficulty in getting suitable pasture for them; consequently he disposed of his flock to Sir William Mitchell in 1846. They were depastured at Barfold, in the Kyneton district, but the country was too cold and wet, and they did not thrive. Messrs. Learmonth, being anxious to secure a stud of merinoes of undoubted pedigree, purchased the sheep from Sir William Mitchell and the flock was removed to Ercildoune. Another very old established merino stud in the Ballarat district is Carngham, which was founded in 1826 on Tasmanian purchases. In 1853 Mr. J. Russell became sole proprietor of Carngham, and the property has remained in the possession of the Russell family ever since. The Trawalla stud, which was founded in 1853 on sheep of pure Saxon blood, is one of the oldest merino studs in the vicinity of Ballarat. In 1887, when the property was acquired by Rear-Admiral Bridges… (*He married Miss Annie Wilson in 1880, daughter of John Wilson of Woodlands, who was a niece of Sir Samuel Wilson.)…rams from Tasmania were introduced, and they improved the density and weight of wool without reducing the length of staple. The estate is now in the proprietorship of Engineer-Commander H. P. Mackenzie. It is interesting to note that Carngham and Trawalla were amongst the exhibitors at the last Ballarat Sheep Show, and both were prominent prizewinners. Other studs have come into being and they have played an important part in improving the quality of the merino sheep and wool of Australia, but particularly the incomparable fine wools of the Western district of Victoria, which are the best of their type. The finest display of fine wool merinoes in Australia (which is tantamount to saying the world) is to be seen at the Ballarat Sheep Show, where representatives of leading studs meet in competition. The spectacle of sheep of the highest class assembled on the judging floor is an inspiring sight, and proves the degree of perfection that has been arrived at in the breeding of fine-wool merinoes.

Excerpt – Clydesdales – “Since the dawn of land settlement, Ballarat farmers have favoured a good class of draught horse. The “old hands” took pride in their teams, which were turned out in immaculate condition for the ploughing matches, formerly held at district centres. To score a prize was an indication that the work was well executed and finished, and the winning of a championship stamped the victor with the 18-carat hall mark. Rivarly was keen between champions, and the champion of champions was a man envied by his fellows. Success in these contests depended as much on the stauchness and activity of the units of the teams, as on the prowess of the ploughman. The value of good farm horses was thus early appreciated, and as years have gone by this self-evident fact has not been lost sight of, and in no part of the Commonwealth are better to be found….”

To the Editor of ‘THE AUSTRALASIAN.” Sir, Of nonagenarian interest in the breeding of sheep, cattle, and horses, some 74 years of which have been spent in the pastoral and agricultural industries of Australia, I desire to express my appreciation of the articles lately appearing in your columns from the pen of “Maranoa,” particularly of his research into the ancient history of the merino. The first human covering we read of was fashioned from fig tree leaves, and next a more substantial covering from the skins of beasts, and as knowledge increased and skill in weaving dawned upon humanity, the transition from skins to the woven hair of shaggy animals such as goats, sheep, and camels produced a more comfortable variety of covering. Naturally, the softer hair of the sheep would soon gain popularity, and coming later into competition with the silken fabrics of ancient China, sheep owners would evolve a race of primitive Peppins and selection for better quality and deeper fleeces would begin and continue down the centuries together with other civilized improvements. Thus it happened that when the forceful Macarthur opened his eyes to the destiny of our Australian pastures we were able to draw from the sheepfolds of France and Germany, and the later established sheepfolds of America, a classic foundation stock of merinoes of centuries of breeding, which we have multiplied, but, with all our modern skill, not marvelously improved according to the writer’s memory of “Emperor.” Luckily our first importations were introduced to the most congenial of our Australian pastures, such as Tasmania, Camden, Mudgee, and western Victoria, and textile manufacturers overseas quickly realised the value and importance of our Australian production.

The first disposition of flock owners was to preserve and if possible improve on its silky character, and from far back associations the writer believes that the elder Shaw, with his sons, Thomas and Jonathan, exercised the greatest influence in raising the standard of quality for which so many Victorian stations became notable, and Ercildoune famous. With the increase of the early flocks the expansion of area became desirable both to Victorian and New South Wales flock owners, for which Riverina offered an outlet, if perhaps of less favourable climate and terrain to that of earlier occupation, and it is to the credit of Jonathan Shaw, as a sheep classer, that he modified the inherited predilection for quality when he came to deal with flocks in Riverina where shadeless plains and red dust perished half the staple of anything approaching the superfine, reducing it to mere moil in the hands of the manufacturer. The earliest migration into Riverina came from the premier State by way of Goulburn and Yass, reaching the Murrumbidgee in the early fifties or thereabouts, and later Victorian-bred flocks confronted them in that vicinity. And then, as observed by “Maranoa,” there was conflict of judgment for a time as to which were the better flocks, and from early memory of the migrants the strains from Mudgee and Havilah were denser in covering, and consequently more resistant to adverse conditions in inland pastures. Wagga, then not much more than a funny name on the map, staged the first sheep show in Riverina in 1865, but it is amazing how little is on record of these early incidents or at least the difficulty of tracing them. The writer passed through Wagga that same year, but it would have been ridiculous presumption on his part to assume that in this distant year of our Lord he would seek to know the prize- winners and judges of that day. Hay and Jerilderie followed in 1871, while Deniliquin, destined to become more important than either, lingered until some years later. At the Hay Show, Emperor was easily champion, and what merit the Illillawa champion ewe possessed came from Havilah and not from Victoria. She had density with unusual length and beauty of character to the very tip, so that a devotee to the fine-wool cult of the Shaws declared her the best he had ever handled. By this time Victoria had reached its zenith in quality, and the inflated ram prices were an hysterical result, because few sheep-breeders had then realized that the cast ewes and flock rams of that cult made a sorry start for the pioneers of western Queensland, and accounted later for the scandalous shearing tallies of that period, when they were joyfully reported by the shearers as running into hundreds a man a day, and applauded by the uninitiated ignorant of the cause and its results. Looking back again through the arches of the years, it appears to the writer that these excited bids occurring spasmodically in stock husbandry are more often a fetish to spectacular advertisement than a progressive step in classic improvement. Having thus made a fragmentary review of the fine-wool era, we would later, with your kind permission, follow “Maranoa” into the period of the medium and the strong associated with the ringing slogan, “Peppin blood.”
Yours, &c., Ron Grant, Leeton (N.S.W.)

Ercildoune, of Long Story, has been the Home of Progress, Romance, and Royalty. By R. W. E. Wilmot. Ercildoune, one of the most famous pastoral properties in Victoria, has, in its history of 102 years, been held by only three owners. It was founded by Thomas, David (?) and Somerville Livingston Learmonth in 1838. It was sold to the late Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872, and passed into the hands of Sir Alan Currie in 1920. The name Ercildoune is pure Scottish. It reeks of the heather. It recalls Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. It harks back to the Border Wars. It is a village in the heart of Scott’s country at the foot of the Eildon hills in Berwickshire, on the banks of the Leader River, one of the tributaries of the Tweed. It dates back to the 13th century. On the map of Scotland you will find its other name – Earlston – and if you delve still further into its history you will find the Gaelic Arciol-Dun (“the look-out hill”). Not far away are Ettrick, Eildon, and Gala, there names perpetuated in Victoria by the Currie family at Lismore.

Ettrick was the home of the late Mr. Sibbald Currie. Eildon was where the late Brigadier Street and his wife, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Currie, lived, and just beyond is Gala, the original home of Mr. Edwin Currie. There is a further link between Ercildoune and Gala, for the Ercildoune flock is of Gala origin.

“Thomas the Rhymer”
Thomas of Ercildoune, commonly known as “Thomas the Rhymer,” a poet and prophet of Scotland, of the 13th century, was an ancestor of the Livingston Learmonth family. The famous Eildon Tree, under whose shadows “The Rhymer” delivered his prophecies, does not exist; but the spot where it stood is marked by “The Eildon Tree” stone. When the Learmonth brothers built their Homestead near Lake Burrumbeet they chose a design of typical Scottish architecture, with a tower, a facsimile of the Border towers of Scotland. They built into the walls of the house a stone they had taken from the Rhymer’s tower……

The house at Ercildoune, begun in 1838 and finished in 1854, is of two stories, built of granite quarried on the property. It has retained its erst-while dignity. In all the improvements that have been necessary to keep it up to date it has never lost its original character. While waiting for his Homestead to be built Mr. Learmonth lived in a two-story building of two rooms composed of hand-made bricks. On the ground floor was the kitchen and living room. Upstairs was a bedroom, the walls being of slabs of blackwood. This building is still standing, and the upstairs room is used as a spare bedroom. It has been most carefully preserved, for Sir Alan Currie has great reverence for age and for tradition.

Amongst Earliest Settlers. The Learmonths were among the earliest settlers to arrive in Victoria in 1837 from Tasmania. They brought with them 2,000 sheep, and pitched their tents some 20 miles from Geelong. New arrivals came who did not dare to go more than 25 miles inland because they feared the blacks, and had no knowledge of what was beyond, but gradually the more adventurous decided to explore. They found the settlement becoming too crowded. In the spring of 1837 the Learmonths struck out for the north-west, and reached Mt. Buninyong, but the prospect was not alluring, and they returned to Geelong. Nearly a year later they made another exploration, and this time they reached the northern shore of Lake Burrumbeet. They looked out over that beautiful stretch of open country, saw that it was good, and took it up. The Learmonth brothers were lovers of the beautiful. In addition to the house, they established a garden, which covered 13 acres. They brought from Scotland the trees for the gardens – the oaks, elms, poplars, chestnuts, and planes. All were in pots, and many of these are still standing, over 100ft. high. They laid down a beautiful winding road of approach for a mile and a half flanked with Mediterranean pines and deodars. The year 1872 was disastrous, a law action had failed, the country was ravaged by drought, and when the station was raided by an infamous bushranger named Gowrie the Learmonths had had enough. The bushranger, who had made a fortified cave on the Ercildoune Hill, made repeated raids on the surrounding country, and when he stuck up the Homestead, he got many hundreds of sovereigns.

Return to England. Thomas Learmonth escaped and galloped to Mt. Mitchell to warn the Robertsons. They had 1,500 sovereigns, which they hid in a sack of flour, and the bushranger was foiled. Shortly after Gowrie was shot dead by a police constable on Ercildoune Hill, and his skull is still preserved at the station. The Learmonths sold the property to Sir Samuel Wilson and returned to England. Sir Samuel Wilson took charge in 1872, and made great improvements. He laid out a walled garden of about an acre, subdivided by Cyprus hedges and surrounded by a 10ft. wall. It is a delightfully peaceful spot. Among its treasures is a marble Wellhead more than 2,000 years ago in Palestine. Soon after Sir Samuel Wilson bought the property the drought broke, bountiful seasons followed, and in a few years Sir Samuel Wilson had paid off all the liabilities and was a very rich man. He was keenly interested in the acclimatization of fish. He imported ova from Scotland and established a hatcher for trout, which is still distributing thousands of young trout to stock streams all over Australia.

Gift to University. Sir Samuel Wilson, in addition to developing his flocks, entered the political arena and became a member of the Legislative Assembly for the Wimmera. He gave freely to various charities, and gave the University £30,000 towards the cost of the Wilson Hall, named in his honour. He was knighted in 1875. The original Ercildoune run taken up by the Messrs. Learmonth embraced 400 square miles. The boundary was marked by a plough furrow, which ran from Mt. Buninyong to Lake Burrumbeet on to the Beaufort Ranges thence to Mt. Mitchell, and back to the point of commencement. This vast demesne was held under lease from the Crown, but when it became freehold the area was reduced to 33,000 acres, the balance reverting to the Crown or being sold for closer settlement. That was the extent of the property when Sir Samuel Wilson purchased it. Gradually the area diminished, until the Ercildoune purchased by Sir Alan Currie was only 12,000 acres. Subsequently he sold 5,000 acres to the Government for closer settlement, and the area became what it is today – 7,000 acres.

German Sheep. The original flock of Messrs. Learmonth sprang from sheep imported from Tasmania, the offspring of a flock purchased by Mrs. Furlong in Germany. She drove her sheep across Europe, shipped them to England, and thence to Tasmania, whence they were transshipped to Victoria. During Sir Samuel Wilson’s time the sheep depasturing on Ercildoune were from the Mt. Bute flock. When Sir Alan Currie took over the property he brought with him from Mt. Elephant his share of the Gala flock, and this is intact today. About 15 years ago Sir Alan Currie acquired from Mr. Thomas Shaw the Woori-Wyrite flock, the originators of which came from the stud of King George III at Hampton Court on the Thames. This flock has been kept intact, and when the Duke of Gloucester visited Ercildoune in 1834 he helped to shear half a dozen sheep. The wool was sent to Geelong, and before the Duke left Victoria he was presented with a scarf made there-from.

Chain of Lakes. Just in front of the Ercildoune Homestead is an ornamental lake, the last of five, the first being 200ft. above the house. The springs, which supply this chain of lakes, provide power and irrigation. Ercildoune has always been famous for its fine wool.

Ercildoune still retains its reputation. Much of the country is hilly and broken, but it has been sown don in ryegrass, and its production has been increased. Sir Alan Currie takes a personal interest in woolgrowing and in the fish hatchery. For many years he also had a bloodstock stud but this was dispersed. He maintains his interest in horses, however, and is chairman of the Victoria Racing Club. He served in the last war with distinction, being awarded the Military Cross “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.” When the war was over he returned to Victoria, and is still serving his country as a member of the Legislative Council.

The Lord of Flemington. Excerpts – Meanchile, J. L. Currie had purchased from the late Sir Samuel Wilson, the splendid pastoral estate “Ercildoune,” on the rich, rolling downs at the head of Lake Burrumbeet, in the Ballarat district. So much could be written of “Ercildoune.” Rightly has it been styled Australia’s most beautiful estate… It is interesting to note that, although Allan Currie may never have intended to become a pastoralist, the “Ercildoune” clip has been admitted by experts to be the finest out of Australia..

Cattle History. Herefords Spread Over the Earth. By R.V.B. Having developed their cattle to a high standard, eclipsing even the improved Shorthorn in some respects, the Hereford breeders of England soon established a lucrative export trade in pedigreed stock. A few of the breed were sent out to North America, before 1830, but these were of doubtful breeding lines. The Hereford invasion of America commenced in 1840, when several consignments of purebreds were sent to the U.S.A. Then followed more or less regular shipments, and by the late 70’s there were more Herefords in the U.S.A. and Canada than in Britain. Australian pastoralists, however, were among the first to develop the Hereford breed in a big way outside England. The Cressy Company, of Van Diemen’s Land, was the principal pioneer of the breed in the Australian colonies. Indeed, this company was the first to bring Herefords to the Southern Hemisphere. Ten years before the Batman landing (1835) at the site of Melbourne, the Cressy Company was importing Herefords and other stock that were destined to lay the foundations of many of the renowned stud hers and flocks of Australia. The Cressy pioneer cattle of this breed were a bull named Billy and three cows, Matchless, Beauty, and another unnamed. Many importations were made subsequently by the company, which, in turn, supplied stud cattle bred in Tasmania to most of the studs that were founded on the mainland during the squatting period “before the gold.” The principal pioneer herd of Port Phillip was that established at Ercildoune by the Livingstone Learmonths. Cressy Company cattle acquired in 1839 provided the foundation of this herd, but in later years, high-grade animals were imported direct from England to Ercildoune, which became quite a Mecca for Hereford fanciers, as it was also for merino sheep-breeders. Hobbler, Cox, Gibson, Bryant, Robertson, Williams, Taylor, Rouse, Reynolds, Loder, Prica, Angas, Beattie, Nolan, Barnes, Smith, White, Dobie, Miles, and Wyndham are other names of Australian pastoralists who built up the reputation of the Hereford in the early colonial days. Others were in the picture, and as time went on many more came into prominence, but I think the names that have been given were leading Hereford men of their times in Australia, and the Cressy Company deserves a niche at the top on the record board of Australian Hereford renown. The spread of the Herefords to New Zealand was not commenced till 1875, when a bull named Duke of Edinburgh, bred by Queen Victoria, and Princess Helena, also bred at the Royal Stud, were imported by the Maclean Brothers, of Auckland. Nor had many Herefords found their way to South America till the late 70’s or early 80’s. It was the high praise won by the breed in Australia and the United States, that first aroused the interest of the South American cattlemen, but once the breed became known to the South Americans, it came more and more into demand, and there has since been a regular export of the best of their cattle from Britain for stud purposes to the estancias of the Argentine and other parts of South America. Herefords are popular in South Africa, where some first-class studs are established. The breed has a sound footing in Jamaica, East Africa, in parts of the East, in Russia, and is perhaps the most widely distributed of any type of cattle in the world. It has “furnished the earth.”

For Sale – A Link with Spacious Days. Reminder!!! Ercildoune Estate – Magnificent Western District Property – Friday Next – (Newspaper Advert.). The world is full of reminders these days. And in the local scene none can give them better than the ghosts which haunt the long corridors of “Ercildoune,” watched by the leering skull of bushranger Gowrie. “Ercildoune” is Australia’s stateliest mansion. A two-storey granite pile, with lofty windows and admirable masonry, its lawns and terraces sweep down to the banks of Lake Burrumbeet. An avenue of Mediterranean pines, 1½ miles long, fronts its portals. Its Adam mantel shelves and Chippendale furniture and mirrors are part of half-forgotten world in which the Victorian squatter lived like royalty, when Wendouree Promenade, in nearby Ballarat, was the Rotten Row. “Ercildoune” has known much of royalty since it was founded by the Learmonth brothers, the day Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and named them after a 13th century Scottish border keep. It was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872 (sic.), and again in 1897 (sic.) to the late Sir Alan Currie, who entertained the Duke of Gloucester there in 1934. In all the years nothing troubled “Ercildoune’s” tranquil loveliness and luxury – except bushranger Gowrie. But they caught and shot him and placed his skull in the mansion he had tried to rob. Who now can afford the cooks, butlers, maids, footmen, gardeners, and grooms needed to make life in “Ercildoune” all it used to be? Perhaps there are other uses for stately “Ercildoune”? That will be revealed when the auctioneer’s hammer falls on Friday.

A millionaire bid for Ercildoune. Facts. Melbourne Correspondent. One of Australia’s stateliest mansions went under the auctioneer’s soulless hammer this week. Of the 300 who attended the Ercildoune auction this week, north of Victoria’s Lake Burrumbeet, in Ballarat district, only two made bids. More than 100 years ago two Scottish brothers, Thomas and Somerville Learmouth, bult their great masion from locally-hewn granite, named it Ercildoune after their ancestors’ 13th century Scottish border keep. The estate was founded on the day Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1838. Ercildoune was set about with native Scottish trees sailed out from Scotland, a driveway avenue a mile and a half long, of Mediterranean pines and deodars. Ercildoune furniture and fittings delight connoisseurs. A marble well-head in the grounds is more than 2000 years old. In 1934 the Duke of Gloucester stayed, admired the fine merinos for which Ercildoune was famous. Shortly before Ercildoune’s second owner took over in 1872, the mansion was robbed by the bushranger Gowrie. Gowrie was later shot dead by Police on Ercildoune Hill, and his skull, marked by bullet holes through the forehead and back, is still at Ercildoune. This week’s bidders were meat millionaire Sir Wiliam Angliss, who offered £7 an acre and Cecil McKay of the McKay Harvester Company, who called £7 5 s. But £55,172 10s was not enough. Ercildoune was passed in for private treaty.

The Passing Show. (By “Barnabus”) Reminder!!! Ercildoune Estate – Auction Sale – Magnnificent Western District property – Friday next – (Recent Newspaper Advert). The world is full of reminders these days. And in the local scene none can give them better than the ghosts which haunt the long corridors of “Ercildoune,” watched by the leering skull of bushranger Gowrie. “Ercildoune” is Australia’s stateliest mansion. A two-storey granite pile with lofty windows and admirable masonry, its lawns and terraces sweep down to the banks of Lake Burrumbeet, in Victoria. An avenue of Mediterranean pines, 1½ miles long, fronts its portals. Its Adam mantel shelves and Chippendale furniture and mirrors are part of a half-forgotten world in which the Victorian squatter lived like royalty, when Wendouree Promenade, in nearby Ballarat, was the Rotten Row. “Ercildoune” has known much of royalty since it was founded by the Learmonth brothers, the day Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and named by them after a 13th century Socttish border keep. It was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872, and again in 1897 (sic.) to the late Sir Alan Currie, who entertained the Duke of Gloucester there in 1934. In all the years nothing troubled “Ercildoune’s” tranquil loveliness and luxury – except bushranger Gowrie. But they caught and shot him and placed his skull in the mansion he had tried to rob. Who now can afford the cooks, butlers, maids, footmen, gardeners and grooms needed to make life in “Ercildoune” all it used to be? Perhaps there are other uses for stately “Ercildoune?”

Adam Lindsay Gordon. Our horseman poet rode in steeples. By R. S. Ridgway. It is fitting that a memorial to Adam Lindsay Gordon should be unveiled on Friday at Coleraine’s Great Western Steeplechase meeting, which he immortalized in his poem “The fields of Coleraine.” When Gordon wrote:

‘On the fields of Colerain there’ll be labour in vain
Before the Great Western is ended.
The nags will have toil’d, and the silks will be soil’d.
And the rails will require to be mended.”

He was writing from personal experience, as he rode in several Great Westerns. In 1864, with his own mare, the grey Modesty, he was second to Ingleside. There was a poetic flavor about the 1864 Great Western. Gordon, of course, was a pot, and Robert Learmonth, who owned and rode the winner, Ingleside, was a lineal descendant of a famous Scottish bard, Robert of Ercildoune, also known as Thomas the Rhymer. I think it was one of the Learmonths who built Ercildoune Homestead at Burrumbeet, for years the home of the late Sir Alan Currie. In 1865 Gordon rode Ballarat, another notable chaser, but finished only third to Ingleside and Blueskin. Gordon was unlucky, as Ballarat aparently had the race won, when he fell two fences from the finish. Gordon never won a Great Western. He received some compensation for the defeat of Ballarat by winning the Maiden Steeplechase with his own horse Cadger.

Australoddities. (By Bill Beatty.) One of the finest homes in the Commonwealth is “Ercildoune,” Victoria. The mansion has a beautiful setting surrounded by trees, all of which were brought out by sailing ship from Scotland. The main drive-way from the entrance gate to the house is an avenue one and a half miles in length. “Ercildoune” was built by two brothers, Thomas and Somerville Learmonth, from granite obtained in the neighbourhood. They named it after their ancestors’ 13th century estate on the Scottish border. The building was finished on the day in 1838 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne (inaccurate details……) The furnishings contain many priceless works of art, the envy of connoisseurs. In the grounds is a wonderful marble well-head, brought from Europe, and more than 2,000 years old. A unique memento at “Ercildoune” is the skull of the bushranger Gowrie. It is pierced with two bullet marks – one through the forehead and the other through the back. In 1872 the mansion was robbed by this bushranger. Later he was shot dead on that part of the property known as Ercildoune Hill.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography – Online Edition –states that Thomas’s report to Latrobe, with its accompanying map, illustrates the partners’ drive and intelligence. Ercildoun furniture in the Ballarat Art Gallery displays their taste. They were strict Presbyterians, whose departure has been attributed to their belief that they were unjustly treated in the notorious case of the Mount Egerton mine. But as heirs of Scotland and India, undoubtedly the brothers were versed in shrewd calculation and finesse. Despite their close attention to Thomas Shaw’s Australian merino, they were essentially detached, investing sojourners, not inextricably entangled. Thomas junior, who finally possessed Parkhall, married in 1856 Louisa (d. 1878) youngest daughter of Major-General Sir Thomas Valiant, and in 1879 the fourth daughter of Lestock Reid (Mrs. John Learmonth’s uncle), of the Bombay Civil Service, whose second daughter married Somerville in 1860. (Thomas and Somerville were married to sisters.)

Salmon of the Antipodes by John Clements states that – “Although it lacks some of the architectural splendor of some better known colonial homes, it is still a magnificent building predating most others and with a history few rural properties can equal in Victoria. Just think, it was there – at least the first part of the structure – when Melbourne was still largely a collection of tents and crude wooden buildings along the banks of the Yarra River.”

“The house was filled with the finest furniture and draped in a beautiful garden of the choicest exotic flora. An ornamental lake was created and adorned with white swans and the gardens with English songbirds. By the 1850’s Ercildoune had become one of, if not the stateliest properties in rural Victoria, and the Learmonth’s were noted for their hospitality and charitable work.

…Among the most noted sires of this period was Golden Fleece, a ram whose name was remembered for many years afterwards in the stud, his descendants appearing frequently in prize lists. With such a valuable stud in the making, it is a great shame that the Messrs Learmonth did not keep fuller records – or if they did, few if any have survived.

Mr. T. Shaw, Sen., and his work. It would appear that much assistance in the management of the early stud was given by…..was followed up by Mr Jonathan Shaw, afterwards of Wooriwyrite. Culling in the stud was always heavy, but after 1873, more and more breeding ewes were graded into the stud, partly by the retention of aged ewes of first quality, giving a wider choice of selection. The sheep continued to develop a robust, well formed carcass. The staple of the wool was long with high quality and great lustre and beauty. Extra weight was gained by increasing the wool on the head, shoulders and lower parts of the body. Fineness of staple was no longer the sole consideration, though always a feature.

Selection. Besides close attention to type, the increased number of breeding ewes gave the stud classer a wider selection, in that it was preferable to retain the top four from every ten than from every five in the breeding flock. Great care was exercised in the preparation of the wool, which for many years was sold in London. Before shearing, the sheep were brought in to the “sheep-wash” where they were thoroughly washed by trained men and removed to the drying paddocks alongside the wool-shed for five to seven days. Special attention was given to grassing these small paddocks to avoid bare patches and consequent dust. If a fence-post had to be replaced turf had to be planted around the base. The site of the old sheep-wash is still visible, where an ample supply of water was run off from the creek. Swamps were drained, grasses sown and irrigation practiced with the water used in sheep-washing “which is highly charged with Potash, ammonia and other valuable fertilizing elements which are usually wasted,” Sir Samuel wrote. Pressing and dumping machinery, worked by horsepower, was introduced, thereby economizing manual labour. Shearing was done by a double board of 24 blade shearers, the introduction of machines being confined to comparatively recent years. In earlier times, up to 80 men were commonly employed at shearing. Classing and get-up of the wool received the closes attention.

Prices. Prices realized in the early times form an interesting comparison. In 1878, the clip of 432 bales averaged almost 3/ lb., with the top 100 bales at 3/11 ¼ lb., average weight 251 lbs., returning £49/8/1 each. Later prices fell by more than 1/ lb. and stock prices fell in proportion. At the same period, rams sold at the Melbourne auctions for £243/5/ each for the best three, increasing in spite of lower wool prices in 1882 to £283/10/. Rams in those days were weighed and measured every month to record their progress, the heaviest four averaging 193½ lbs. in August.

The 20 best averaged about 2 ft. 6 ins. High at the shoulder and 2 ft. 5 1/3 ins. at the rump. A significant point is that, while the numbers in the stud continued to rise, the wool weights and the quality of fleece also improved. At the International Wool Exhibition, held in the Crystal Palace, Ercildoune wool was awarded first prize for washed wool, the Drapers’ Company gold medal and a silver medal against world competition. It obtained a gold medal for Victorian wool at the Parish exhibition. At the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, Ercildoune gained five firsts, a second and third, the grand champion gold medal for collective Merino wool exhibit; also a gold medal for the most valuable 24 ewe fleeces. These fleeces averaged 5 lbs. 4½ ozs., valued at 2/8 lb. or 14/1 a sheep. These are only a few of the international awards received, and the reputation of the stud continued well into the present century for producing “the most beautiful wool in Australia” as well as topping the world’s markets.

Huge Areas.. Excerpt…the huge size of the holdings in the earlier times when communications were slow and unreliable. Ercildoune, when Sir Samuel Wilson acquired it, consisted of 40,000 acres – less than half the original selection by the Learmonths. At the same time, he also owned Mt. Bute station of 72,000 acres including Gnarkeet and Naringhil on which he ran about 50,000 sheep and an experimental flock of about 200 goats!

Last year, Mr H. J. Collins, who owns the Mt. Bute block near Linton, won the fleece completion at the Ballarat show, while Mrs Collins won the Dorran aggregate at the Mannibadar fleece competitions. The Wilson estates, also embraced Yanko station or more than 100,000 acres near Narrandera, NSW, and interests in several other properties. The general manager for these estates was Mr Brownless and in later years, much of the work passed through Mr Archibald Fisken, grandfather of Mr A. C. Fisken…
Offshoot. An early offshoot was the Carrs Plains Merino stud near Stawell, conducted for many years by the late Holford Wettenhall on Ercildoune blood. Later Carrs Plains rams were crossed with pure Lincoln ewes and the progeny crossed back to establish the Polwarth breed in Victoria.

The growth of Ercildoune stud from 1860-91 coincided with the enormous expansion of Australia’s sheep population in those years from 20 million to nearly 106½ million – a figure not reached again until 1930. Improvements were carried out to the water supply, sheds and the Homestead itself – a massive two-storey structure of grey granite blocks quarried on the place, together with hand-made bricks. Similar materials were used in the large stables (now the garages), the schoolhouse and men’s cottages. Of interest is the original shepherd’s hut built with split timber on the bank of the creek with a cellar underneath for storage. Planting of shade and ornamental trees has established a wonderful collection of plantations. The drive of more than a mile of alternate pines and cedars has now reached a stage where it is not longer safe to drive under the limbs, which collapse with every storm.

On the death of Sir Samuel Wilson, the estates were gradually dispersed, by his administrators. For some years he had spent most of his time in England, only coming out for brief periods. Only 18,000 acres of Ercildoune remained when it was sold in 1921 to Major (afterwards Sir Alan) Currie at a figure reported to be £100,000 walk-in, walk-out. This was further reduced by the sale of 11,000 acres to the Closer Settlement Commission, leaving the present area of some 7000 acres.

Carried On. In the 123 years of its existence, there have only been two exchanges of ownership at Ercildoune. Saddest feature of the changes in recent years has been the decline and dispersal of the once famous Merino stud. Among various reasons offered, the present of footrot appears to have become a great burden. The extensive sale pens fell into disuse and became known as the “footing shed.” Crossbreds were introduced and more cattle were run on the improved pastures. Last of the Merinos appear to have been a small stud of pure Camden blood, introduced in later years, which was sold to Mr Bill Buckland, then to Mt. Beckworth, Clunes. These too, have since been dispersed and no trace remains of the Saxon sheep.

The woolshed, rebuilt by Sir Alan Currie, now employs six machine stands to handle the 10-11,000 sheep. Much of the original blackwood timber and heavy gauge roofing is still in use. Hereford cattle 7-8,000 in number, are run for breeding and fattening, about 200 being topped off annually. The sheep are chiefly Corriedales, joined to Wanganella rams for replacement purposes. The blood horses, for which the place was famous, and nearly all the ponies have gone only a few stock horses being kept. Mechanisation is almost complete, the extensive range of tractors, trucks, hay-making and other equipment being in the hands of Mr Wilfred Coulter, who has spent his life on Ercildoune, where his father was previously overseer for many years.

Apart from an area of oats each year, some 15,000 bales of meadow hay are harvested for stock reserves. Some of the old drying paddocks are now sown to lucerne about 200 tons of which are cut annually. Wool is loaded by a mechanical hoist and sheep are dipped by the latest pressure spray system, both tractor powered. So the order changed.

Relic returns. An imported Palestinian well-head dating back to Jesus’ time has returned to its home of about 130 years, ending a mysterious four-year absence from Ercildoune Homestead, near Burrumbeet. It is believed the piece could fetch more than $1 million on the black market. The wealthy family of Sir Samuel Wilson brought the ornamental pink marble well-head to the property in the 1870’s, but the well-head was unlawfully removed in 1998 when the homestead was sold. As part of its heritage registration, the four-tonne well-head must remain where originally placed. Heritage Victoria had reported a former owner to the police and subsequently he was placed on a four-month good-behaviour bond, but the well-head had remained his possession. Last week, Ercildoune owners, John and Christine Dever settled the matter before the Supreme Court proceedings, for $20,000, and the ancient piece, believed to be about 20,000 years-old, was transported from Essendon to the Ercildoune garden. Mr Dever described the return as “just fantastic”. “It’s like a missing piece of the jigsaw is now in place,” he said. “It’s an absolute focal part of the property. When we took over I started getting a bit fired up that it had been removed because it’s one of the last remaing pieces,” he said.

Ercildoune Diary 2008
Drought still ongoing – hardly any rain for weeks. Windfarm going up all around us = very sad indeed. First sign of green grass was on April Fools Day.
May – Mothers’ Day Weekend – Weather Overcast, but approximately 2000 people attended.
25th May – The Governor of Victoria, David de Kretser, and his wife visited Ercildoune at 4.30 p.m. The weather was extremely showery and foggy to the extent that it was pointless showing them the grounds. We later attended the Civic Reception held at Avoca that evening.