16 | Proven its enduring value to our meat industry By 1957 just ten registered flocks existed nationwide. Karen Phelps A breed that arrived on New Zealand shores in 1947 with just ten ewes and a single ram has proven its enduring value to the nation’s meat industry achieving a significant milestone this year. The Dorset Down has reached 75 years of registered breeding in this country having established itself as a premier terminal sire for producing lean, fast-growing export lambs. “It’s a celebration of the breed and how it’s developed in New Zealand. It was brought here to produce good meaty carcasses for the butchers’ trade and 75 years later it’s still fulfilling its purpose,” says Steve Ellis, chairperson of the New Zealand Dorset Down Breed Society. When those original British imports arrived across the miles to establish the foundation stock, Flock 1 was registered in 1950 marking the formal beginning of structured breeding in this country. However the breed faced an immediate crisis when a 1954 scrapie outbreak in Britain resulted in an import embargo forcing New Zealand breeders to develop the bloodlines independently using only domestically domiciled animals and limited Australian imports. By 1957 just ten registered flocks existed nationwide. Yet Steve says the breed’s exceptional qualities for early maturity and lean meat production drove steady expansion. Canterbury held approximately half these flocks while others operated in Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Auckland, Manawatu, Wanganui, Nelson, RURAL PEOPLE » Dorset Downs 75th Breed Anniversary Pleased to support Dorset Downs 200 Terminal rams — Dorset Down, South Down, and South Dorset — plus 80 specially selected half-bred and quarter-bred 2-tooth rams. ANNUAL SALE JANUARY 9TH 2026 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DORSET DOWN BREED — 75 YEARS STRONG IN NZ! BELVIEW DORSET DOWNS RAMS AVAILABLE John & Wendy Dodd Phone 027 479 4441 belview@farmside.co.nz 51 Dodds road, Oamaru
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