One of the things that has surprised me most while researching the history of the Damara breed in Australia is how much of that history was never formally recorded.

 

There are:

– registration records.

– sale catalogues.

– newsletters.

– society minutes.

 

But again and again, some of the most interesting pieces of the story have come from ordinary conversations.

 

A breeder remembers where a particular flock of sheep came from.

 

Someone finds an old photograph tucked away in an album.

 

A forgotten document turns up in a filing cabinet.

 

An offhand comment suddenly explains something that has puzzled people for years.

 

Many of the people involved in establishing the Damara breed in Australia are now retired. Some have sold their sheep and some have moved on to other things. Sadly, some are no longer with us. Sometimes a critical piece may be sitting nowhere except in their own memory.

 

That is why this project is not just about sheep.

 

It is about people.

The people who:

– imported the first animals.

– took risks on an unfamiliar breed.

– drove thousands of kilometres to buy sheep.

– tried, succeeded, failed, adapted and kept going.

– helped build the breed we know today.

 

If you have old photographs, newsletters, sale catalogues, letters, records or simply memories connected to the Damara breed’s introduction & development in Australia, I would genuinely love to hear from you.

 

You may have something that seems completely ordinary.

 

Quite often those are the pieces that end up being the most valuable.

 

A photograph.

A name.

A date.

A story.

 

Sometimes that is all it takes to help complete a piece of the puzzle.

 

fromveldtodownunder@gmail.com

Keith 0433 166 457

 

Photograph © courtesy of Judy Forbes, Sherana Damara Stud