On 6th July our journey began in the raising of purebred Damara Sheep, with a visit to Brae Park and the collection of our 2 beautiful approximately 6 week old poddy ewes – affectionately known as Kate and Leia. These were our first 2 lambs in the Princess line for our Hamilton Ridge Damara Stud.

Being poddy lambs they require bottle feeding and the introduction of oaten hay slowly until they were ready to be weaned.

Being based in Sydney at the time, as the property was under construction, these beautiful gentle animals caused quite a stir being lead on leads for walks throughout the local area! We stopped often to introduce the breed to all our wonderful locals of the Northern Beaches.

Then on 9th September 2024, we returned to Brae Park to collect the rest of our flock and reintroduce Kate and Leia to the flock. We welcomed:-

• Malachi – our Ram who was 6 months old
• 3 Wethers – Alfee, Devon and Dunbar – necessary to keep Malachi company when he isn’t “in service”
• Anne
• Beatrice
• Charlotte
• Dianna
• Eugenie
• Fiona
• Genevieve
• Helena
• Isabella
• Josephine
• Kate
• Leia

What an adventure moving them from Oberon to our property in the Hunter Valley. They travelled really well and again drew lots of attention from the public as we made our way.

Other than Malachi, all the other Damara Sheep were approximately 11 weeks old and still very excitable, energetic and inquisitive with a new property to explore.

We very quickly became aware of the wild dog problem in the area and so the security for the sheep was intense with them locked firmly in a large metal enclosure and temporary electric fencing for grazing during the day.