Australian Herding Breeds
British Herding Dogs c 1800
Australia's first British settlers arrived in 1788 and brought some cows and a few fat tailed sheep bred for meat. It would be 37 years before the first herding dogs as such were imported into Australia. People shepherded live stock until 1825 when 2-3 pairs of rough 'colley dogs' arrived on a ship called the 'Hugh Crawford'[6] . It must be remembered that during the 18th and early 19th centuries, 'colley' was a generic name for all British herding dogs.