How many sheep are there in Australia?
The number of sheep in Australia fluctuates by year and weather conditions. However, it is estimated that there are currently around 68.1 million sheep in Australia.
The number of sheep in Australia is unsurprisingly high, given Australia is a country made on the sheep’s back.
The wool industry was essential in changing Australia from a forsaken backwater penal colony to a viable, attractive place to migrate to.
The wool industry in Australia was kicked off by John Macarthur, a rogue with his fingers in many pies. While sent back to Britain to be court-martialled for duelling, Macarthur pitched New South Wales as a paradise for raising sheep. He returned with a small flock of merinos and a land grant.
Macarthur’s story is told at his former home, Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta, Sydney. By some measurement’s this is Australia’s oldest building.
Wool industry in Australia
Macarthur’s success spurred more settlers to raise sheep, and they travelled further and further inland to set up stations.
Eventually, vast swathes of Australia’s interior were taken up with pastoral properties.
Wool was sent down the rivers of the Murray-Darling basin to inland ports such as the one at Echuca, Victoria.
Australia’s wool industry isn’t as all-dominating as it once was, and many sheep stations no longer exist. On the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales, for example, the Yanga Homestead and Yanga Woolshed are now part of the Yanga National Park. They both offer haunting insights into how busy the wool trade once was here.
How many sheep in Australia?
Counting the number of sheep in Australia is an inexact science. However, several government agencies and industry bodies like to keep a rough count. Meat and Livestock Australia estimates that there are 68.1 million sheep in Australia as of 2021.
The number of sheep in Australia is expected to rise, however, given the easing of drought conditions.
Meat and Livestock Australia reckons there will be 75.4 million sheep in Australia by 2023.
Which Australian state has the highest sheep population?
New South Wales is the state with most sheep, according to Australian Wool Innovation Limited.
Approximately 22.9 million sheep live in New South Wales, compared to 14.8 million in Victoria and 14.4 million in Western Australia.
Western Australia is home to the world’s largest sheep station, however. The Rawlinna Station covers 10,117 square kilometres. That’s bigger than Jamaica…
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