John Macarthur bought his first sheep in 1794, mostly to eat.

By 1801, the year he was sent to London to face charges of shooting his commanding officer, his flock of over 2000 was the largest in Sydney. With the support of Lord Camden, the promise of 5000 acres of prime grazing land and six of the King’s Spanish Merinos, Macarthur returned to Sydney in 1805 to commence wool production on a large scale. The breeding merinos were kept at Elizabeth Farm while their offspring increased greatly in value, number and reputation on the fertile sheep runs at Camden.

As British industry sought more and more wool, colonial graziers grew rich and powerful. By the 1820s Macarthur’s wool was prized for its quality and abundance – the groundwork laid for Australia’s richest primary industry.