Murraysburg Meander
The Merino sheep breed originated in Spain. In the 1780s, the king of Spain presented some of these animals to the ruling family of Holland.
The merinos did not flourish in the climate of Holland, and in 1789, two rams and four ewes were shipped to the Cape.
The merinos sent to the Cape were placed into the care of Colonel Robert Gordon, military commander at that time. He kept the little flock pure by sending it to the outpost at Groenkloof, where the mission station of Mamre is situated today. The merinos flourished and yielded superb wool.
Two years later, however, Gordon was ordered to return the sheep to Holland, as te Spaniards had never intended that their gift would be sent out of Europe.
Colonel Gordon neatly side stepped his orders by returning to Holland the original number of sheep and keeping their offspring.
These became the forebears of the South African woolen sheep.