Eliza Forlong, a sheep producer who brought Merinos to australia, is being celebrated as the “Mother” of the Australian industry.
Story By John Dunn
While John Macarthur, the English army officer, is regarded by most as the “father” of Australian wool, a woman – Eliza Forlong, a resolute Scot from Glasgow – is now emerging as the “mother” of the industry. The Victorian towns of Euroa, initially, and Geelong, more recently, have acknowledged the part Eliza played in the development of fine wool in this country but the most significant initiative came recently at a ceremony in Tasmania’s Midlands, south of Launceston.
In tiny Campbell Town a magnificent bronze sculpture of Eliza and a Merino ram was unveiled as a long overdue tribute to one who did so much to establish the superfine quality of wool regarded as the finest of fibres.
This story excerpt is from Issue #90
Outback Magazine: Aug/Sept 2013
