The Kelpie intelligent, alert
and always ready to work

The Kelpie, Australia's answer to farming on the huge sheep stations in hot, dry conditions.

Without doubt the Kelpie contributed greatly to the industry - being able to peform the work of several men. Tireless workers in the hottest and dustiest of climates, the Kelpie has been known to travel more than 50 kilometres in just one day.

The first sheep graziers in Australia did not use dogs to herd and guard their flocks. These tasks were originally undertaken by convicts or Chinese who were employed as shepherds and sheep were yarded at night. Following the opening up of vast areas of land in New South Wales and Victoria, the sheep numbers increased so dramatically that some properties were over two million acres and ran over a quarter of a million sheep! In areas as extensive as these, shepherding was impractical and wire fences were erected and sheep were left to run free.

It was now necessary to have dogs to handle sheep in such large areas. Like so many breeds, the origins of the Kelpie are disputed but in Sheepdogs, Their Breeding, Maintenance and Training by Dr. R.B. Kelleyan, excerpts from a letter from a Mr Jack King claim: "Being the last of the Kings of Hanging Rock and Woolengong Stations, I am giving a true and reliable statement of the origins of the Kelpie.

The Kelpie, or old Kelpie, known by the name of Gleeson's Kelpie, was a black and tan, longhaired, lop-eared, medium sized bitch which had a red tinge on her coat when the sun shone on her. When she worked her ears went up and down. Her sire and dam were imported from Scotland by the late Mr George Robertson of Warrack Station, Victoria. Mr Gleeson, who was living at Murray Dunrobin Station, Victoria, secured one bitch pup from the litter and called her Kelpie, a Border Collie.

When Mr Gleeson came to Albury he met his old friend Mark Tully, who gave him a smooth-haired, black, prick eared dog called Moss, which Mr Tully had brought from Mr Rutherford of Yarrawonga Station. The sire and dam of Moss were imported from Scotland.

In the early 1870s Mr Robertson, of Yeraldra Station, imported a dog and a bitch, Brutus and Jennie, from Scotland. Brutus was a big smooth haired dog, black and tan with prick ears, and Jennie was a long haired bitch with half-erect ears.

Brutus mated with Jennie and produced Caesar, Nero and Laddie. Caesar was mated with Gleeson's Kelpie and produced a black and tan bitch known as King's Kelpie. Gleeson mated Kelpie on two occasions to Moss, and King's Kelpie was also mated several times to Moss and all the good Kelpies came from the cross. Laddie, a son of Brutus and Jennie, was also mated to King's Kelpie and produced Sallie which, when mated with Moss, became dam of Barb, eventually owned by Mr Edols of Burrangong Station.

So black Kelpies bacame known as Barbs and for many years were considered to be a different breed to the Kelpie. The word kelpie is claimed to mean water-sprite in Gaelic. The fame of the Kelpie spread with King's Kelpie winning the sheepdog trials and her pups being in demand were known as Kelpie's pups which eventually became shortened to Kelpies. They were proudly claimed as an Australian-developed working dog.

Although the Kelpie has a close resemblance in type to the Australian native dog - the Dingo - the presence of Dingo blood in the makeup of the breed is disputed. But there is no doubt that a dog of similar type to the Dingo would be best suited to work in Australian conditions. In appearance the Australian Kelpie is lithe, active and with hard muscular condition. He must have great suppleness of limb and convey the impression of being a tireless worker.

He has an inexhaustible energy which makes him the ideal sheepdog for the hot, dusty Australian conditions and the vast distances over which he must work, but which makes him generally unsuitable for suburban backyards. He is highly intelligent, with a mild and tractable disposition.

Today, the Kelpie is well known in the showring and the obedience ring - where he excels - as well as on the sheep farms of Australia. In the showring, the allowable colours are black, black and tan, red, red and tan, fawn, chocolate, and smoke blue. The coat is moderately short, flat, straight and weather resistant with a short dense undercoat. The coat on the neck forms a slight ruff and there is breeching on the rear of the thighs. The tail forms a good brush.

Ears must always be pricked. The eyes are almond shaped and brown in colour. Blue dogs have a lighter coloured eye. The Kelpie is a medium sized dog with the allowable size range for dogs being 46-51 cms (18-20 inches) and bitches 43-48 cms (17-19 inches).

Further reading on the Australian Kelpie: The Australian Kelpie by Tony Parsons; The Working Kelpie by Tony Parsons; Training the Working Kelpie by Tony Parsons; Our Australian Kelpie by Tim Austin.