A detour up the Cobb Highway took me to Wanganella, a small village with little for the visitor. However, I was interested to learn from the Tourist Information lady at Deniliquin that it was the birthplace of the Peppin Merino.
In 1861, George Hall Peppin and his two sons, experienced English sheep breeders, established a Merino stud at Wanganella station, north of Deniliquin. There, the brothers developed the Peppin Merino, able to thrive in drier inland regions. Today, as many as 70 per cent of Merinos in Australia are said to be directly descended from these sheep.
Sheep farmers collected to errect a bronze statue of a Peppin Merino at Wanganella and this is pictured above.
