RARE BREEDS TRUST OF AUSTRALIA
powered by TidyHQSheep: South Suffolk
Sheep: South Suffolk
Country of Origin 
New Zealand
Australian Status
International Status
Uses
Meat
Breed traits
South Suffolks are polled. The head, ears, legs and feet are brown to chocolate. The topknot is white and the hooves are black. They are noted for their easy lambing, hardiness at birth, prepotency and early maturity. South Suffolk lambs are uniform in quality. A feature of the South Suffolk is its excellent well-muscled carcase, combining the best aspects of the finely textured meat and good hindquarters of the Southdown, with the large frame and high yielding carcase of the Suffolk.
South Suffolk wool is a fine Downs type between 24 and 26 micron fibre diameter and short to medium length.
History
As the name implies, the South Suffolk is a direct cross between two of our originally imported British breeds, the Southdown and the Suffolk. The development and promotion of this breed owes everything to Mr George Gould of Canterbury, New Zealand. He is responsible for first importing Suffolk sheep to his Southdown stud in New Zealand. He perceived a cross between the two would result in more weight, thicker hindquarters, a better ratio of lean to fat and a more mobile, cleaner faced sheep.
In 1929, he began crossing the two breeds and interbreeding their progeny. In 1940 he was able to persuade the Council of the New Zealand Sheep Breeders Association to admit them as an accepted breed into the New Zealand Flock Book.
History in Australia
In 1946, South Suffolks were first imported into Australia by Mr C. Kennedy of Cunderdin, Western Australia. By 1959, Australia had eight studs that were registered in the New Zealand Flock Book. in 1958, the South Suffolk Breed Society was formed in Australia and produced its first Flock Book in 1959. They amalgamated with the Australian Society of Breeders of British Sheep in 1972.
The South Suffolk has taken its place in Australia and has some of the top sires for the production of prime lambs that have early maturing, long carcasses, and short, thick hind legs demanded by both the producer and consumer alike. South Suffolk have been prominent in many carcase competitions.
The breed expanded until 1981, when 154 flocks were registered. However, the relatively depressed state of the lamb industry has since seen a decline in flocks.
Australia Population
Ewes: 843; Rams: 54 (2018)
Ewes: 917; Rams: 34 (2022)
Breed Organisation
The Australian South Suffolk Society. See State contacts at https://www.assba.com.au/members/members_listing.asp?Breeds=SOUTH%20SUFFOLK
Photo credit
Courtesy of Wayne Jenkins and Barry Shalders, Willow Drive Stud
