John Lang Currie Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n pastoralist, was born in Selkirkshire

Selkirkshire

Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Berwickshire to the north-east, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and migrated to the Port Phillip

Port Phillip

Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...

 district (later Victoria in 1841. By borrowing money from his family he was able to buy the 129.50 km² Larra run near Camperdown

Camperdown, Victoria

Camperdown is an historically significant rural town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,165.-History:...

 in the Western District, and 1500 sheep, for 750 pounds. In 1844 he began his stud with Saxon merinos from Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land

Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...

, then bought sheep from John Macarthur

John MacArthur

John MacArthur may refer to:* John Macarthur , Australian wool industry pioneer and Rum Rebel* John McArthur, Jr. , American architect* John McArthur , Union general during the American Civil War...

's flock at Camden, New South Wales

Camden, New South Wales

-Education:Camden is the location of research facilities for the veterinary and agricultural schools of the University of Sydney. The local government area has two public high schools, Camden High School and Elderslie High School, as well as eight Catholic and three Anglican schools.-Culture:The...

. After a difficuly start he prospered as a sheep breeder and wool-grower.

In the 1860s Currie established the "Larra lustre" breed of merino

Merino

The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...

 sheep. Within ten years the success of the Larra lustre wool made him both rich and famous. In London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 a bale of Larra wool was declared "perfect" by English wool-buyers. By 1881 Currie could get five guineas a head for his rams. Currie's rams were sold for high prices all over Australia, in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In the 1880s Currie was one of the best merino breeders in Australia.

The 1862 Land Act, which opened the squatters' land up to small farmers, threatened to ruin Currie and other of his class. But he had enough capital to beat the intention of the act, which was to break up his estates. He bought the 68.80 km² Titanga estate in 1886 and the 80 km² Gala estate in 1889. By the mid-1890s he owned 323.75 km² of freehold land, in an area acknowledged to be the finest sheep country in the world, on which he ran 100,000 sheep. Currie also had pastoral interests in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. He also went into textile manufacturing, becoming chairman of the Victorian Woollen and Cloth Manufacturing Co.

Unlike other Western District pastoralists, Currie had no interest in politics, and declined several invitations to stand for the Victorian Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

, which was dominated by landowners. He was a justice of the peace and an elder of the Presbyterian Church of Australia

Presbyterian Church of Australia

The Presbyterian Church of Australia is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. .-Beginnings:...

. He gave large sums to Presbyterian charities. He was a sponsor of the Skipton

Skipton, Victoria

Skipton is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated on the Glenelg Highway 166 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne and 52 kilometres south west of the regional centre, Ballarat. Part of Corangamite Shire Local government area, Skipton is on the banks...

 Sheep Show and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

Royal Geographical Society

The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...

.

Currie lived either on his estates or in Geelong

Geelong, Victoria

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

 until the 1870s, but in 1871 he moved to Melbourne and built Eildon Mansion

Eildon Mansion

Eildon Mansion is one of the largest renaissance style houses in Melbourne, built in 1877 in Grey St. St Kilda, in Melbourne which is on the Victorian Heritage Register....

 in Grey St

Grey Street, Melbourne

There are 14 Grey Streets in metropolitan Melbourne, but by far the best-known is Grey Street in St Kilda, once a grand residential street but now with a reputation as a centre of prostitution....

, St Kilda

St Kilda, Victoria

St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...

, where he lived until his death in 1898. He left an estate of 479,000 pounds, a huge sum at that time. He was married to Louise Johnston and had five sons and three daughters.