Behind the 'shilling ram'

At that time it was owned by the Mills family, who were better known as the owners of nearby "Uardry", home to one of Australia's premier Peppin Merino studs.

As a young man of 21, reared on a modest family property, Burns (pictured) was suitably awestruck by the hallowed ambience of the "Burrabogie" dining-room, its walls lined with framed photographs of prize-winning Merinos.

Dominating the room was a huge framed photograph of a ram's head which immediately called to Burns' mind the Merino ram featured on the shilling coin - predecessor of the modern 10-cent coin.

In fact the photo was not of the ram in question, but its grandsire, Pemblegong No 1. The connection was enough, however, to kindle his interest in the "Shilling Ram", and the story that might lie behind it.

Now, some 40 years later, that jackaroo-turned-author has unravelled and told the story, in a recently-published hard-cover book entitled Once, a splendid coin.

The book traces the history of Uardry 0.1, the unnamed ram bred by Uardry studmaster Neilson Mills that was grand champion at the 1932 Sydney Sheep Show before being immortalised as the image backing King George VI on the 1938 shilling (picture above right).

Australia in 1938 still rode squarely on the sheep's back, and it was only natural - Burns writes - that an image of "the most beautiful ram seen to that time" should be chosen to grace a splendid new coin.

Not that the ram would last long in a modern-day show ring: as the author notes, "He is too small by modern-day standards and his bold front with thick underline is not appreciated by the contemporary demand for 'easy-care' sheep".

But noble he undoubtedly was, and a testament to the skill and vision of the generations of breeders and classers who had brought the Australian Merino from unpromising origins to its commercial zenith.

The result of years of research, the book goes far beyond the story of the "Shilling Ram"; it traces the evolution of the modern Merino - right back to Classical times - and the development of the Australian wool industry.

We are reminded of the extraordinary coincidence of historical events that resulted in the successful settlement of the foundling colony, and the salvation of an English wool milling industry starved of vital raw material.

The pivotal role of the exiled John Macarthur as a vital "conduit" for information at a critical time between the English mills and the colonial wool growers is acknowledged, as is the role of his wife Elizabeth in keeping the breeding program on track at home.

Not content with tracing the ancestry of the Australian Merino up to the time of Uardry 0.1, Burns then devotes the latter part of his book to a scholarly study of the history of coinage.

Handsomely printed on art paper and copiously illustrated, Once, a splendid coin is a book with relevance not just to Merino sheep breeders, but to anybody interested in our pastoral history, and culture.

Since publishing this book, Stephen Burns has written a biography of another Riverina Merino legend - former Wonga studmaster, the late Tom Culley.

It is now in the final proofing stages and he hopes to have it ready for release - as Tom Culley - a reflection - in time for the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo, Victoria, in July.

Once, a splendid coin is available direct from the author at $39.95 plus $15 postage. Email contact stephenburns1953@gmail.com