Murray Grey History
The Murray Grey originated along
the Murray River that divides New South Wales and Victoria, in
southern New South Wales, Australia. In 1905, Peter and Eva
Sutherland owned a particular roan Shorthorn cow, that when bred
to various Aberdeen Angus bulls, birthed only grey calves. These
calves varied only a bit in coloring, from a silvery-grey to a
solid silver brindle. Eva thought the misty colored cattle were
pretty, so she wouldn't let Peter slaughter them. By 1917 they
had 12 head.
Peter passed on in 1929, and Eva
wasn't up to managing everything, so she sold the grey cattle to
a cousin by the mane of Helen Sutherland who then continued to
breed the original 12; 4 bulls and 12 cows. These cattle were
the beginnings of a new breed of cattle. In the early 1940's a
second Murray Grey herd was formed when Mervyn Gadd laid eyes on
them and saw dollar signs. Although Mervyn swore that the Greys
were a more robust breed, and better weight gainers to boot, it
wasn't until the late 1950's that the breed became popular.
In 1962 the Murray Grey Beef
Cattle Society of Austrailia was formed by fifty or so
breeders. In 1969, three importers; New Breeds Inc., Murray Grey
USA, and Firetree Production Stock brought Murray Grey semen to
the United States. Soon after Murray Greys started winning
competitions, most notably carcass classes, more and more of the
cattle industry took notice. Since then it has been all
downhill.