At the depth of the early 1970s wool recession, Mrs Margaret Black (nee Sims) and her family, former owners of Yanga Station (85,000 ha) from 1919 to 2005, purchased Uardry in 1973. Incidentally the Sims-Black family were former owners of Cobran (1920s to c. 1976) and Wyvern (1920s to c.1948).
Encountering floods and bush fires that burnt approximately two-thirds of Uardry later in the 1970's, Mrs Black and her family stood firm and set about restoring Uardry to its former glory.
The Black family have showed their commitment to Uardry by renovating the historic homestead in the 1980s, purchasing the adjacent Arundel in 1988 and establishing the separate Sims Uardry stud in 1998. In 2000, the family’s commitment was demonstrated once again, by importing about 500 Dohne Merino embryos from South Africa, from nine top Dohne studs for the establishment of the Uardry Dohne Stud.
As of December 2007, Ben was appointed Stud Manager of Uardry. His dedication and commitment to Uardry and the Merino industry was apparent when he returned to Uardry as Manager of Livestock Operations in February 2006.
Ben trained as a jackaroo at Uardry in the 1990s, then became Overseer at the Koonwarra stud in 2000 and completed his Diploma in Agribusiness at Marcus Oldham College before returning to Koonwarra as Stud Manager in 2003.
Ian commenced classing the Uardry stud in 1995. He followed the success of his late father, Tom Lilburne, as Uardry Stud Classer. Ian's most notable achievement at Uardry was his contribution in the establishment of the successful Sims Uardry stud in 1998.
Ian continues to be an integral member of the Uardry team. His experience and forsight in breeding the "Modern Merino" will ensure the future success of Uardry in the Merino industry.
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