Meet the team: Peter Gelmi

Sheep Coordinator                                                                          

My interest in sheep begun in 1977 when Jo and I married and Jo’s first teaching job was in a school at Cascades, a new land development area in South-East Western Australia. I started working on a large station as a stockman and soon came to appreciate the role of sheep in mixed farming practices.

After completing an Agribusiness Degree at Muresk in 1982 I turned to teaching Agriculture, firstly at Narrogin Agricultural College, then a 22 year stint at Esperance and finally at Harvey Agricultural College, where I retired in 2021. I spent 1990 teaching at Oatridge Agricultural College in Scotland and was exposed to the rich history of sheep breeding that saw so many British breeds spread out across the world.

After coming back from Scotland I convinced the school to buy a Border Leicester stud and with many a willing student, began breeding and showing Borders. An opportunity came up to save a heritage breed stud from being dispersed and the school bought a small Shropshire stud.

After I transferred from Esperance the school decided to sell the Shropshires so I purchased them for a friend who has continued to support the breed.

In 2008 Jo and I settled on a small property at Burekup and I became a Counsellor on the Royal Agricultural Society Of WA. It was not long until they asked me to look after the sheep section for the Perth Royal Show. While the sheep section had great support from the commercial sheep breeds the heritage breeds lacked a presence. In 2012 I managed to findsix of the ten heritage breeds and put together a display for the show. Jo and I then decided the only way we would see Lincolns and English Leicesters back in WA was to import breeding stock from the East. We have been breeding the Longwools since 2013. Our small, enthusiastic group of breeders formed the Heritage Sheep of WA and we attend various shows to promote the importance of preserving the heritage breeds.

Peter can be contacted at caesialongwools@bigpond.com