“They’ve had to be adaptive little animals to survive,” Muriwai Farms owner and Arapawa breeder, Bev Towbridge told Rural Living.

Small and lean with long legs Arapawas have a clear narrow face and head set on a long neck they have alert eyes and slender ears.

A tendency to carry their heads fairly low combined with long tails gives them a somewhat hunched look.  “Once they are taken off the island and put on decent pasture they become more robust,” Bev said.

Rams often develop a set of magnificent spiralled horns that can grow to be more than a metre in length and while the ewes are usually polled, Bev has seen the odd one with small horns.

Most commonly jet black, it is not unusual for Arapawas to have white points and it is common for the lower portion of the tail to be white. It is very rare for them to be pure white.

‘Cocktail’ Arapawas are spotted with white over the whole body and colouring on these animals can cover quite a spectrum including apricot and blue grey.

 With their somewhat scruffy fleece Arapawas bear little resemblance to today’s familiar Merino.

A hardy easy care animal, Arapawas do need extra minerals and don’t do as well on uniform blocks of lower mineral feed like kykuya.

Like most feral sheep the Arapawa is naturally more resistant to flystrike  - a good thing as the dense fleece makes it difficult to spot. “I’ve never lost one to fly strike.” Bev said with a certain pride.  

Fine grained and sweet, Arapawa meat is not unlike venison in its tenderness and lack of fat. “Not as sheepy as Romney, and very, very lean.”

Officially listed as feral, nobody actually knows where Arapawas originated but it is widely thought they are most likely escapees of a flock of mainly Merino origin known to have been introduced in 1867, probably from Australia.

Bev Towbridge however believed it was possible the animals came from whaling and sealing ships bringing stock with them and letting them go free on the island. “Records like ships logs show animals were brought out on the ships. Unfortunately they just say “sheep” they don’t give details of the breed.”

For those interested in raising a flock of Arapawas Bev Towbridge supplies “starter flocks” of one ram and four ewes – ideal for a small block. “It’s enough to feel like a cohesive unit and not too expensive.”

It’s also a good size to start with as Arapawa ewes not only lamb early, in May, they often lamb twice a year.

“A flock can double very quickly,” Bev said.