Bond sheep are an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n sheep breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 that was developed around 1909 near Lockhart, New South Wales

Lockhart, New South Wales

Lockhart is a town and a Local Government Area in the Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of the Lockhart Shire Council offices. At the 2006 census, Lockhart had a population of 837 people.-History:...

 by Thomas Bond when he mated Saxon-Peppin Merino

Merino

The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...

 ewes to stud Lincoln

Lincoln (sheep)

The Lincoln, sometimes called the Lincoln Longwool, is a breed of sheep from England. The Lincoln is the largest British sheep, developed specifically to produce the heaviest, longest and most lustrous fleece of any breed in the world. Great numbers were exported to many countries to improve the...

 rams for primarily wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 production. The resulting progeny was selected on the basis that they would be more suited to the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

 environment. Initially these sheep were known as ‘the Commercial Corriedale’.

In 1979, the name was changed to Bond and the Bond Sheepbreeders Association was formed at Lockhart in 1984.

Bond are easy care, plain bodied sheep that produce white, long stapled, high yielding wool of about with a diameter of 22 to 28 microns with a fleece weight of about 7–8 kg (15.4–17.6 lb). Stud rams may weigh up to 150 kg (330.7 lb) under good conditions. High lambing percentages are common.

The breed is quite common in the south-east areas of Australia. Stud animals have been exported to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.