What is the Working Koolie Association of Australia Inc. website?
Updated
The Working Koolie Association of Australia Inc. (WKAA) website is the online home of an Australian breed association dedicated to the Working Koolie. It serves two main purposes: registering Working Koolies and documenting the breed's history and working achievements. The site is relevant to you if you own a Working Koolie, are researching the breed's origins, or want to understand what registered dogs are capable of in work and competition.
What the organization is
The WKAA describes itself as an internationally recognised association, with members in Europe, Canada, and America. Its stated focus is the Working Koolie — a stock-working dog with generations of herding lines behind it. The site presents the association as both a registry and a breed information source.
What the site covers
The page evidence points to three broad content areas:
- Breed registration — dogs can be registered with the association.
- Breed history — a detailed account of how merle-coloured German working dogs arrived in Australia and became the foundation of the Working Koolie.
- Working and competition achievements — what registered dogs do across disciplines.
Where registered dogs work and compete
According to the site, dogs registered with the WKAA are active worldwide in:
- Stock working (herding)
- Agility
- Search and rescue
- Assistance dog work
- Flyball
- Obedience
This list is useful if you are trying to judge whether the breed suits a particular activity — the association positions the Working Koolie as versatile rather than single-purpose.
The breed history the site presents
The historical account is the most detailed part of the available page content. Key points:
- In 1776, John and Elizabeth Macarthur imported merino sheep to their property at Camden, NSW.
- By 1825, with flocks large and fencing minimal, they imported a German sheep herder named Joseph Pabts, who arrived with a large number of merle-coloured sheep working dogs — described as the first stock working dogs on Australian soil. This is noted as being documented at Belgenny Farm, Camden NSW.
- German settlers arrived in South Australia in 1838, taking land grants around the Barossa Valley. Sheep arrived in the 1850s along with German merle stock working dogs, which had to mind sheep by day and guard them from predators by night with little fencing or yarding.
- In the 1860s, German farmers and tradesmen settled in the Hunter Valley of NSW. Cattle arrived from Germany in 1886, unloaded at Karuah and driven about 80 km through unfenced bush to a German settler near Dungog — accompanied by merle German working dogs the settlers called "Tigers" (pronounced "TIGGERS").
- More shipments followed up to the early 1900s, with dogs remaining with the cattle in the Valley.
- The first Koolie reached Western Australia in 1906, brought by German sheep herders crossing the border, with flocks of sheep managed by two herders and roughly 20 dogs per flock.
The site attributes this account to family tree books loaned to the author over roughly 50 years. Treat it as the association's own historical narrative rather than an independently verified record.
How to use the site
If you want to confirm whether a dog can be registered, check the breed's working lineage, or read the association's origin story, the site is the primary source. If you need current registration fees, forms, or membership terms, those details are not present in the available page content — you would need to check the site directly, since no pricing or login information is provided here.