Merino identity dies in his sleep

Known throughout the Merino world as 'Sam', he is the only Merino studmaster to win the coveted Stonehaven Cup, for three rams and two ewes, March-shorn at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney, with two studs - Koonwarra (11 times) and Thalabah (twice).

Those accolades were only the tip of his stud success.

John Lawrence Williams who died on February 10 is being remembered within the Merino industry and the Crookwell district as an absolute gentleman whose passion and dedication in pursuing his ambition to breed the perfect Merino at the family property Thalaba, Laggan, was legendary.

He was 87 years old.

He was born on the 28 May 1934 at Crookwell Base Hospital, the only son of parents James Stanley Williams and Veronica May Williams.

His sister Beth was born on the 29 August, 1937.

A keen scholar, his schooling in Crookwell, where he was school captain at the Public School was completed in the third year when he graduated with the Intermediate Certificate aged 15.

He returned to work with his father at Thalaba, who had established the Koonwarra stud in 1947; and excepting three months National Service when he was 18, Sam has always been on the family farm.

Friend, competitor and mentor to many in the wool industry, his stubborn determination to succeed grew out of adversity: and although his success during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s might have seemed to have been easily gained, it only came through standing against the odds and following his own mind.

Sam had been assisting his father since he was 14 years old, but when he assumed the management, breeding and classing of the Koonwarra stud, following the early death of his father in 1960, he felt keenly the early loss and responsibility thrust upon him.

His father was an early mentor, and Sam thought he still had much to learn from him: unfortunately there were some in the industry who didn't think him up to the task of carrying on the stud.

That denigration only caused Sam to become more stubborn and determined to prove the knockers wrong: and one who witnessed and assisted with the halcyon days of Koonwarra's success was John Bensley.

"Sam was dedicated to breeding the best and he never liked being beaten," Mr Bensley said.

Fellow stud breeder and competitor Wal Merriman, Merryville, Boorowa, confirmed Sam's fervour to win, but admitted, so did he, and hence their life-long friendship and rivalry was founded.

"When I think of Sam I think of a good bloke, a great breeder and who was always a mentor to me," he said.

"I learnt a lot from him and particularly the way he crossed the Merryville Uniform family and the Uardry's and went on to fix a type. It is very difficult to fix a type and he was one of the few to succeed.

"From the mid 1960's I don't think there has been any sheep bred better for ten or fifteen years when Sam was at the top; they were virtually unbeatable."

After the death of his father, Sam followed his desire to breed a fine to fine medium wool type Merino with enormous size and physical presence and with wool production levels equal to the industry's best.

The Koonwarra-bred sheep were a revelation at the time and proved a big sheep could grow a fine medium type fleece - at the time it was the preserve of big sheep to grow a bold medium to strong wool fleece.

That he succeeded in setting his type which had specific attributes that would breed on was confirmed when his stud rams attracted attention from fellow Merino breeders, and Koonwarra became a parent stud of the modern era, influencing many studs which are prominent today.

The Koonwarra stud was sold in 1998: but Sam retained 95 stud ewes to form the Thalabah stud in 1992, where the rams were horn branded JSW (honouring James Stanley Williams) and which followed the tradition of similarly horn branding the rams he had bred in the Koonwarra stud.

Setting his own direction, Sam could be both amusing and frustrating to those who worked with him, but his single-mindedness let to revolutionary changes to the breeding of Merino sheep.

In 1965 he began an artificial insemination (AI) program at Koonwarra with industry pioneer, the late Dr Steve Salamon, a then retired leader in animal reproduction at the University of Sydney who developed and introduced the method of pelletised semen storage.

Another innovation was the use of a re-purposed bus that was used to transport his show teams around the country - and to the amazement of many, Sam would lead the rams around the show ring with a lead, a signal departure from the customary dragging them by their horns.

It was not surprising that Sam also became a very accomplished blade shearer, shearing all of the top sires and ewes in the stud along with the reserves set aside for show and stud sale teams

He was an expert in setting up blade shears and those who were gifted a pair were honoured indeed and cherished them.

Away from his stud duties, Sam was a determined tennis player - the court at Thalaba became one of the venues for the Crookwell Tennis Competition, where Sam played A grade in the Slammers team, alongside Brad Cartwright, who was also a valued employee on Thalaba.

Another passion, which he found was a source of relaxation away from the Merino stud was his interest in music and his ability to play several instruments.

He learnt to play the violin during his school days in Crookwell and where he was taught by the Nuns at the local convent. Later he learnt to play the saxophone, and despite losing the index finger on his right hand at an early age, still managed to belt out a tune, especially when playing in a band.

His sister recalled the loss of the finger which nearly cost Sam his life, but typically he overcame the loss by cutting up an aluminium kettle that belonged in his mother's kitchen, and which he fashioned to play the desired key.

Sam, who also played a mean guitar, became a member of a few bands in the Crookwell district, starting off with Mary Berryl, followed by the ACME Band, and then the RJ's.

Members of those bands included Bob Barnette, Joe Price, Richard Kennedy, Austin Cummins, Col Yates, David Brownlow and Tootles Smith..

Several Merino breeders recall an evening at a Dubbo National Sheep Show function when Sam and two other musical breeders did an impromptu set while the entertainment took a break.

Apparently Sam and his mates were so good, the reaction from the crowd was they had wished the band hadn't come back.

In 2016 Sam was awarded the inaugural Crookwell AP and H Society Annual Perpetual Trophy for outstanding contribution to the rural industry (again in 2022 posthumously) and in 2021 he was inducted into the NSW Stud Merino Breeders Hall of Fame.

Fellow breeder Drew Chapman wrote when inducting Sam - "it was the Merino industry's gain that you chose to pursue the Merino over what would have no doubt been a successful music career."

By all accounts, John Lawrence Williams was a very humble man, who treated all he met, whether Princess Anne, a roustabout at shearing or a rabbit trapper, as equals. His generosity of spirit drew people to him and inspired loyalty.

His Merino sheep are his testament to a life fulfilled, an admired, respected and cherished member of the Crookwell community and his family is a credit to him.

John 'Sam' Williams is survived by his wife Marion (nee Baxter) whom he married on 19 May 1962 at Hunters Hill Church in Sydney.

He is also survived by their children, Bronwyn Reardon, Meg Williams, Jim Williams and Krisi Frost, son-in-laws Andrew Reardon and Anthony Frost and seven grand children - Adeline Reardon, Lisbeth Reardon, Victoria Williams-Langdon, and Sam, Jack, Sadie, and Grace Frost.

- STEPHEN BURNS

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