In 1937, a Canadian woman by the name of Mary Lindsay bought a speckled red roan heifer and discovered that the no matter which breed she used to sire, it had no apparent impact on the speckled colour pattern. It is thought that the Teeswater Shorthorn and the White Park were the ancestors of this heifer. These two breeds were known to be both hardy and milky.
Twenty-two years after Mary bought her first speckled cow, she sold a heifer to the Lamont family, who would soon be responsible for the development of the Speckle Park breed. Throughout the 50's and 60's, the Lamont family crossed their speckled stock with Black Angus cattle. What emerged was progeny that exhibited a range of colour patterns including white with black markings, some with spots on their sides, others with black sides and speckled hips, and some with white top and underline and roan faces. Selective breeding measures in later years ensured that this breed was not only visibly distinctive, but also offered a high quality carcase.
Speckle Park cattle are known for their distinctive colour patterns, high fertility, easy calving, high return carcase weight, hardiness, tender well-marbled meat, and ample milk supply.
Since 2007, Speckle Park embryos have been exported out of Canada to New Zealand, Ireland, Australia and Denmark. In 2007, the Australian Speckle Park Association was formed.
