History
Origin
The Sussex breed is one of the oldest and purest breeds of English cattle. The Normans found them in the south of England at the time of the conquest in 1066 and this cattle breed was considered to be descendants of the medium sized horn Red cattle found by the Romans in the Southern countries of England.
Sussex cattle were bred pure for centuries until about 1800 when serious breed improvement caught on in England. Up until then, Sussex cattle had been bred and developed on the poor, infertile clay soils and pastures of Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and Surrey. In 1842, LOW described Sussex as a pure breed having a great uniformity of character with cows small in comparison to the bulls. At the age of three, they were broken to the yoke and used as draught animals until six or seven years of age. They were then fattened for the butcher. As proof of their speed YOUATT , in 1834, makes mention of a Sussex ox which could run four miles over the Lewes race course in sixteen minutes. From early pictures we can see that the Sussex breed has changed a great deal to suit the demand of the times. The largest animal ever bred was an ox with a three metre girth and a weight of 1826 kilograms.
A Sussex herd book was established by Mr A Houseman of Sussex with pedigrees dating from 1855. This was taken over with all records in 1878 by the Sussex Herd Book Society with Lord Leconfield as its first President.
Early History In South Africa
The first noteworthy importations of Sussex cattle into Southern Africa occurred during the first years of the twentieth century, when the late Mr Alec Holm of the Potchefstroom Agricultural College was sent to England to select a cattle breed best suited to Southern African conditions. 20 Sussex cows were imported in 1903 and again in 1909 and by the year 1920, 82 Sussex bulls had been sold to farmers. Subsequent herds were those of Smart Syndicate, near Brits town, established in 1910, the Mazunga herd (owned by Liebig's Extract of Meat Co Rhodesia) and the Ballineety herd of Mr Glanfeld in 1912 and the stud which Dr HJ Orford established at Bosworth farm near Klerksdorp in 1914. As time went by the various breeders decided upon a better liaison among themselves and on 2 April 1920 a resolution to form a Society was adopted. The constitution, rules and regulations were approved on 6 May of the same year and the Sussex Cattle Breeders Society of SA came into being. Dr HJ Orford was elected as the first President with 19 members and more than 50 registered cows.
The Sussex breed was successful during the Twenties and performed well at the different shows. It was at this time that the Rand Show was selected as the prime show of the Sussex breed and in 1919 a SA bred Sussex won the championship for the first time. In 1927 a Sussex cow won the interbreed championship and in 1932 a Sussex\Afrikaner ox won the slaughter stock section of the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society show. To this day the Sussex has always stood its own in the market place and at all the major shows throughout Southern Africa.
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