If John and Elizabeth Macarthur, both long dead, magically reappeared on Earth, they would be delighted to see their former residence Belgenny Farm at Camden, south-west of Sydney, lovingly preserved.
They would also be thrilled to discover that the wool industry they played a key role in founding is still thriving.
And they would be probably tickled pink to see an all-too-familiar type of Merino grazing in nearby paddocks.
The sheep is officially known as the Camden — named after its Australian place of origin.
While it has often been said that Australia's economy rode on the sheep's back for much of its history, some have forgotten that the ride began on the skinny legs and slender frame of the Camden.
Australia's history of Merino sheep
These flighty, hardy, short-woolled sheep bear little resemblance to the modern Australian Merino.
It has been so selectively and intensively bred for more than two centuries that the Macarthurs might even struggle to recognise it as a sheep.
Amazingly, the Camden has survived to this day, largely unchanged, as a living colonial relic.
That has been a result of some devoted custodians such as the Collins family at Mt Bute in western Victoria.
The family has been producing some of the nation's finest Merino wool for generations.
It has also played a vital part in saving the Camden from extinction.
Saving a legacy
When the last remaining flock of Camdens was put up for auction and very nearly consigned to the meatworks, the late Jim Collins and fellow woolgrower Mac Troup realised their historical significance and each bought half the sheep.
The family has never brought in outside genetics nor attempted to improve the quality of the sheep in any way.
Instead, it has carefully managed the flock to stay in a state of stasis, to keep it true to its ancestors.
The contrast between Camdens and modern-day commercial Merinos is stark.
The Camden, at about 35 kilograms, is roughly half the weight and half the height.
The Camden's fleece weighs less than two kilograms. The modern Merino yields three to five times that amount.
A better strain of Merinos was imported by the Macarthurs in 1804.
As the colony began to prosper, so too did the Merino and its valuable fine fleece.
By the 1870s, sheep had spread over much of the continent, and Australia had assumed the mantle of the world's greatest wool-growing nation.
By then, the Camden had been transformed and adapted through genetic selection into a larger-framed sheep that grew longer wool and was robust enough to withstand Australia's arid inland.
Wool accounted for half the nation's exports until the 1960s, and Australia still produces 80 per cent of the world's fine wool.
A wool economy
On a typical auction day in Melbourne or Sydney, more than $10 million worth of wool is sold. A fair portion of that wool is sold under the gavel of Elders wool auctioneer Samantha Wan.
She first discovered wool while at university and fell in love with the fibre and the industry.
"Wool is a fantastic fibre that actually has become my connection to Australia," Ms Wan said.
The Camden is almost as rare as the fabled unicorn, with only a few hundred in existence.
Importantly in the early 1990s, the Collins family sent a nucleus flock back to Elizabeth Farm at Camden.
A newspaper article of the day described them as "hardy animals as wild as deer".
James Collins can attest to that. His skittish Camdens thrive on the poorest of pasture.
It's an attribute that has played a key role in the success of the Merino, which has shaped the Australian continent so profoundly.
Tim Lee's story, The Magic Merino, is a part of the Things That Made Australia series to mark the ABC's 90th birthday. It screens on ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm on Sunday, or on ABC iview.
