TOP SIRE 2026–2027 VALE Craig Heath NSW SMBA wishes to acknowledge Craig Heath’s contribution to the Merino industry Craig Ashley Heath was an integral member of the historic Willanda Merino Stud, located in the New South Wales Riverina. He tragically died following a farming accident in western Victoria on 14 December 2025. Born in the Gippsland region at Maffra, Craig was the fourth child of wool growers Glenn and Norma Heath and was raised on the family’s farm at Stratford, Victoria. During his childhood, school was not Craig’s favourite place. In year six, an educational psychologist gave her assessment of Craig’s poor performance to his parents and principal. She noted that “he’s just not interested in school – he’s far more interested in all his animals” and further described him as “bone lazy”. Craig would always remark that she didn’t just say lazy, but “called me bone lazy”. Craig was anything but lazy, as all who knew him would confirm. He would go to great lengths to help anyone who needed it. He was fond of the phrase “work smart, not hard”, though he did in fact work smart and bloody hard. Drawn to life on the land, Craig managed the prestigious grazing property Narra Allen Station, located at Boorowa in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, for six years, while his younger brother Glenn managed the family’s Gippsland properties. In 1988, Craig married Caroline Wells, daughter of Ross and Irene Wells, of the Willandra Merino Stud at Jerilderie. Shortly after the birth of their second son, Craig, Caroline and their children moved to the Riverina and became a part of the Willandra team. While devoted to the Merino aspect of the Willandra stud, Craig also took particular interest in the cropping enterprise, pursuing dryland crops on some of the Riverina’s marginal cropping country. “Both north and west of the Willandra property, no dryland cropping had ever been successfully attempted,” Craig’s uncle-in-law, Graham Wells, said. “He faced seasonal variations, input costs, new technologies, fluctuating and Craig Ashley Heath is being remembered as a kind and thoughtful man, caring father, loyal husband as well as an active and selfless member of the Jerilderie community. Photo caption. Craig and Caroline with their Mark Wettenhall Memorial Award for Best Presented Pen at the 2020 John Wells Memorial Store Sheep Show. – 56 –
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