I (Merv) retired to Lovely Banks, Victoria (near Geelong) in November 2008. I originally came from Tyrendarra in South West Victoria, where I have been a shearer and owner/operater of 'TINTAGEL' a 400 hectare property producing wool, prime lambs and beef cattle. I also ran a Poll Dorset Stud.

I've been involved with breeding and working Border Collies all my life and in 1988 was introduced to Sheep Dog Trialling by my friends John Gallpen and Byn Dinning, John and I were extremely lucky to have had Byn take us under his wing, Byn had been successfully breeding and trialling Border Collies for over 40 years and has passed on his vast knowledge and his proven working bloodlines to us.

I have trialled dogs for many years using mainly Byn's bloodlines with some success, winning the 1996 and 1997 Victorian Championships with a bitch I bred called Tintagel Missie.

Missie and I represented Australia in Test Teams, competing against New Zealand in 1993 and 1994.

We still breed working dogs for farm and sheep dog trialling but over the past few years we have changed direction and have focused mainly on breeding Border Collies suitable for family pets and companion dogs.

We have started doing demonstations in sheep dog trialling and shearing to primary school children living in Melbourne to give the city children a taste of country life. Our first being on Tuesday 8th September 2009 at 'Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Primary School' Cheltenham, where we demonstrated to the children how sheep dogs and their handlers work together in bringing small mobs of sheep into a holding pen and how a shearer take the wool off the sheep.