| The origin of the Golden Guernsey is uncertain, though research has uncovered
the likelihood that it has French, Syrian and Maltese ancestry. The first
reference to them is said to be in an 1826 book about the Channel Islands,
which mentions the golden cow, goat and donkey. There were a few golden goats amongst the scrub herds on Guernsey, and these were seen by Miss Miriam Milbourne in 1924. It is largely thanks to her efforts that the golden goat has survived. She started keeping goats in 1937, and in the early 1950s began a breeding programme for Golden Guernseys at the suggestion of a B.G.S. Judge, Dr Tracey. |
| With great determination she increased her herd to about 30 goats, and in 1965 a separate Golden Guernsey register was opened in the Guernsey Goat Society's Herd Book. The first successful imports to England were in 1967 and the inaugural meeting of the mainland club was in 1969. The B.G.S. Golden Guernsey register was opened in 1971. |  |
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The photos on this page are of Miss Milbourne's herd
(..of L'Ancresse) on Guernsey and some early imports
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| Page last updated 21-May-2008 | |