History

Alpacas have a long domesticated history of over 4000 years, however have only been part of the Australian landscape since being introduced in 1989. Alpacas are a low maintenance animal, providing some of the finest quality wool.

There are two types of alpaca, the Huacaya, which has a ‘merino’ type wool, while the Suri is covered in ‘dreadlocked’ style wool. The alpaca industry is growing steadily in Australia and the quality and standard of animals is continually improving. 

Alpacas have been part of the Melbourne Royal since 1991, with 37 entries in that first year. Since then the high quality of animals shown reflects the success Australian breeders have had over this short period of time. 

The Melbourne Royal Alpaca Competition was held as a standalone event from 2013-2018. In 2019, the Alpaca Competition returned to the Melbourne Royal Show as a feature event celebrating the Suri and Huacaya breeds.