The Australorp is by far the best known Australian chicken.

They were developed using primarily original William Cook type Orpingtons and Australian Langshans. Then known as the Australian Orpington, this became the Austral Orpington and finally, the Australorp. There was much dissent between the various states of Australia as to a standard and it was not until 1949 that an Australian Standard was finally agreed to, at a meeting of state delegates, called by Edwin Hadlington (the NSW Government Poultry Expert). This Standard was adopted almost word perfectly by the British Poultry Club in its Book of British Poultry Standards. The illustrations for this first Australian Standard were of a cockerel bred by Jim O'Malley of Queanbeyan and a hen owned by the late Claude Ubrihien of Bega.

The Australorp is one of the World's finest utility breeds and proved itself in laying trials for many years. In 1963 it was honoured at the World Poultry Congress being depicted on medals and stamps. The breed was recognised as the single most important utility breed ever developed.

The Australorp could best be described as a bird of curves. There should be nothing angular about these chickens at all. The back should be long and concave, sweeping gracefully up to the tail. A most striking feature of the Australorp is its big, bold, black eye, which sits in the centre of a clear, open, bright red face. The face has no signs of coarseness and any hint of "beetle brows" should be eliminated. The plumage should be glossy black with a rich beetle-green sheen and tight, not loose and fluffy as with Orpingtons.

It is a wonderful show bird, often winning major awards. It is quiet and docile and may be had in both large and bantams. In Australia, only blacks are bred, this being the only true colour.

The ideal male -
Jim O'Malley's cockerel

The ideal female -
Claude Ubrihien's hen

A good type female bred near Queanbeyan, NSW