The Australian Cattle Dog was developed to assist with establishing the cattle industry in early Australian conditions. The principal requirement was a strong, biting dog, possessing great stamina, and capable of mustering and moving wild cattle. Early imported breeds of working dogs did not possess these requirements. The first settlers had a limited availability of labour; this created problems in the control of their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. Most properties were unfenced and the scrub country had not been cleared. To facilitate the efficient handling of sheep and cattle, they set about creating breeds of dogs to do this work for them. A great deal of research has been undertaken to ascertain the origin of the Australian Cattle Dog, but as early breeders kept very little recorded information, there is a marked divergence of opinion as to the breeds used to develop the purebred dog we see today. It is generally recognised though, that it resulted from the crossing of blue merle, smooth haired Collies with the Dingo, with a later injection of Dalmatian and black and tan Kelpie blood. Other cross breeding was tried, such as a Bull Terrier cross, but all these other crosses proved to be unsuccessful for the working of cattle.