It has been exported to Australia and to many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America.

[4]: 789 [3] The Corriedale was developed in the latter part of the nineteenth century by cross-breeding Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep,[5] with the aim of producing sheep with grazing requirements intermediate between the lush lowlands which suited the British breeds and the sparse dry grazing preferred by the Merino.

[4]: 789 The first to attempt this was James Little, who had come to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 1863, and had previously tried to cross-breed Merinos with British Romney stock.

At the Corriedale estate in North Otago, where he was manager, he then attempted to produce a Lincoln-Merino cross, but the results were unsatisfactory.

[6]: 25 [7] At about the same time William Davidson, manager of The Levels, an estate in South Canterbury, began similar work using Lincoln rams on medium-wool Merino ewes; the resulting sheep became the foundation stock for the Corriedale breed.

[6]: 13 Ewe fleeces weigh some 5–7 kg, with a staple length of 150–180 mm and a fibre diameter of 25–32 μm, equivalent to a Bradford count of 56/50s.