Description of a Tenterfield Terrier.

As is so often the case, the origins of the breed are somewhat obscure. It is generally believed that smaller puppies from the litters of Fox Terriers were crossed with the progeny of other small breeds. Certainly, by the late 1800s a dog type known as the Little Foxie or the Miniature Fox Terrier (known colloquially as ‘Mini Foxies’) was well established in rural Australia. By the 1920s the dog was a fixture in urban households as well.

The name ‘Tenterfield’ is sometimes incorrectly stated to denote the terrier’s place of origin as Tenterfield, New South Wales. Rather, Tenterfield is only one of many Australian towns and villages in which small dogs of this type were known to exist. The town of Tenterfield is significant in Australian history, and the best-known owner of its saddlery was a man named George Woolnough, who was immortalized by his grandson, entertainer Peter Allen, as the “Tenterfield Saddler”. Mr. Woolnough owned a number of small dogs; however, photographs of these dogs are not available.

The name Tenterfield Terrier was suggested in the 1990s by Don Burke, a television personality of the era, and was adopted by the South Australian Miniature Fox Terrier club.