The forebears of the Tenterfield Terrier accompanied Australia's first European settlers who sailed from Portsmouth in the south of England. These dogs were vermin killers. The smallest of them were selected to play that role on ships, which is how they arrived in Australia. Large dogs would not have fared as well in the cramped shipboard environment where vermin found nooks and crannies. Small terriers had an advantage in that environment. Miniature individuals of the Fox Terrier breed suited the role, as their original breeding matched the new task closely. By the late 19th century a dog type known as the Miniature Fox Terrier (known colloquially as 'Mini Foxies') was well established in rural Australia as a vermin killer and family companion. By the 1920s the dog had become a fixture in urban households.