NEWS FROM DOWN UNDER
by Doug McClary
March 2014
Our decade
We have now lived in Australia for ten years, reaching that milestone in mid-February. I am still British and Cornish at heart but feel at home in this new country. There are many things I miss about Britain but there are many advantages of living down here in the southern hemisphere. As for my pigeons, of the 28 I brought with me in 2004, 9 are still here with me, which I regard as a pretty good record of consistency. Some of the old boys are beginning to show their age, with wings drooping somewhat but some, especially the oldest dark chequer still handles well enough to be shown. He is a grandson of the Speddings’ Mr T and I feel pride every time I see and handle him.
Away to the north
Ann and I celebrated our birthdays with a short break to the north of Victoria to Echuca on the River Murray. We had always promised ourselves a trip there so at long last made the effort. The location is a longish trip of four hours or more but it is to the north of the Great Dividing Range of mountains where the weather is much warmer. True to form we encountered hot conditions and were able to swim on every day of our visit. The countryside up there is very dry indeed with everything bleached by the heat to have the appearance of being white rather than brown. Yet, on one afternoon we drove north into New Wales to Deniliquin and there we encountered their first rain for a long time in the form of a thunder storm. That visit entailed a round trip of 150km and the following day decided to go to Swan Hill, also on the Murray but when we saw the signposts, realised that this was a round trip of 300km. So we stayed local and enjoyed a relaxed day which included a lovely cool Guinness in an Irish pub. It was good to get away but as always, even better to get home again.
The Birds
They are in the middle of their moult with feathers blowing everywhere. The young birds are beginning to show themselves as the finished product and I was surprised at how much some had changed in the space of four days. I have been clearing the feathers using the vacuum and cleaning underneath the floor grills to remove the resulting debris. I am still feeding a titbit which they enjoy and especially the older birds are waiting for me every morning for their treat. The last of my dragoons have gone and apart from the small kit of racers and rollers, I have only the show racers. My plan is to rid myself of the second loft and then enjoy my birds in smaller numbers and by smaller input. Meanwhile I am enjoying the ease of management by having extra space. Naturally when I got home one of the first jobs was to place the baths in the aviaries for the birds and they all fell into these with great enthusiasm.
Drinkers
My loft is fairly high and it has always been my practice to have the drinkers about 50inches from the ground. The theory was and is that the birds would need to exercise by flying up and down just as they do out in the aviary which is also extremely high. Years ago I saw this in Jim Isselhardt’s loft in St Louis, USA where he had a tall loft and all the perches were in high positions, just under the roof. When preparing to leave the birds for my time away, I placed extra drinkers on the floor and was impressed by the way the older birds made use of them. I am just wondering now whether some had been finding it a considerable effort to get up to drink, especially the old boys. I am therefore intending to keep drinkers on the floor grills and perhaps to place them on lower shelves. Does anyone have views on this subject?
Vaccination time
I am preparing my birds for their annual vaccination. Down here, despite vaccines being available in smaller doses in just about every country of the world, in Australia we can only purchase it on 500ml bottles sufficient for 1000 birds. What a situation this is having to buy and probably waste much of the vaccine.
Bob Kluss of Milwaukee
Some showmen will remember Bob Kluss coming across to England and Exeter with Dick Lipski. We spent an enjoyable holiday together and Bob did some judging. I am saddened to hear from Dick that Bob has passed away following an illness of some duration. I know that Dick will miss his company and has somehow managed to keep Bob’s lofts operating during his illness. I once called to see Bob’s birds and was struck by the beautiful powder light blue chequers. They were obviously a close-knit family and I would love to have had a couple of pairs of them. I doubt that they would have done very much at the British shows but they were beautiful none the less.
My Blackpool Choice
McCord and Turpie owned the chequer cock which I selected as my winner of the Blackpool winners photographed by Peter Bennett. I was extremely pleased to hear from John McCord who provided some details of his winner which in his class had been judged by David Thresher. The sire of the cock was bred out of a bird bred from a Kerr and Davidson 2001 cock which bred only one really good cock but turned out good hens, one of which was 2nd in the T.W.Hens for showing. The dam of the winning cock was bred by John and Alice Bell. The McCord and Turpie partnership retain only nine pairs so their success is based upon a small team philosophy. Congratulations to John also on the birth of a new baby Jack in October last.
Dennis McKane
The new president of the British Show Racer Federation is being proactive in communicating with all member show societies and providing details of his pigeon experiences. It all sounds good and I am pleased that Dennis is taking his new responsibility seriously.
Just not cricket
A local one-day junior cricket match clearly illustrates the Australian mentality on winning at any cost. The visiting team arrived two men short so the home team batted on and on scoring well over 600 runs with two batsmen scoring double centuries. The report didn’t say how the other team did when batting but in terms of sportsmanship, there was a considerable void.
Scottish SRS (East Region)
The fourth and fifth shows have been held and the story is one of the continued success or John and Alice Bell who have created records which could be equalled but never beaten. They have excelled at the society and of course at the classic shows wherever they have entered.
The final show of the season was held at the Hill of Beath Ex Serviceman's Club on Sunday 26th January 2014. The judges were John Duthie of Dundee, a national winner with his racers in 2013 and Brian Donnelly also of Dundee, both having judged at society shows many times in the past. The major class, the All winners Championship class, was given to Brian Donnelly who showed of his judging prowess by selecting the Best Young bird in society, Champion Old Hen and the Champion Old Cock in the society in his top three birds. The winner and picking up the J Harrow Memorial Cup & Dryborough Cup was a superb Dark Cheq cock for John & Alice Bell that had already won Best Old Cock, Best Yearling & Best Yearling Cock and would later that day finish off the season by winning the A & A Clark Specials Cup and was Best in show at our third show. Reserve Champion went to Struan Ferguson with a two year old Mealy hen that wins H Spratt trophy & D Malcolm trophy, having already won the Champion Old hen trophy winning four firsts this season in the society. Champion Young bird winning George Robertson Rose bowl is another superb Dark Cheq Hen for John & Alice Bell that had previously been awarded Most Consistent Bird in society and Best young Hen with three firsts and two Best in Shows. What makes this result for a judge to pick these birds without seeing them previously or being aware of them winning is remarkable. Winning Reserve Young bird champion is another Dark Cheq young hen from John & Alice Bell. Winning D Brown Rose bowl for Best Opposite Sex to Young Bird champion is a young Red Cock for Wallace & Ferguson.
For the show itself it was for Medley Classes and two Best in Shows from the classes Medley classes held at previous shows and from today's show. After much deliberation in the classes from previous it was a tie between John & Alice Bell with a Yearling Dark Cheq winner of the Champion Yearling Hen and a Mealy hen Yearling for Wallace & Ferguson. It was decided that Struan Ferguson should judge. After judging both fairly he decided that the Dark Cheq for John & Alice Bell should take the award.
In the other Best in Show again it was a tie, however as both were owned by John & Alice Bell it made the task easier and I gave it to a 6 year old Dark cheq hen that had won the Old Bird Pairs Class. This created a new record then for John & Alice Bell winning all six Best in Shows, a performance which can never be beaten. The full result was as follows:
Young Cock Handled - judge B Donnelly
1st, 5th 6th S Ferguson - Mealy
2nd J& A Bell
3rd, 4th Wallace & Ferguson
Young Hen handled - judge J Duthie
1st, 3rd S Ferguson - Mealy
2nd J & A Bell
4th, 5th C Miller
6th Mrs A Ferguson
Awarded Cock handled any age (new Class) J. Duthie
1st, 5th J & A Bell dark cheq (Supreme Champion, Champion Old cock, best Yearling)
2nd Wallace & Ferguson
3rd 4th, 6th S Ferguson
Awarded Hen handled any age (New Class) judge B Donnelly
1st, 3rd, J & A Bell - Silver Cheq joint Best In Show
2nd S Ferguson
4th Wallace & Ferguson
6th Mrs A Ferguson
Old bird pairs Thru Wires - judge J Duthie
1st, 2nd, 4th J & A Bell - Dark Cheq Hen joint Best In show overall today's winner
3rd S Ferguson
5th, 6th Wallace & Ferguson
Young Bird Pairs - judge B Donnely
1st S Ferguson - Mealy
2nd J & A Bell
3rd, 6th C. Miller
4th, 5th Wallace & Ferguson
Combined Pairs Through Wires - Judge J Duthie
1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th J & A Bell Dark Cheq
2nd S Ferguson
4th Wallace & Ferguson
That concludes the show season, one that John & Alice Bell will remember for many a year winning 22 out of the 26 Society trophies Including Most points, Supreme Champion, Society Champion, and best young bird and winning Supreme Champion of Britain at Blackpool. Struan Ferguson won three trophies with his Old Mealy hen and Wallace & Ferguson won their first trophy in many a year. (Struan’s words not mine!!!) With four new members applying for next season the society seems to be starting to grow again.
A happy group at the Scottish SRS Show
Charlie Miller with his sister and nephew from the USA
Simon Wooley & Nigel Westbury judging at the Devon & Cornwall SRS Show
In Conclusion
I saw statistics the other day which revealed that Melbourne had experienced six days of 41plus degree (110f) temperatures this year whereas in a normal span of time, such a high temperature could be experienced one day every two to three years. My goodness it was hot and the result is that the garden has suffered harm from which it may not fully recover. Most of my veggies were lost and a large tree is looking very sick by losing most of the leaves. My lemon tree dropped lemons by the score and we have resorted to watering both using kitchen and shower water in an effort to save them. Yet, places north of the Great Dividing Range have experienced more of this than we have and also Adelaide in South Australia. We are now into autumn, hence the flying feathers. Our water tanks are all empty and crying out for rain just as the garden is. I am still here at 3 Kunyung Road, Mount Eliza, Victoria 3930 and my email address is
Douglas McClary
Kemyel Lofts of British Show Racers
douglas-mcclary.blogspot.com.au
---
