Another important male to arrive on our shores was Ch. Fubari Kusan
Kabul (U.K.) for Helen Furber
in 1967. This black masked brindle won fourteen Best in Shows and was
used quite extensively at
stud after he had made a name for himself in the showring. He produced
over sixty champions from
around thirty litters. He was particularly useful to the Raushan Kennels
of Vic. and Eve Seibrecht
where he enhanced their reputation for Afghans which were quite
substantial while still maintaining
Afghan elegance. Kusan as a sire was particularly successful when mated
to daughters of The Flying
Dutchman of Isfahan (U.S.A.), this combination being responsible for
Aust/N.Z. Ch. Furbari Desert
Flower and a similar combination a generation further down produced Ch.
Tadjik Shikari and Ch.
Doyen Drunkn Disordly- all of which were Specialty Best in Show winners.
Mrs. Furber subsequently imported Furbari Foreign Affair to breed to the
Kusan daughters and grand-
daughters. The most successful of these combinations was Ch. Kyushu
Watergate Affair who won a
Specialty Best in Show in the early eighties for Stephen Wheeler (
Jacosta ) . A daughter of
Watergate Affair - Ch. Jacosta Balenciaga - was the winner of three
Specialties as well as being a
multiple All-Breeds Best in Show winner. She was sold to America where
she had a very successful
show career including a Breed win at Westminster
In 1969 one of the most important imports ever to this country came from
America - the oyster
brindle Ch. Coastwind Holyman. This dog was brought out by David Roche
(Fermoy) and while he
had a measure of success in the showring , including twice winning the
N.S.W. Specialty and also a
Victorian Specialty, it will be as a sire and for the influence he had
on Australian Afghans that he will
be most remembered. He never stood at public stud and hence the
extremely high number of winners
produced came from relatively few matings. He produced a number of
Champions for the Frosts
(Dzum) when mated to Ch. Emir Dzum Dhama Pada (dam of thirteen
Champions) including Ch
Dzum Pollyanna who was a prolific winner for her owner David Roche
including Best in Show at
three successive Adelaide Royal Shows.
In addition he produced a number of other Royal Best in Show winners as
well as seven Specialty
Best in Show winners including Ch Fermoy Hey Look Me Over and Ch.
Fermoy Holy Knight from
the Mazari daughter Ch. Fermoy Tamara, and also for Fermoy, Ch. Fermoy
Holy Joe from the
American import Ch. Crowncrest Miss Capriole (U.S.A.) - a daughter of Am
Ch. Crowncrest Mr.
Universe. For the Alaqadar Kennls of Terry and Ada Wilcox he sired the
black and tan dog Ch.
Alaqadar de Fauves (another Royal Best in Show winner) and the brindle
dog Ch Alaqadar
Chiaroscuro both major winners. When mated to Ch. Maros Blue Marion he
produced for the
Slatyers Calahorra Kennels Calahorra the Highwayman another dog who is
important in modern
pedigrees.
In 1969 following a case of Rabies in England , Australia imposed a ban
on the importation of dogs
from the U.K., which in turn prevented the importation of dogs from the
U.S.A. as at that time dogs
from that country had to spend twelve months in England before coming to
Australia. This ban
remained in force for over two years. The effect of the ban was to make
breeders stop and assess the
breeding stock that was already in the country .
This happened at a time when interest in the breed was expanding. The
result was that breeders
started to consolidate on those lines that were already proving
successful.
For the first time local dogs were given access to the quality breeding
bitches as breeders began to
assess stud dogs on their potential to produce rather than deciding
which import they should use.
At this stage a number of factors began to combine to produce the high
quality dogs of the 1970's that
made Australian Afghans famous throughout the world.
Firstly, the foundation had been laid with the high quality of the early
imports.
Secondly, the 1960's had seen the importation of a number of significant
sires most of which were still
available during this period.
Thirdly, the ban on importation provided the breathing space for
breeders to consolidate on the
above.
Next, expanding interest in the breed provided the opportunity for
breeders to accelerate their
breeding programs as the progeny in excess of their needs could readily
be sold. Indeed during this
period there were kennels which at times housed up to one hundred dogs.
Finally, we saw a continuous stream of very experienced overseas all
rounder judges who spread the
word worldwide about the quality of Australian dogs. Among these judges
were Hans Lehtinen,
Bobby James, Bill Siggers, Joe Braddon, Robert Waters, Reg Gadsden, Anne
Rogers Clark, Lily
Turner,Paolo Dondina, Rainer Vourninen, Jean Lanning, Thelma Gray and
Pamela Cross-Stern, to
name but a few . And these judges confirmed their opinions by giving
the major awards to this breed.
Indeed during this decade half of the Best in Show awards at Sydney
Royal went to Afghans !
In addition the specialist breeders and judges came to judge our
Specialties and major All-Breeds
shows and they too went away recommending Australian Afghans, resulting
in Australian exports
finding their way to numerous overseas countries. The Specialist Judges
of that era included Molly
Sharpe, Kay Finch, Shiela Devitt, Gini Withington, Herman Fellton, Ed
Kauffman, Wally Pede,
Margaret Niblock, Gerda Kennedy, Stephanie Hunt-Crowley.........the list
continues on into the 80's
and 90's. Today it can fairly be said that nearly everyone of any
standing in this breed has visited or
judged in Australia.
The 1970's also saw Barbara Skilton introduce dogs from the famous
Dutch kennel of Eta Pauptit.
The two most important of these were Ch. Badin vdOM and Koem vdOM. The
most significant dog
down from these was Ch. El Tassi Ukoom a winner of two Specialties in
N.S.W. for owner Ray
Barter. Ukoom was a grandson of Keom vdOM and his mother was a double
grand-daughter of Ch.
Badin vdOM.
The usual scene when a breed achieves high popularity is that the
quality begins to deteriorate. In
Australian Afghans this did not happen even when entries began to fall
in the late 70's and into the
80's. This was largely due to the fact that most of the successful
breeders of the 60's and 70's
remained with the breed. As well as most of those already mentioned
there were the Jentsch Family
( now Birgit Ferguson - Tahkira), Colleen Krause-Sydow (now Khoury -
Quom), Pat and Arthur
Batty (Pierhelo), Don Day ( Aboukir), Ian and Sherrie Leslie (Alkhoran)
to name a few of the more
prominent.
In addition the late 1970's saw some new names making their presence
felt. These included Paul and
Pauline Hewitt (Khandhu ) , Jim, Mary and Louise Hickie (Gengala) and
Jenny Blunden and daughter
Mary (Kalutara). In the mid-80's the Blundens in conjunction with
Calahorra had spectacular success
with Ch. Calahorra Boccaccio winning twenty four Best in Shows including
two Royals. A son of
Boccaccio ( Ch. Kalutara Hailselassie ) went Best in Show at the 1987
Victorian Specialty.
Related Content
Mrs. Olive Macdougall (Kandahar)
Mrs.V B West (Bara-Khel)
Mrs. Barbara Skilton, (El Tazzi), by Steve Tilotson and Lyall Payne July 2015
History Of The Breed Down Under by Helen Furber (Furbari, Aust), 1969
Norah and Richard Ward (Golithar,Aust), by Steve Tilotson and Lyall Payne July 2015
ADD FRED LONG LINK HERE
ADD SCHELLING/WATSON LINK HERE
Fear of Possible Mennace -"The Post's" Sydney, Australia, 1935
An Interview with Barbara Skilton Of Eltazzi Kennels
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