THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN TERRIER
ALSO KNOWN AS AUSSIES
by CAROL SAZAMA Excerpts from the 50th Commemorative
T he early dogs were called ‘Rough-coated Terriers’, dogs and bitches bred from Brit- ish Terriers or their descen- dants, which were brought from Eng- land, Ireland and Scotland. But there was no master plan with the clear view of hindsight at work. Instead, a brave new breed resulted almost in spite of human intervention. Roy Burnell’s account of breeding Australian Terriers in the early days (An unpublished essay, 1962, The Austra- lian Terrier ) is revealing that according to his grandfather’s practices starting from about the 1890s, Burnell alludes to an “open season” as to what they did to develop a breed that would be rec- ognizable! There were no kennel names or prefix found in most pedigrees. There was no complete record kept of
pedigrees to indicate the various admix- tures used to secure the type of dog they desired or required. From the 1860-70s, the Rough Coat- ed Terrier spread throughout Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, to New South Wales and Queensland. Use of the term “Australian Terrier” is found quite early. In 1880, there is a record of Australian Rough Coated Terriers shown in South Australia. In 1886, “Australian Terriers” were shown in Queensland. In 1899, a class of “Australian Terriers-Rough Coated” was seen in Sydney, New South Wales. Finally, in 1909, according to Pame- la McDougall-Douglas, the Victorian Poultry and Kennel Club granted the first championship title specifically to an “Australian Terrier”, previously the Rough Coated Terrier. In 1909,
83 Australian Terriers were registered in Victoria; of these, 64 were blue and tan and 19 were sandy. Acceptance of the term “Australian Terrier” named after the nation, hence a national Terrier, came gradually, but not without the now-infamous railing against the national breed with vitriol and controversy in the kennel news of the Australian press. “Unmitigated mongrel” and other intensely deroga- tory descriptors and passionate opin- ions are cited in the many histories of the Australian Terrier. Bear in mind that until the 1940s, and perhaps even later, cross-breeding could still be found. The same litter might produce speci- mens of two and even three different “breeds” (e.g., Silky Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier and Australian Terrier), depend- ing on the phenotype. New registration
“FROM THE 1860-70s, THE ROUGH COATED TERRIER SPREAD THROUGHOUT TASMANIA, VICTORIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, TO NEW SOUTH WALES AND QUEENSLAND.”
248 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J ULY 2017
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