100 Years of Aviculture, An Australian Perspective

A Introduction viculture in Australia commenced after European settlement in 1788 when the early settlers kept birds they brought with them from the United Kingdom and Europe. From an Australian viewpoint, remembering its isolation deepdown in the Southern Hemisphere, probably the most significant events in Australian aviculture in the past 100 years were: Aviculture of Native Australian The development of the appropriate techniques and methodology of the housing, management and breeding of native Australian birds, especially Australian grassfinches and parrots, within the wide-ranging climatic conditions that existed in the areas settled by the immigrants from the Northern Hemisphere was both important and significant. Importance Because Australian finches, parrots, cockatoos, doves, pigeons, quail, and soft-billed species all live in an environment completely different to England and Europe, it was important the birdkeepers of 200 years ago learned how to care properly for these strange new The methods they were used to, based on breeding canaries in small cages, were totally inappropriate to the avicultural needs of the Australian birds they could then so readily acquire (trapping of native Australian birds is now banned). Establishment of Clubs and Societies The establishment of avicultural societies in major capital cities, viz, Adelaide, South Australia; Melbourne, Victoria; Sydney, New South Wales; and Perth, Western Australia; and the eventual publication of regular avicultural magazines, such as Australian Aviculture, journal of the Melbournebased A vi cultural Society of Australia and Bird Keeping in Australia, magazine of the Adelaide-based Avicultural Society of South Australia, enabled breeders to obtain new knowledge and share their avicultural experiences with other enthusiasts. Importance Bird clubs catering for the breeding and showing of canaries were established by enthusiastic fanciers. Importantly, many aviculturists decided that the hobby of birdkeeping also needed avicultural organizations (usually termed society) for those who preferred breeding birds as compared with those whose main (and legitimate) interest was in the showing of birds. This, for example, was the reason why the A vi cultural Society of Australia was formed in 1940. The oldest avicultural society in Australia is the A vicultural Society of South Australia founded in 1928. This well established society was result of a small group of keen Adelaide bird breeders getting together with the purpose of having a club for likeminded persons in what is one of the best areas in Australia for breeding of birds in outdoor aviaries. The importance of such organizations, such as the A vicultural Society of South Australia and the Avicultural Society of Australia - of which I am the secretary/editor, cannot be underestimated. Such societies - based in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, functioned long before the current ease of communication that we all now take for granted. Few aviculturists of the 1930s - 1940s and early 1950s owned a telephone or an automobile, and fax machines and e-mail hadn't been invented. Monthly meetings around Australia enabled enthusiastic aviculturists to meet, listen to guest speakers, and talk about The natural flow-on was the publication of monthly journals or bulletins. Thus information sharing became firmly established and, eventually, the quality of the material published improved as the experiences and the knowledge of the members increased. Formation of a National Coordinating Organization The formation of the Avicultural Federation of Australia (AFA) in 1980 as the coordinating body for aviculture and birdkeeping in Australia was, in all probability, the major turning point for a vi culture in Australia. The AF A, which is modeled on the American Federation of A viculture, established and has now held nine national conventions since 1980. (They are usually held every two-three years in different capital cities.) Importance The formation of the Avicultural Federation of Australia two decades ago was, I believe, the single most important event in the history of Australian aviculture. A coordinating organization based on the well established, and successful, American Federation of A viculture, was not only needed - it was welcomed. Apart from the important task of establishing state affiliates who meet regularly, the AFA is the facilitator of our national conventions. The most recent - Birds 99 - held in Brisbane, Queensland in June last year proved, yet again, that the opportunity to listen to, and meet local and overseas guest speakers is a most important and enjoyable aspect of aviculture that not only broadens one's knowledge but is the motivation - or the stimulus - required for us to forge ahead despite the challenges of the computer-generated age we live in.

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