It was 1950 before the breed was again seen
in Australia when Mrs. Ward (Golitha) migrated from England to
Western Australia bringing with her a black masked gold dog, Ch.
Devilkin Dasthi Pasha. Some twelve months later she imported a
cream bitch Devilkin Dathoobhos in whelp. From the resulting litter
a number of puppies were sold throughout Australia and some were
quite successful in the showrings.
Mrs. Ward subsequently
relocated to Tasmania and it was to this State also that Mrs.
Barbara Skilton (breeder of the Devilkin dogs) migrated from the
U.K. Mrs. Skilton had also at one time worked in the Bletchingly
Kennels in England.
Mrs. Skilton brought with
her the black and tan dog Ch. Aghai of Hawkfield (U.K.) and she
adopted a new prefix - El Tazzi. This dog along with another dog
which Mrs. Skilton imported had a tremendous influence on the
early development of the breed in this country. The later import
was Ch. Taj Amigo of Chaman (U.K.).
The stock from these early
kennels was elegant and stylish and their influence can readily
be traced through to many of today's successful show exhibits.
In fact as late as 1971, Mrs. Kay Finch (Crown Crest - U.S.A.) made
the very beautiful black masked silver dog Ch. Zamalek Karim,
Best in Show at the Adelaide Specialty and he also won the inaugural
Queensland Specialty the following year. The last import in this
dog's pedigree was in 1957. He was by Ch. Monash Bongo Bongo
(A Royal Group winner) out of a bitch which was line bred on the
original Golitha dogs.
In Victoria three important
Afghans arrived with the Abbotts who also migrated here from England.
These were the black and tan male Zarussef Zso Zso and the two
bitches Khorrassan Horningsea Tarbouka and Radiant of Carloway.
This latter bitch mated to Zso Zso produced a number of champions
including Khyber Amanulla who became the principal sire in the
establishment of Helen Furber's Furbari Kennels in Sydney where
the foundation bitch was Westghan Knamba.
Another dog imported around
the same time was the black masked silver Aust./N.Z. Ch. Viper
of Davlen brought into South Australia by another English migrant
Mrs. Marie Howitt (Kazah). This dog was another producer of
quality stock who still appears in the (extended) pedigrees of
many of today's winners. Mrs. Howitt subsequently moved to New
Zealand where she was influential in the establishment of the
breed there. She later moved to New South Wales and now lives
back in England.
In the late 1950's yet
another English migrant arrived with some important dogs. This
was Mr. Fred Long (Hookstone) who not only brought his Afghans
but also some Sealyham Terriers as well as various pedigreed farming
livestock. The Afghans were the very striking black masked red
dog Hookstone Habibula and a black masked gold bitch Hookstone
Hamaira. With them was a son of this pair - Hookstone Nadir Shah
- a dog that along with his sire did considerable winning in the
early 1960's. At the 1962 Sydney Royal Hookstone Habibula (at
eleven and a half years of age) won the breed and took Runner-Up
in Group under the great English all-rounder, Leo Wilson (whose
wife had bred and exhibited Afghans prior to World War II) Hookstone
Nadir Shah when mated to Ch. El Tazzi Cleopatra produced two significant
males Ch. Kingstar Hookstone Abu and Ch. Kingstar Ali Bey - the
latter being the top Afghan in N.S.W. over a three year period
in the mid 1960's.
From the foregoing it
becomes clear that most of the imports that established the breed
in this country in the 1950's and early 1960's and which have
had a continuing influence on its subsequent development were
brought here from the U.K. by migrating English enthusiasts.
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