Our History

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The Cocker Spaniel Club of Queensland came to life in 1944 when shows as we know them today were far beyond the imagination of the exhibitors of 50 years ago.

Sitting outside the Eagers Show room at the Exhibition Ground one day after the Cocker Spaniel judging, a group of dedicated Cocker exhibitors discussed the possibility of forming a Cocker Spaniel Club. Taking part in this discussion were Captain and Mrs Stuart (Melrose), Mr and Mrs Flynn (Kentucky), Mr and Mrs McGregor (Carinya), Mr and Mrs McClean (Eccleston) and Mrs N Miller (Shirling)...... these breeders formed the steering committee and a meeting of Cocker breeders and exhibitors was called. Mr Eddington (Beldon) was elected the first President and Mrs Marsden (Morninglea) the first Secretary.

The Club became affiliated to the Kennel Association of Queensland for this was in the days before the Canine Control Council, and there was more than one control. The Club's first show was held in the Exhibition Grounds, O'Connell Terrace on Saturday 28 October 1944. A two point Championship Show with an entry of 32 (12 dogs and 20 bitches); 4 brace; 1 team and 1 litter. Presentation of trophies took place two week later at a monster social and dance held in St Lukes Hall, Charlotte Street with admission by a silver coin!

The Club's second show was held in September 1945, with an increase in entries to 45 (20 dogs and 25 bitches). In 1948 the Club became affiliated with the Canine Control Council and held the first Parade under this affiliation in May 1948, again with an increase in entries to 45 (20 dogs and 25 bitches).

Over the years from this small beginning the Club has successfully progressed on to the present day and from an entry of 32 in 1944 we are now looking forward to hosting our third National Specialty Show in a few years time.

In 1996 we held our Inaugural Cocker of the Year and Puppy of the Year Contest, which went on to be a yearly end of year members competition for over a decade, but due to declining membership numbers the event was stopped.

In 2002 the Cocker Spaniel Club became live on the internet, with a website designed. The site went live 14 September 2002 and in the first 12 months we had over 15000 unique visitors to our site.

In 2003 saw the Club become incorporated, and the Club was able to now look to the future with more assurity, and continue to promote our lovely breed.

Over the years the Cocker Spaniel has remained a popular breed with families and show exhibitors, and now they are also competing in many disciplines of dog sports around the country.

We now have the ability to test for some diseases that afflict the breed, simply with DNA swabs and this has helped as breeders have adopted the various tests for prcd-PRA, AHRN (FN) and AON plus EIC and BHFD. Many breeders also do hip and elbow scoring. We are in times now that are wonderful for the health of purebred dogs with advances in DNA testing - our breeders are the guardians of the breed and their health toolkit is now expansive and there is no reason why any indiscriminate breeding should be undertaken.

In 2020 our Club Code of Ethics was updated, encouraging our members to complete the health tests and to share the results for future generations. A bold progessive move by our Club and we hope that it will help the breed continue to flourish.

The Club is affiliated with DogsQueensland (previously known as Canine Control Council) and our members meet regularly to ensure the viability of the Club and host events.

The Cocker Spaniel is still one of the most popular breeds for families around the world, and we hope that our Club can continue to ensure that purebred ANKC registered Cocker Spaniels, that are health tested will be available for many years to come.

FURTHER READING - head over to the parent Club website in the UK
http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/history.htm​
 

 


Contact Details

The Secretary, Cocker Spaniel Club of Qld Inc
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Email : [email protected]