Australia's 145 years of Dog Registration

Australia's Coat of ArmsAustralia's Coat of Arms

Having dealt with Victoria, this is the other Australian State and Territory's journeys via their respective Agricultural Societies, to become separate controlling bodies. 'Controlling body' is a historical term which today is still the organisation people must join before participating in any aspect or activity involving of pure-bred dogs.

Additionally, processes governing Breed Standards and standardised Rules for showing, trialling, obedience and other canine related activities are in the hands of the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) which also co-ordinates our Australian Stud Book.

Enjoy pictures of our unique Australian animals while we travel through this history.

References and Further Reading:

Published in 2013 as 'Beyond the Distance of Tyranny' in "Dogs Victoria Magazine" Victorian Canine Association Inc. Cranbourne Vic Vol. 79 Issue 7 July 2013 Pages 16, 17, 18, 19

  • 2014 Dog News Australasia Annual Top Dog Media Pty Ltd Tahmoor NSW 2573 Pages 26, 27 and 229



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Dogs West

Before Federation in 1901, the huge Colony of Western Australia developed separately from the rest of Australia. At that time, if any dog shows were held, they were conducted in the south-west corner of the State. Until 1945, their only dog club in WA was the Western Australian Kennel Club (WAKC). This situation was different from that in the Colony ... »» Read more...

Australian Cattle dog red working High Res GIMP

Dogs NSW

Dogs New South Wales (Dogs NSW) was pioneering in that, in 1975, the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales' Kennel Control (RASKC) became the first dog organisation in Australia to install an in-house computer to record our breed registrations. Certainly innovative for its time, it worked so well that by 1978 other States and Territories had become linked to ... »» Read more...

Stumpy Obedience Jump

Dogs Queensland

When Dogs Queensland was the Kennel Association of Queensland, they made a ground-breaking contribution to our dog world when they produced Australia's first series of Stud Books. Called the 'Canine Stud Books of Australia' these books were published annually from 1922-1947. As the only surviving source of pedigree information of dogs of that time resident in Queensland and beyond, today ... »» Read more...

Murray 2 ducks

Dogs SA

The Murray River, which flows through Victoria and New South Wales before it ends in South Australia, is the longest single river system in the country. In the early days of developing the vast Colony of New South Wales, before railways and roads opened up the interior of the vast continent, this 2,000 kilometres of a navigable river system provided ... »» Read more...

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Dogs Tasmania

Tasmania conducted Australia's first official dog show in 1862, at Moore's Horse Bazaar in Hobart Town. It had a catalogue produced by Hobart Town's 'Society for the Improvement in the Breed of Dogs' which recorded that 92 dogs that were exhibited. The Hobart newspaper reported the purpose of the dog show was »» Read more...

Welsh SpringersNT GIMP

Dogs NT

Until 1908, the Northern Territory was part of South Australia. Consequently, formal purebred dog activities in the NT did not begin until the 1950s which is far more recent than that of the six States. »» Read more...

Canberra 1988 catalogue cover

Dogs ACT

Until 1913, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was part of New South Wales. When Australia needed an appropriate region for the seat of government, the region now known as the ACT was chosen because it was situated between the two largest Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney. In 1913, it was established as the ACT with Canberra named as its capital ... »» Read more...


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