|
PROLOGUE
- SOUTH AFRICA...
 |
The
year of 1957 was a very special year
to those of us who have got to know
and learnt to love a breed of cat
known as Burmese, for that is when
they first arrived in South Africa.
And, as ever, true to their inherent
love of people, they soon crept into
the lives and hearts of countless
cat lovers.
A
great debt is owed to the many early
intrepid pioneers who courageously
brought this remarkable breed of cat
to the shores of Southern Africa.
Pictured
left: "Perry"...
Ch.
Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord
imported from England... |
INTRODUCTION
OF BURMESE TO SOUTH AFRICA
Although Mr. & Mrs. A.S. Johnston are
no doubt the acknowledged pioneers for
introducing the Burmese to Southern
Africa, with the arrival of Fernreig
Charki(October 1957), Sealcoat
Yana and Kachin Jill.
Charki was the first ever recorded Burmese
Champion and became a Grand Champion in
October 1960. There are yet other pioneers
of note to whom local Burmese fanciers owe
a great deal. Many of the early breeders
and their prefixes or affixes are now only
names that appear on very old pedigrees.
Among
the earliest were:
Mr. & Mrs. A.S. Johnston of Fairlawns
Mrs. Audrey Trewren of Bon Accord
Miss Flo Cowling of Salakee
[pictured right] with Salakee Zaing Nga-Min
(right)
Mrs. Linda Emery of Selworthy
Mrs. Marjorie Simpson of Simani
Miss Yvonne Withers of Sittangs
Mrs. Avice Henderson of Beaucoat
(My thanks to Audrey for supplying the
three photographs for my archives)
All of whom imported the best quality
Burmese, from England available to them at
the time, to expand South Africa's very
limited gene pool. By the mid 70s more
than 50 imported Burmese had made SA their
home. Many more have followed, primarily
from England, but others have come from
Belgium, Holland, America and more
recently Canada. However, British bred
Burmese can still safely be regarded as
the "true forefathers"
of the Burmese breed in South Africa.
Mr.
John Oliver, a respected All Breeds judge,
was present at Palmietfontein in '57 when
Charki arrived. His favourite anecdote
about Charki, relates to an incident with
the local veterinary inspector.
Apparently, the over zealous and
bureaucratic gentleman was a little rough
in handling his examination; Charki
retaliated by turning the official's
rather prominent nose into an early
morning snack!
Initial
research undertaken in the mid eighties
revealed that although the Johnston's
brought in three cats to establish a
breeding programme for Burmese,
unfortunately, only Kachin Jill - a
Siamese/Burmese hybrid - ever produced
kittens that were registered. Inspection
of the application for registration of the
litter described kittens of 'various'
shades of Brown.
It
would appear that Sealcoat Yana, after an
exhaustive search through the archives at
the Cat Register, never produced a litter
- reasons unknown.
Miss
Cowling and Mrs. Trewren, between them
imported the next three Burmese in the
late fifties and early sixties. These cats
were Salakee Zaing Nga-Min,
Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord
and Kermak Akashan of Bon Accord
(all pictured together below). Together
with Charki and Kachin Jill, these cats
can definitely be considered the founding
stock of present day Burmese in South
Africa.
The "Pioneers" of modern
Burmese in South Africa:
[left to right] Salakee Zaing Nga-Min,
Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord
and Kermak Akashan of Bon Accord.
Miss
Withers' contribution was of particular
significance as she introduced the first
Cream lines besides helping to expand the
gene pool with a couple of Browns, as well
as two Blues - Sittangs Southpaws
Sweet William and Sittangs
Kambuku Amarie.
The
two Creams were Sittangs
Honeychile Odette and Ch.
Sittangs Linlinkye Sunstar, who
was subsequently bequeathed to Carol
Cokayne (Pink Panther) and who appears on
many existing pedigrees of both Red and
Cream Burmese. The first Grand Champion
Cream queen bears her prefix: Gd.
Ch. Pink Panther Cream Cameo.
Miss Withers, who opposed 'so-called
colour breeding - i.e. torties', did not
realise that a little more than a decade
after his arrival, Sunstar's lines would
be present in the very first Tortie
Burmese to become a Supreme Champion - Sp.
Ch. Gitalaya Amberglo Amber- a
Chocolate Tortie.
A
brown stud of particular note was Gd.
Ch. Dinapur's Whisky du Rossignol
(Belgium), imported by Mrs. Harmsen in
1973. He was to play a significant role in
the further development of SA Burmese. In
1979, Whisky went to the late
"Aunty" Ann Boshoff of Phitsamai
Cattery when Mrs. Harmsen stopped breeding
Burmese. At the time of Mrs. Boshoff's
death, he was transferred to Greig
Russell. Whisky had the singular privilege
of being the sire of the very first
Burmese to become a Supreme Champion: a
brown queen, Middle Earth Christiana, bred
by Dr. Venter and owned by the late
Melanie Lecolle-Brown.
Whisky
was renowned for his amazing yellow eye
colour and superb coat - both colour and
texture; his working life lasted an
incredible 13 years, during which time he
sired many fine cats and even today, some
of his heirs still grace many pedigrees. |
