Jamestown Pigeon Club

[dianne48]

Now Ray this will be a subject we should get a few to join in with us, Pigeon Flying has always  been a popular sport in Jamestown.
 
My Father and Mother were very involved in the pigeons in the 50s and early 60s.
Pigeon racing was a big thing in our Family back then, as kids it was very exciting to us the hustle and bustle going on all the time.
It all started on Wednesday nights Dad and Mum off to the pigeon house to cage and list the birds chosen to go, the birds would be taken up to the Railway Station ready for their journey to were ever.
I am only going to write this in bits as I am hoping others will share their memories as well, I have a memory of what I thought happened but I stand to be corrected.
When my Dad was in the Club these are the people I recall being flying members.
Bill Smith, Couzner Bros. Lionel and Ken, Couzner and Son. Mick and Cuddy, Len Williams, Norm Couzner, Alf Couzner, Hook Saviour, Woggie White. Ron Gibbons. Paul Wells. I think Keith Hockey, and I don't know when Errol Sweares came in.
Now I rang my Brother and he came up with Frank Kelly, Don Lambert and a ? Heness, ,? Brown, but we are not sure of some of the first names. Can you name them or can you name others?

[Ray]

Thanks for that little list Dianne. How sad it is that as far as I know, (and I'm pretty sure that I'm right, There is no organised Pigeon Racing Group in Jamestown, The last interested breeder that I knew of was Brian Mason, there may be others, but they certainly keep their heads low. I will go and see Brian tomorrow if I get a chance.

Errol is storing all of the Honour boards and fast running out of space in his garage, so he wants to put them on permanent loan to our History group where they will be kept and displayed and out of harms way. I'm not sure how the negotiations are going at the moment, but he wants to have the agreement of all the ex racing fraternity before he makes a move, none of them are getting any younger. We would hold them in trust until a new club re-forms. I think that's the way it's supposed to work.

[dianne48]

Yes Ray I have been aware that there are very few bird lovers left,I know Len Williams still has birds and takes them on little flights.
What a shame we are loosing everything we once new as children, our memories are just that memories.
It's a real buzz to be able to talk about our days like this, as the kids these days just don't want to know. It was the highlight of our week Saturday the birds would be coming home, the house would be filled with excitement Mum would have every one organised and we would be told the birds should arrive about this time no noise , stay  inside, don't go near the pigeon house etc. etc. there were rules and we had to obey them.
The exciting part was that we were always involved, we had picked out our own birds from the flight and there was a reward for whoever's bird came home first.
Here's a list of the places the birds use to fly home from.
Oodnadatta, Parachilna, Mt. Barker, Carriton, Marree, Dimboola, Keith, Lindhurst, Riverton, Belton, Ararat, Alice Springs.

[CableGuy]

I was a member of the Jamestown Invitation Homing Club for some years, we used to hold our meetings and hamper the birds at the stables of the old butter factory. Members which were not mentioned above included - Graham Ireland, Len Davis, Max Rynne, Chris Jackson, Ted Dickinson, John Barlow, Steve Couzner, Harry Chipping, Gavin Young, Bob Phillis, David Daly and others. I can remember up to 20 - 30 hampers of birds being sent away on some races. When the old butter factory was bull-dozed over, the club moved to the Demobilized Soldiers Hall on South Terrace (now used by the Pistol Club. The club was later renamed the Jamestown Homing and Show Pigeon Society. The downfall of the club is solely attributed to the demise of the state railways, when it became owned by others, the railways stopped picking up birds for release from many clubs across South Australia. The metropolitan clubs are still quite strong, and own their own semi-trailer release vehicle, with prize money running into the thousands of dollars. At one point in time, Jamestown was recognized as one of the strongest in the state. Throughout Europe, England and the United States, pigeon racing remains very strong and competitive, with some particular races offering prizemoney equivilent to some horse racing events. It is not uncommon in some of these countries, that pigeon lofts are air-conditioned and have tiled floors, as the many books I have can testify to, If there is one sport that I have participated in, and considered the best for enjoyment, it was pigeon racing.

[dianne48]

 

Great to see someone interested in my pigeon memories, fantastic to see you name all the flyer's from a later generation. My Mother passed away in 1962 and Dad could not continue racing, he was not well himself at the time plus to many memories.
Yes a lot of those names are known to me and a couple of relies as well,I left Jamestown in 1970 when they closed the Railways as we new it and you are a 100% correct Re the closure of the S.A.Railway not only did it affect the pigeons but hundreds of businesses.
What year did you fly, I would imagine you are one of the names you have mentioned, I probably know you.
I still have my Fathers old record books and prize cards from the Jamestown Show, you can probably recall the show cages at the grounds if you were old enough.
It sure was exciting waiting in anticipation for a bird to land on the loft on race day.