Noble Park resident and veteran bird breeder Don Simpson with his prize bantam, awarded show champion in its class, at last weekend’s Berwick Show.By Shaun Inguanzo
DON SIMPSON has been showing birds for over 50 years, so it was no surprise that the veteran toughed-out a torrential downpour at last weekend’s Berwick Show to scoop the champion bird prize.
The 82-year-old Noble Park resident won the champion prize in the Bantam Modern Game division with what is known to handlers as a duckwing pullet.
With heavy rains on Saturday, the bird competition was lucky to be undercover, Don said, but a lack of patrons encouraged stewards to send the fowls and their breeders home early.
According to Don, the champion bird doesn’t have a pet name.
“No, we’re professionals,” he laughed.
“It is alright for kids, but not for us.”
The Bantams are a rarer species of show bird Don said, but are quite easy to keep.
“There are plenty of other breeds and certain people like certain breeds.
“At old age I find the moderns so easy to handle – there is not a lot of training, no washing and all the rest of it.
“They’re easy for an old bloke to handle.”
But it is not just the bantams that are a rare breed – Don said bird handling and showing was also a dying hobby, as agricultural shows declined in popularity with the passing of generations.
“There used to be larger numbers (of breeders), but it has dropped away now,” he said.
“I think agricultural shows are losing it a bit, see I am a life member of the Royal Melbourne Show, and I find the gates are down a bit.
“I can remember 800,000 in a week but now they are down to about 500,000.
“Young people are not as interested in agricultural shows; they have got their cars, girlfriends, tennis, basketball, cricket, and football.
“I think they prefer to attend those meetings rather than an agricultural show.”
But with his coop of genetic beauties – bred to show – Don won’t be giving up bantam showing in a hurry – at least not while there is still a selection of agricultural shows.
