Canterbury Has Place In Friesian History

Press, Issue 29236, 21 June 1960, Page 18

Canterbury Has Place In Friesian History

For Canterbury the golden jubilee celebrations of the New Zealand Friesian Association, which will be held this week at Hamilton, will have a special significance, for the Dutch Friesians imported by the late Mr J. C. N. Grigg, of Longbeach, in 1884, were, according to the association, the first pedigree black and white cattle to come into the country. The jubilee celebrations, which will be attended by about 300 members of the association from all parts of the country, will begin today and continue until the end of the week. They will open with a “Sale of Stars” —a sale of specially-selected animals from many leading studs in all parts of vhe country—and this will be followed by visits to the Ruakura Animal Research Station, the Dairy Board’s artificial breeding centre at Newstead, the fiftieth annual meeting of members, and a jubilee dinner. The association was formed at Palmerston North on June 23, 1910. The late Mr John Brown records in the “History of Ashburton” that Mr J. C. N. Grigg, after finishing his course at Cambridge University, went to Hamburg and at an agricultural show there saw what he thought to be the ideal “dual-purpose” cow—a heavy milker with a big body. He found out that Holland was the home of these black and white cattle. He asked permission from

his father to buy some of these Dutch Friesians for Longbeach. This was given and he purchased a two-year-old bull, two cows and four heifers from the north of Holland—the Friesian Association says that there was a bull and seven cows in the original importation. These cattle were from different farms, the idea being to avoid too close a relationship in the line breeding that would be necessary at Longbeach on account of the lack of fresh blood. Because of the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in Holland these cattle were not allowed to land in England and had to be transhipped to two sailing vessels in mid-stream. They were landed at Lyttelton in 1884.

Still Going Today the Longbeach Friesian herd is stall prospering. Cattle have gone from it to Australia and Canada. From 15 to 24 cows are milked throughout the year. The most recent overseas introduction to the herd was Tarling Brabazon from the great Tarling herd of Lord Raleigh Farms Incorporated, in Essex. This bull, which reached New Zealand in 1951. was selected at about four months of age by Miss J. Grigg, daughter of Mr John Grigg; the present owner of Longbeach. Tarling Brabazon’s mother. Tarling Breeze 96, was winner of tiie London Dairy Show in 1950. giving 941 b of milk and a test of 4.2 per cent, in 24 hours and 19,9551 b of milk with a 3.7 test in 365 days. Those present at the Hamilton celebrations this week will be able to see Tarling Brabazon at the artificial breeding centre at Newstead, where he is still working to improve the standard of New Zealand dairy herds. When his usefulness at the centre is at an end he will return to Longbeach to end his days there. Tarling Brabazon has Dutch ancestry on both sides. The present hard sire is Longbeach Brabazon 12th, by Tarling Brabazon out of Transvaal Queen ■27, a cow with a record of 99001 b of milk and 4921 b of fat with a test of 5 per cent, in her last lactation. Artificial Breeding Now use is being made of top overseas blood at Longbeach through the agency of artificial breeding. Semen has been used from Alsopdale Janrol, one of the leading Friesian sires of England, which is outstanding for the butterfat production of his daughters, and Newstead Proctor, a young English sire.. There are now at Longbeach five bull calves by each sire and four heifers by Alsopdale Janrol and five by Newstead Proctor. None of these is more than six months old. For 35 years the stud Friesians at Longbeach have been the responsibility of Mr R. McKibbin.

The first of many importations of Friesian blood into New Zealand from the United States and Canada were made in 1902. In that year Mr A. Harold Street, acting on behalf of his father, Mr R. Street, and Mr Newton King, visited America and purchased a bull and four females for each of these pioneer breeders. The Friesian Association says that the expansion of the breed in New Zealand has been in keeping with its popularity the world over. Today, the HolstelnFriesian Association of America, with a membership of more than 50,000, is the largest breed organisation in toe world. The 14,018 members of the British Friesian Society make it the most extensive in toe British Isles, and there is no other similar society in Canada with a membership approaching the 13,039 of the Holstein-Friesian Association of Canada.