PORTLAND RACING PIGEON CLUB INC.

The Portland Racing Pigeon Club held a breeders plate sale on Sunday the 16^th January 2005.

The club was very enthusiastic about becoming a part of the Australian Gold Cup team, gaining valuable experience from this our maiden sale.

Members worked hard to organise and promote the event with local papers and radio stations targeted to promote the sport to not only existing flyers but also members of the general public. The article in Friday’s local paper bore the headline “Own a thoroughbred for under $50”. This proved quite successful with many non-flyers present on the day taking part in the auction and local club members happy to race their chosen birds on their behalf.

The day began at 11.am with viewing of the 60 lots followed by a free B.B.Q lunch and refreshments prior to the 1 pm auction. Both local and interstate birds were available to purchase on the day to fly in this premiere National event.

The birds, many of which sported gold band rings and thus become eligible for both events, were much sought after, with all lots of very high quality and breeders and buyers keen for a share in the high prize pool. The highest priced bird sold, a slate hen, was bred by Nigel Jarvis of Ballarat. As an added bonus on the day, the buyer of the highest priced bird received a crayfish for his support, and the highest bidding member of the public, Tim Robinson, also received a fresh cray.

Overall, the Club had better than expected results, and has high hopes of making this an annual event. This year birds flown from lofts in Mt Gambier, Portland and Warrnambool are eligible for the “area percentage”.

We commend Barry Trewin for his dedicated effort in creating a truly national event for our sport. Without Barry’s organisation and support our club would not have been in a position to hold our sale and bring the chance of national racing to an otherwise isolated area.

Thanks,

Portland Club