My grandfather Jim had a tree felled onto him at age 14 in 1907 on the flanks of Mount Arthur, Lilydale, Tas., and he was lucky to survive with a gammy leg and crushed skull. Fearing he would never be able to work, his father Harry planted an orchard for him and bought him pigeons. He must have persisted at it for some years and obviously there were enough in the district interested to form a club, just as there were also the Brittannia Rifle Association and quite a few cooperative Friendly Societies (Druids, Oddfellows, Buffalo Lodge) and of course church based groups, and the Agricultural Bureau and F&F Agricultural Show Society.
HOMING. The Lilydale Homing Society flew a single-out race from Scottsdale on Saturday, and it was won by 0. Miller's Uncle Tom, time 20min. 47sec., making an average of 14440 yds. per minute; P. Farrelly's Bluejacket, raced by J. Mahnken, was second (20min. 50sec.); and A. Miller's Starlight third (24min. 18sec.). The winner has three wins and one second out of four starts, and was bred by Mr. Ion, of Launceston. HOMING. (1913, November 12). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 2 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50732848
Mr Ern Ion of Inveresk features in the article below.
Pigeon racing and bird fancying had their own special vocabulary, (like horse handling and horse drawn vehicles, like every line of farming, like every endeavour) and a little of which can be seen in this 1926 report "Around the lofts" that I happened upon. Read to the bottom, it's worth it, e.g. to know of Bill Chaplin of Garfield St, who "in his spare time practically lives with his birds. He is an all-round fancier, as he has canaries, parrots, doves, cockatoo, etc, and everyone of them kept spotless."
With poultry keeping and bird fancying, some back yards in town and country in those days must have been pungent, feathery, noisy places.
AROUND THE LOFTS. (1926, August 14). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 5 (DAILY). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51357515
A quick look on the internet shows pigeon breeding, racing and sales are still a worldwife enthusiasm and business, perhaps bigger than ever. https://www.derbyatlantic.com/