The Western Australian region recently celebrated the introduction of Limousin cattle to Australia 50 years ago with a function in Bunbury.
Current members were joined by guests which included past members Thomas Gerner, Patricia and Paul Williams and members of the Limousin board who took the opportunity of combining a face-to-face meeting with the dinner.
Thomas Gerner and Patricia Williams were members of the board in the early days and had significant input into the introduction of the breed in Australia and the society itself.
Rodney Galati, twice winner of the prestigious Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate competition and Beef 2021 carcase competitions and an enthusiastic commercial Limousin breeder, also joined the celebrations.
Along with celebrating the breed, dinner guests heard from Peter Milton, Dardanup, who with wife Judy, are well-known breeders of quality Charolais cattle and ambassadors for the Black Dog Ride charity.
This year the Milton’s helped promote Limousins 50th anniversary in Australia by selecting and promoting a Limousin steer (Winston) and stud heifer (Clementine 20) through the Perth Royal Show and other events.
Winston was sold for a record $16,600 at the Perth Royal Show and Clementine will be auctioned early in 2024 with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Ride with free delivery anywhere in mainland Australia.
Winston was donated by Barry and Cathy Burgess, Willendaise stud, Ferguson Valley and Clementine by Max and Heather Farley, Lonaker stud, Narrikup.
Mr Milton gave an informative speech about mental health, depression, and the Black Dog Ride. The term Black Dog referring to depression was coined by Winston Churchill with the steer named after him with the heifer named after Churchill’s wife Clementine.
ALBS President Chris Meade spoke about the future direction of the breed and presented certificates and trophies to members recognising their years of involvement with the breed.
During the evening Pat Williams, a life member of the Society and member for the entire 50 years and her son Paul gave informative and entertaining talks on the early days and their experiences and challenges along the way, as well as mentioning other influential names including the McKay’s, Wildings, Sadlers and Dempster’s.
The Williams family and their White Lakes stud is synonymous with the Limousin breed with their genetics still featuring in the pedigrees of animals across Australia. It bred the first purebred bull White Lakes Yuletide, the first purebred black Limousin White Lakes Black Opal and the first Limousin to be exported from Australia, White Lakes Gold Dust.
The Williams family generously donated three straws of a favourite bull White Lakes Rawhide, with the proceeds going to the Black Dog Ride. This donation was quickly snapped up by Chris Meade for $3000.
Many attendees travelled hundreds of kilometres to attend the dinner with the Kupsch family pausing harvest and travelling over 600 kilometres to be there, a mighty effort. It was a great and valued opportunity of renewing old acquaintances with the Williams family and Thomas Gerner.
-Limousin Australia