Thursday, October 9, 2008

Avondale Racing Pigeon Club

Update 22 May 2021 -- the Pigeon Club building was demolished in April 2021.

 An update to this post.

I contacted a couple of members of the Avondale Racing Pigeon Club this morning. Ron Tucker told me that the building presently at Trent Street was originally a small clubhouse building, constructed by the members themselves, before 1963. It was located initially on the railway land along Rosebank (perhaps the site of what was once the firewood dealer before this year, or the composting depot, near the old goods shed.) In 1963, they obtained permission from Railways to shift the clubhouse to Trent Street, and then they extended the building.

He didn't know exactly how long the club had been on Rosebank Road -- that may have to be some delving for another day.


Avondale Station, c.1954. Courtesy Les Downey.
16 January 2018

This, from a Facebook comment by Verdun Douglas Haig Lake:

During the 1940s & 1950s the Avondale Racing Pigeon Club used this station [Avondale] as its club room. Pigeons had a numbered rubber ring placed on a leg, all were locked in a large box and transported by train to various towns across the country where they were released by railway staff at a given time and place which was on a Saturday morning. Well trained birds would go straight into the loft on arriving home, we took the ring off the leg and inserted it into the sealed timing clock, slid the cover closed which started the clock going. 
We all attended the Station room where the time showing on the clocks were read to determine the winner of the race. ( the clocks could not be tampered with as they were sealed, the seal had to be broken to obtain the numbered ring). I still have some certificates of race wins plus some Champion Show Certificates. Dad was a fanatical Pigeon fancier, we had two lofts with 120 birds, Dad kept the breeding history in a large book. Dad was the only person ever to specifically breed yellow racing pigeons!! We lived at Range View Road, Mount Albert........ Lovely memories of an exciting era/lifestyle of the post war years, 40s/50s.


(His father also drove Transport Bus Service buses, and taxis.)

1 comment:

  1. my Dad raced at the age of 16 his father and brothers raced also.Ray at the avondale pigeon club for many years ray Hooton ways a passonate racer won many big events.he and wife hazel left NZ 89 and went to western Australia Perth.Ray raced there sucsesfuly as well till 2001 when passed away.I can remember names like Ron Tucker. Aberacombie and sons.Is there any info trofies ect name of bird handers passed thanks Dennis Hooton.

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