(The following 10 pages trace the history of Burmese in South Africa...)

PROLOGUE - SOUTH AFRICA...
 

The year of 1957 was a very special year to those of us who have got to know and learnt to love a breed of cat known as Burmese, for that is when they first arrived in South Africa. And, as ever, true to their inherent love of people, they soon crept into the lives and hearts of countless cat lovers.

A great debt is owed to the many early intrepid pioneers who courageously brought this remarkable breed of cat to the shores of Southern Africa.

Pictured left: "Perry"...

Ch. Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord imported from England...

INTRODUCTION OF BURMESE TO SOUTH AFRICA
Although Mr. & Mrs. A.S. Johnston are no doubt the acknowledged pioneers for introducing the Burmese to Southern Africa, with the arrival of Fernreig Charki(October 1957), Sealcoat Yana and Kachin Jill. Charki was the first ever recorded Burmese Champion and became a Grand Champion in October 1960. There are yet other pioneers of note to whom local Burmese fanciers owe a great deal. Many of the early breeders and their prefixes or affixes are now only names that appear on very old pedigrees.

Among the earliest were:
Mr. & Mrs. A.S. Johnston of Fairlawns
Mrs. Audrey Trewren of Bon Accord
Miss Flo Cowling of Salakee 
[pictured right] with Salakee Zaing Nga-Min (right)
Mrs. Linda Emery of Selworthy
Mrs. Marjorie Simpson of Simani
Miss Yvonne Withers of Sittangs
Mrs. Avice Henderson of Beaucoat
(My thanks to Audrey for supplying the three photographs for my archives)

All of whom imported the best quality Burmese, from England available to them at the time, to expand South Africa's very limited gene pool. By the mid 70s more than 50 imported Burmese had made SA their home. Many more have followed, primarily from England, but others have come from Belgium, Holland, America and more recently Canada. However, British bred Burmese can still safely be regarded as the "true forefathers" of the Burmese breed in South Africa.

Mr. John Oliver, a respected All Breeds judge, was present at Palmietfontein in '57 when Charki arrived. His favourite anecdote about Charki, relates to an incident with the local veterinary inspector. Apparently, the over zealous and bureaucratic gentleman was a little rough in handling his examination; Charki retaliated by turning the official's rather prominent nose into an early morning snack!

Initial research undertaken in the mid eighties revealed that although the Johnston's brought in three cats to establish a breeding programme for Burmese, unfortunately, only Kachin Jill - a Siamese/Burmese hybrid - ever produced kittens that were registered. Inspection of the application for registration of the litter described kittens of 'various' shades of Brown.

It would appear that Sealcoat Yana, after an exhaustive search through the archives at the Cat Register, never produced a litter - reasons unknown.

Miss Cowling and Mrs. Trewren, between them imported the next three Burmese in the late fifties and early sixties. These cats were Salakee Zaing Nga-Min, Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord and Kermak Akashan of Bon Accord (all pictured together below). Together with Charki and Kachin Jill, these cats can definitely be considered the founding stock of present day Burmese in South Africa.

The "Pioneers" of modern Burmese in South Africa:

[left to right] Salakee Zaing Nga-Min, Shwedegon Aperitif of Bon Accord and Kermak Akashan of Bon Accord.

Miss Withers' contribution was of particular significance as she introduced the first Cream lines besides helping to expand the gene pool with a couple of Browns, as well as two Blues - Sittangs Southpaws Sweet William and Sittangs Kambuku Amarie.

The two Creams were Sittangs Honeychile Odette and Ch. Sittangs Linlinkye Sunstar, who was subsequently bequeathed to Carol Cokayne (Pink Panther) and who appears on many existing pedigrees of both Red and Cream Burmese. The first Grand Champion Cream queen bears her prefix: Gd. Ch. Pink Panther Cream Cameo. Miss Withers, who opposed 'so-called colour breeding - i.e. torties', did not realise that a little more than a decade after his arrival, Sunstar's lines would be present in the very first Tortie Burmese to become a Supreme Champion - Sp. Ch. Gitalaya Amberglo Amber- a Chocolate Tortie.

A brown stud of particular note was Gd. Ch. Dinapur's Whisky du Rossignol (Belgium), imported by Mrs. Harmsen in 1973. He was to play a significant role in the further development of SA Burmese. In 1979, Whisky went to the late "Aunty" Ann Boshoff of Phitsamai Cattery when Mrs. Harmsen stopped breeding Burmese. At the time of Mrs. Boshoff's death, he was transferred to Greig Russell. Whisky had the singular privilege of being the sire of the very first Burmese to become a Supreme Champion: a brown queen, Middle Earth Christiana, bred by Dr. Venter and owned by the late Melanie Lecolle-Brown.

Whisky was renowned for his amazing yellow eye colour and superb coat - both colour and texture; his working life lasted an incredible 13 years, during which time he sired many fine cats and even today, some of his heirs still grace many pedigrees.

Copyright © Gail Francois - Gitalaya Cattery - 1992
This chronicle is a "living" document as more facts, anecdotes
are garnered and cats achieve the highest status in their colour range..
Gail Pomerantz - Revised 1998

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