Celebrating 25 years in the Poultry Industry 1980-2005

Published 2005

Reprinted  2021

 It was the best of years (I think that’s how they start these things), and it seems so long ago, newly married, moving into the hills around Melbourne, a large block so we could have vegies, chickens, children (about in that order) but there was that nagging dissatisfaction of working in the bureaucracy.

Then someone copied my fowl house. I thought ‘Perhaps there is something unique here, perhaps there is a business doing this!!’

So Bellsouth (derived from Belgrave South) was hatched. It seems like yesterday, yet the 25 years have fled past – the fox ate the chickens, grandma’s house now sits where the dorkings roamed, the children are grown, and partly at least, flown the coop.

We only have some mongrels for eggs these days, with the show circuit and the travel disrupting the quiet lifestyle, and making serious poultry breeding difficult. And the business of Bellsouth has grown to what we would argue is the premier mail order poultry equipment supplier of Australia.

Our famous Bellsouth100 incubator approaches the sale of unit number 15,000, yes, fifteen thousand and our famous mail order catalogue has been eclipsed by www.bellsouth.com.au. The offset press used to print booklets and catalogues has been replaced by a professional printing house, which produces a range of books from collectors editions to introductory booklets.

So how do we reward our customers for your loyalty and support over the years?

In 2005 we will have a series of events to say Thank You. These events and specials will be placed on the web site at www.bellsouth.com.au/anniversaryspecials . We expect new ones every 2 months about the same time as Australasian Poultry hits the streets.

…And here is the first… As the first of these special ‘Thank You’ offers, in 2005 we will offer a specially minted medallion as a trophy to poultry clubs and associations. We have selected a medallion first minted in about 1870 to use as the model, and we think this will be a suitable way to mark the 25 years. The final size and fine details are still to be finalized, as is the number to be offered as trophies. So tell your club to apply quickly to make sure they don’t miss out!

Jim Finger 2004