The first “modern” conformation dog show was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, in June 1859, the only breeds entered being pointers and setters.  Later that year, spaniels were thrown into the mix at the first show to include non‑sporting breeds in Birmingham, and a year later, the Birmingham show welcomed hounds for the first time.

Three years after the Newcastle-upon-Tyne show, Australia had its first dog show in Hobart, Tasmania at Moore’s Horse Bazaar only 58 years after Lieutenant David Collins founded Hobart as a penal colony.  This exhibition brought in 91 dogs (some say 89) of at least 17 breeds, including an Esquimax Poodle, Rough Terriers, Newfoundlands, a Black and Tan Sheepdog, gundogs, and a Smithfield Colley, that, according to local reports, had to turn sheep down Hosier Lane, as far as circumstances allowed. According to a report in the local newspaper ‘The Hobart Mercury,’ the show was held by the newly formed ‘Society for the Improvement in the Breed of Dogs’, which in 1863 changed it’s name to ‘Canine Society’.

In 2012,  the 150th anniversary of the first Australian Dog Show was celebrated in Hobart where the Honorable Peter Underwood,  Governor of Tasmania, made opening remarks to exhibitors which you can read here – it’s wonderful reading!

As an aside, the first dog show ever hosted in the United States was by the Illinois State Sportsmen Association in Chicago on June 4, 1874. It featured just twenty-one dogs, all of them setters and pointers.

Original caption of image: General view of the bench show in the Hippodrome, on Thursday, May 10, 1877