The first to introduce and exhibt St. Bernards in Australia, so far as I can learn - and I feel certain I am correct in giving him the credit - was Mr. E. F. Stephen, of Sydney, the owner of Monarque III, by Turk out of Ethel, and the well-known, Minerva, by Mount Joux out of Beautiful Mona, who afterwards won many prizes for Mr J.C. Anderson, of Kew, Victoria.  Unfortunately, neither of the animals named did much towards perpetuating their line in Australia.  The bitch I know was an utter failure at stud.  The dog, I understand, is credited with having got stock; in fact I have records in my possession of dogs bearing his name as their sire, but of these I have my doubts.  Anyway, it was only the absence of proof of his powers as a sire that prevented him from becoming my property.   Very little advancement was observed from 1883 up to 1887, when a decided move was made.   The following year nineteen entries were recorded at the Melbourne Show, the largest by far yet exhibited in Australia.  Mr J.C. Anderson, Captain J.R. Clark, Messrs. T. Liley, P.J. Russell, L.D. Borsdorff, and Miss B. Slade were the chief prize-takers.  But it is to 1889 only that we can look back with any satisfaction on the score of traceable descent to anything of note in Australia.  At the show named two new importations appeared - Roderick Dhu, K.C.S.B. 22,801, and St. Leonards.   The latter is by Garnet out of Dolly, a sister to Bopeep, 498, which shows St. Leonards to be closely related to that grand dog, Pouf.  St. Leonards was imported by the late Mr C . Edgecumbe, of Adelaide, and was afterwards sold to Mr C. Ridley of Victoria, where he had better opportunities of proving his value as a sire.  The best of his get are, undoubtedly, Mr E. Lock's Kanya Lord Surrey, out of Lady Loch, by Pilot out of Una IV.   Pilot by Jumbo out of Lady III.

Kanya Lord Surrey is a dog that holds, at the time of writing, an unbeaten career in the colonial-bred division.  He is favoured with the fashionable markings - a great contrast to his black-patched sire.  Another big son of St. Leonards, but wanting in body and head properties, was Jumbo XI, bred by the late Mr. Edgecumbe of Adelaide, out of the imported bitch Enid, who is by Sir Henry, a son of Save and Bessie II, the dam of Plinlimmon.  The South Australian dog, Mr A. Harris's Leonas, is a brother to Jumbo XI, but infinitely superior in every respect excepting height.  Leonas resembles his sire in marking, has more bone, is heavier, a better mover, and a dog in every way calculated to get good stock.  Jumbo XI was purchased in 1891 by the Tasmanian fancier, Mr J. Sykes, for whom he did good service at the shows, and also produced a few fair animals from the Mynda Lion bitch, Lady Chester, besides others, whose progeny are fairly plentiful in Tasmania.  Some of his stock have gone into New South Wales.

Rhoderick Dhu was imported by Mr. J.C. Anderson at the same time as Silver Princess, the granddaughter of The Hermit and Silver; she died during quarantine whilst in whelp to her kennel mate.  The latter was a pied dog, markings that did not take on well with Australian fanciers, and the bitch was almost all white.  Rhoderick Dhu passed into the hands of Mr C. Ridley, and, although he did not produce anything startling in Australia, he laid a good foundation from which many fair animals have sprung.  He had proved his capabilities as a stock-getter before his advent in Australia by siring such as Don Carlos, and Mr W.S. Smith's bitch Hepsy, who won many prizes in England in 1891, and was afterwards sold to go to America, where she continued her successful career.  Rhoderick Dhu was by Valentine, 410, out of Minnie, by Rector out of Countess, by Mon out of Snowdrop, by Mentor out of Alp, by Avalanche out of Monte, by Hamlet out of Red Venus, by Tell out of  Hospice, by Barry, a son of the original Barry.

Both the imported sires mentioned above, in the face of their successes on the bench and at the stud, failed to obtain the support to which their merit and breeding entitled them.  Both were superior to any seen here up to their time and during most of their career.  There is little doubt that it was their colour that caused their unpopularity.  Rhoderick Dhu was a brindle patched dog; St. Leonards was more of a black and white, the latter colour predominating, as it did in his maternal grandsire, Leonard, a dog good enough to win the 100-Guineas Challenge Cup at the Crystal Palace.

In 1891 Captain J. R. Clark imported Baron of Greystoke, a son of Pouf, 315, and Lady Onslow, 761.  This dog died soon after his release from quarantine.  Fortunately he was visited by a few bitches, some of whose names are to be found among present-day winners.  The best of his get was Mrs Abercrombie's Nervelston Patch, a very find animal indeed, excelling in legs and feet.  She unfortunately died soon after whelping her first litter of puppies to Lord Hawke, and most of the puppies died also.  Lady Lucia is another of Greystoke's get.  These two are the best pair of colonial-bred bitches yet seen, and it was unfortunate such a promising young sire was not spared.  King Orlaf followed, to the order of Mr C. Ridley, but did very little towards increasing the breed.

Sir Edwin Smith, of Adelaide, brought out that grand dog, Fairfax, about the same time as the two dogs mentioned above.

Sir Edwin Smith claimed Fairfax at his catalogue price, 150 pounds, at the Kennel Club Show at Olympia in 1889, when he had the winning card in a strong class of puppies, a performance he repeated at Colchester.  He holds an unbeaten record for the colonies, his best performances being at the Melbourne Shows in 1891 and 1892.  It was very unfortunate for the fancy that such a good dog was not available to breeders in the sister colonies and New Zealand by being so much out of the way.  He was kept almost entirely by his owner as a companion.  His union with his ill-fated shipmate Sweetheart, a daughter of Champion Guide and Regina, was most unfortunate, not a puppy being saved, and the bitch shortly afterwards died.  However, he has left some stock behind him, therefore it is quite probable that Fairfax's name will yet be handed down through creditable channels.