History of the CCCA
CCCA Philosophy
To facilitate enjoyment and promote responsible cat ownership.
Harry Wynne, the then Chairman of the Consultative Committee, had a longstanding vision for a national council encompassing all cat control bodies in Australia, akin to the Australian National Kennel Council. He believed that a unified council would pave the way for uniform breeding and show rules, simplifying cat exhibitions across the country. At that time, disparate rules existed at the state and control body levels, causing challenges for exhibitors.
Numerous attempts had been made to establish a national body, with the Australian Cat Federation Inc. formed in 1972 being the most recent. However, it lacked full support, particularly from the Feline Control Council of Victoria and the RAS Cat Club of NSW, the two largest control bodies. Due to the divisive impact on the Australian cat fancy, the RAS Cat Club took the initiative in 1974, calling for a meeting during the Royal Easter Show in 1975 to establish a national council acceptable to all. The meeting, chaired by Mr. Wynne, did not yield conclusive results.
In 1978, responding to requests from cat control bodies in other states, a recommendation was made to convene a meeting to form a national council. The RASCC supported the idea of a recommendatory body, and a proposed constitution, tentatively named the Australian Cat Council, was drafted by Mr. Wynne. The Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia (CCCA) emerged as the agreed-upon national recommendatory body at a meeting in February 1979.
The Second Inaugural Meeting of the CCCA in August 1979 saw the participation of delegates from various control bodies, including the RAS Cat Club of NSW, the Council of Federated Cat Clubs of Queensland, the Queensland Independent Cat Council, the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in Victoria, and the Murray Valley Cat Authority. Subsequent years saw the inclusion of other controls, such as the Feline Association of South Australia, the RNCAS Cat Council (Canberra), the Feline Control Council of Queensland, the Feline Control Council of Victoria, and the Independent Cat Association of Victoria.
Meetings were held semi-annually, focusing initially on revising the proposed constitution. The final draft was ratified on August 2nd, 1980. Over time, progress was made, particularly in the areas of registrations and pedigrees. The ultimate goal of the CCCA is to establish a uniform policy for the conduct of cat shows, judge appointments, cat registrations, class definitions, and championship awards, simplifying the lives of cat exhibitors and breeders in Australia.
Two days after arriving in Australia in 1969 I purchased a Blue Point Siamese (having shown and bred them in the U.K) I had considerable success in showing and breeding under my prefix of Littlebrook. Later I was given a beautiful Cornish Rex which had considerable success on the show bench and became a Double Grand Champion. Although I am no longer showing or breeding, I enjoy my stewarding and judging assignments. My husband John and I now live in Tumut in the Snowy Mountains, where I hope to maybe breed cats again.
I have been involved in the Cat Fancy since 1984 with my wife, Julie, when we began showing a seal tortie point Siamese, Gd Ch Moovalong Tegan. We have also successfully showed Abyssinians since 1984, branching out into Somalis when we began to show our tawny neuter, Gl Db Gd Ch & CCCA Ch Glordawn Wala (Wally) in 1987. We now show Balinese as well as our lovely Abyssinians and Somalis. Together we also show several companion cats, all of whom have had successful show careers in their own rights.
