John (Jack) Quinn is a very important figure in the history of the Kelpie. He bred and trialled some of the best dogs this country has ever seen. In the early 1900's when Border Collies first started to be imported into Australia, John Quinn was one that often proved the Kelpie was still king in Australia.

John Quinn was born in 1863. He lived was a young boy on 'Bolero' when Jack Gleeson worked there, so it is reasonable to assume that he was influenced by Kelpie, Moss and other sheepdogs that Gleeson worked there. He started his Kelpie breeding with two dogs, Clyde and Jess.

Robert Kaleski, a well known Kelpie man and author of the early 1900's, once said that Mr. Quinn won every trial he competed in during this period except for one. In 1896, Quinn travelled down to Sydney for the first big Trial held there. He won the trial with his Kelpie, Gay. In 1897, he sold off most of his adult dogs but started training a young blue Kelpie called 'Coil'.

Alec McLeod (King & McLeod Stud) who later owned Coil and Wallace, went to some trouble to get their full pedigree. He got some of the information from Alf Reynolds of Geraldra near Cootamundra. Mr. Reynolds said that Willis Clyde was by a King bred Kelpie called Bland (may have been known originally as Maori) and from a bitch called Swan , owned by Tom Keogh of Marra Station, Junee. We know Tom Keogh had at least one pup from Jack Gleeson. (Tullys Moss X Gleesons Kelpie) when he was living at Buddigower, near West Wyalong. However in later correspondence, Mr. Alec McLeod said he had discovered that Swan was exactly the same breeding as the very first Kelpies and was another Brutus and Jenny pup. Bland (Maori) was said to have been nominated in a trial at Wagga but failed to attend. He was later stolen from the McAlisters Hotel and was not heard of again. It was previously thought that Beverages Gay was out of Kings Kelpie but Alec McLeod said she was by Luby and out of old Floss.

John Quinn returned to the Sydney Trials in 1898 with Coil and won the trial with an extraordinary performance. He got a perfect 200 score from two runs. The second run was done on three legs as Coil had broken his leg and had it in splints.  It was shortly after his big win with Coil in 1898 that Quinn began a partnership with Mr. Os Keith. Mr. Keith handled and trained many of the Kelpies bred by John Quinn.

Robert Kaleski who knew John Quinn well in the early 1900's wrote about one of their chats: "I want you to make this clear, Bob," said Mr. Quinn earnestly, as we sat yarning over a cup of coffee the morning after the trials. "These old dogs of mine weren't kept in lavender for trials. In between they did ordinary station work mustering and so on, just the same as any other station dogs".

The late, Herb Morrice of Artesian Kelpie Stud bought Kelpies from Mr. Quinn and said that he always supplied his dogs with honest pedigrees and at a reasonable price.

Part of a letter written by Gerald Kempe, S.A. (Date unknown) : "The Kelpie breed is principally a small, hard-haired, smooth-coated one, colour black or black and tan; I have, however, known many excellent specimens red also blue. Mr.J Quinn's (Fairfield, Stockingbingal, NSW) Coil, winner of Sydney trials in 1898, an undoubted pure Kelpie, is blue coated, and my Smoker, by this Coil, winner of the last Burra trials in this state, is very rough- coated, dark red dog, and my Saxon, a very pure specimen, who won Hay trials in 1885 and 1886, was a hard-haired, perfectly smooth dog, with grizzly jaws and dark brindled tan points.

EXTRACT FROM 'BARKERS & BITERS (1914 Revised 1933)

" Plenty of sheepmen have keen sight and long practical experience of sheep-dogs, but few have the sure judgement necessary for allotting the points for work. As a result, when judging they become confused and their decisions are more often wrong than right...

"...When that prince of show secretaries, the late 'Monty' Somer, asked me to be one of the two judges in the R.A.S. Sheep-dog trials some years ago I declined for two reasons, the first being that I was then vigorously hammering a prominent exhibitor and breeder in the Press for booming Border Collies instead of our own Kelpies, and I would have to decide between his dogs and the other competitors' working Kelpies; the second, and more important, was that I knew where there was a better judge of Sheep-dog trial work than myself. I put this before Mr. Somer, who saw the force of my reasoning and said "Who is he ?"

Mary and Stephen Bilson Noonbarra Kelpie Stud