Famous Friesians

This snippet from yesterday’s Waikato Times intrigued me:

The New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association will celebrate its centennial this year. The association, which was recently Holstein Friesian New Zealand, was formed on 23 June 1910 by 13 “illustrious gentlemen” who wanted to promote the benefits of the black-and-white cow.

So I went to the association’s website to learn more:

Who would have imagined that 100 years later the Holstein Friesian has moved from a little known breed to the prominent breed in New Zealand. As the Association moves into its second century, a financially sound organisation, it still promotes the benefits of the breed and provides a network for like-minded dairy farmers.

Holstein Friesian New Zealand will celebrating its centennial on the day of the birth of the Association near where it was formed in Palmerston North. Descendents of the men who founded the Association have been invited to celebrate the achievements of the Association over the last 100 years with current and past members. Cows and people who have had an impact on the development of the breed and the Association will also be receiving acknowledgement on this special day.

Congratulations to all who have helped Holstein Friesian New Zealand achieve this incredible milestone.

Sale of the Century
A selection of elite Holstein Friesian animals and embryos
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Awapuni Function Centre, Palmerston North
Catalogue out now

That is the catalogue illustrated in the previous post. And here are some famous friesians you may recognise:

Number 569, heroine of Kim Riley’s 2004 children’s story Cow Power. The Book Council tells us:

In February 2004, Riley was inadvertently rescued from drowning by Cow 569 during the Manawatu floods. Soon after, she was approached to write a book based on her experience, and this book has now sold over 10,000 copies.

Lulubelle III, cover star of Pink Floyd’s 1970 album Atom Heart Mother:

The band and [designer] Storm Thorgerson decided that the AHM sleeve be as “unpsychedelic as possible, as un-floyd-like, and completely off the wall”. . . Storm drove through the countryside and photographed the first cow he saw. The result was “the ultimate picture of a cow; it’s just totally cow.” [Storm]

Lulubelle III, the cow who graces the album cover, was a Holstein- Friesian, owned by Arthur Chalke. Mr. Chalke claimed he should have been paid one thousands pounds for Lulubelle's services, but [band manager] Steve O'Rourke dismissed Mr.Chalke's claim.

Unknown cow fronting Frank Zappa’s 1996 triple album Läther:

Dweezil Zappa conceived the cover, and Steven Jurgensmeyer turned in the final design: We’re being engaged by a cow (future leather) with Frank’s facial hair and an Italy-shaped spot on its hide.

It’s maybe hard to see but that is Zappa’s trademark mo and beardy thing on the cow’s face, and the map of Italy is there because his father was from Sicily. You know it makes sense.