Several very good specimens of the Great Dane have been imported into the Australian colonies, but the breed does not appear to take on very rapidly—chiefly, I think, through their rather headstrong characteristics. They have an aristocratic appearance, are very active, faithful, excellent guards, and are very hardy, and withal are favoured with a coat suitable for our climate.
The first exhibited in Australia were shown in Melbourne. They were the blues Hector and Dido, imported by Mr. M’Dougall in 1890, and exhibited with a pair of their puppies the same year.
Mr. F. Hald imported four (harlequin marked) in 1890, which were all taken to South Australia, and were afterwards seen in the Broken Hill district. None of their blood is traceable, to my knowledge, in any of our present stock.
— Walter Beilby, The Dog in Australasia (1897)
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