The world's first labradoodle
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2023
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1989, Australian dog breeder Wally Conron was tasked with finding a suitable dog for a blind woman in Hawaii whose husband was allergic to pet hair.
By breeding together a poodle and a Labrador, he inadvertently created the world’s first ever labradoodle.
More than three decades on, Wally believes he created Frankenstein’s monster.
He has been sharing his memories of Sultan the labradoodle with George Crafer.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Wally Conron with Sultan the first ever labradoodle. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | From global current affairs, to art, science and culture, |
| 0:05.0 | the documentary from the BBC World Service tells the world's stories, |
| 0:10.5 | search for the documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts. |
| 0:21.0 | Hello! |
| 0:22.0 | Thank you for downloading this episode of the Witness History Podcast |
| 0:25.5 | from the BBC World Service with me, George Crafer. |
| 0:30.5 | This week, we're bringing you stories all about dogs. |
| 0:34.0 | So today, I'm taking you back 34 years to Australia |
| 0:37.5 | when one of the world's most popular crossbreeds was created. |
| 0:42.0 | It's 1989 in Melbourne. |
| 0:44.0 | Dog breed of Wally Conor and looking down at a litter of puppies |
| 0:48.0 | that unlike anything you've seen before. |
| 0:51.0 | I went to our manager and I said, |
| 0:54.0 | we're going to have trouble with this. |
| 0:56.0 | And he said, what do you mean? |
| 0:57.0 | And I said, well, to be quiet, aren't we? |
| 0:59.0 | And I said, I've been to Pandora Box and I've reduced the Frankenstein monster. |
| 1:05.0 | Wally has been asked to create the perfect guide dog for blind women in Hawaii, |
| 1:09.0 | whose husband's allergic to long hair dogs. |
| 1:12.0 | It's been a tricky task, but after years of trying, |
| 1:15.0 | he thinks he's finally cracked it. |
| 1:17.0 | We only got three in that first litter. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

