It has taken more than 6 decades since Noel Simpson started importing US stallions on an almost wholesale basis to improve our breed to the point that an Aussie-bred is now considered to be the top of the tree.
Sorry to disagree Trevor but I think is has taken 6 decades to erase some of the damage brought on by the importation of such a long line of hacks...yes there were a couple of exceptions to that rule, the breed down under was in my opinion up until that point superior to what was on offer in the US and Canada, mainly due to a couple of exceptional sires that emerged locally AND a distinctly different gene pool that has never been given credit for its influence.