The story of Beauford has a very strong Hunter Valley connection being bred by W H Mackay at ‘Tinagroo’. He was rightly regarded as the ‘Newcastle Horse’. His contests with ‘Gloaming’ (NZ) are the stuff of legend. The Newcastle Jockey Club set up the Beauford Club of Newcastle in 1982. David Bath and myself were inaugural members from Scone Race Club and attended the very first meeting hosted by then NJC Vice-Chairman Terry Smith.

The Story of Beauford

Introduction

The Beauford Club of Newcastle was established in April 1982. The aim of its establishment was “to promote fellowship amongst persons interested in Racing; and to hold meetings, luncheons and sporting activities, from time to time, to promote the sport”.

The Beauford Club was modeled on the Carbine Clubs of New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, and the Bernborough Club of Queensland. Note that each of these clubs is named in honour of a champion racehorse from yesteryear, which begs the question, “Why Beauford for Newcastle?” The following seeks to answer that question by telling the story of Beauford.

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Martin Stainforth

“Next to a fine picture of a lovely woman there is nothing perhaps which more strongly appeals to the aesthetic sense than a picture of a splendid thoroughbred horse”.

So wrote Dr W. J. Stewart McKay in his seminal treatise: ‘Racehorses in Australia’ with paintings by Martin Stainforth and Edited by Dr W. H. Lang, Ken Austin and Dr Stewart Mckay.

Dr McKay describes a very talented and gifted artist in his lavish encomium: ‘Martin Stainforth: An Appreciation’. An Englishman by birth Martin Stainforth settled in Australia. Visiting English critic Aylyng Arnold, who from 1906 to 1910 was special correspondent for the “London Sporting Life” wrote in 2015 on a visit to Melbourne: “I can confidently say I have seen as many portraits of horses as falls to the lot of any one man, but never have I seen anything approaching yours”.

Certainly Dr McKay agreed noting his expert methods and attention to fine detail. Martin Stainforth certainly perfected the finer points of sketching horses and turning these into exquisite paintings. This was the cutting edge technology of its day pre-dating the emergence of photography as the popular medium.

I will feature more of Martin Stainforth’s work in this record. He must have spent a lot of time in the Hunter Valley at both Arrowfield (Moses Brothers) and Widden (Thompson Family). Their great stallions are captured for posterity by his superlative animal art.

Poitrel

The featured image is from a painting by Martin Stainforth in the possession of the artist.

Chestnut Horse 1914 by St Alwyne (imp.) out of Poinard. Winner of £26,919, including Melbourne Cup carrying 10st. (!) and all the principal long distance weight-for-age races in Australia. ‘Poitrel’ was a very high class stayer. He retired to his owners’ (Messrs. W. and F. A. Moses ‘Arrowfield Stud’) in 1921. Later he relocated to L.K.S. Mackinnon’s Maribyrnong Stud, Melbourne.

‘Poitrel’ was one of the greatest racehorses and sires of the early 20th century. His win in the Melbourne Cup carrying the massive impost of 10st still evokes disbelief in the most hardened of commentators.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitrel

See also: https://www.racingvictoria.com.au/the-sport/racing/australian-racing-museum/hall-of-fame/horses/poitrel

Brien Cobcroft

Featured Image: Presentation Ceremony Equestrian Olympic Bronze Medal (Team) Mexico City 1968

Team Members: Bill & Wayne Roycroft  Brien Cobcroft   James Scanlon

See: http://www.warrah1912subdivision.com/93334354

Perhaps Brien isn’t strictly speaking Hunter Valley; but he spent a lot of time here! Some of the stories are legend; even true. I shared some myself!

At the Mexico Olympics in 1968 Brien won the bronze medal with team members Bill and Wayne Roycroft and James Scanlan. His horse was Depeche, a six year- old gelding he spotted at Wyong racecourse (where it ran second last) and bought for 600 pounds, turning it into a champion eventer in just three months. Depeche was the youngest horse to ever represent Australia at an Olympic Games.

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Featured Image: Ron Jeffries relaxing and reflecting in the garden at ‘Geraldton’

Ron is another former stud manager from the ‘old school’. There are hardly any left. Ron is 90 years of age as I write.He only very recently relinquished his total independence and accepted care with great assistance and encouragement from his admirable family. . His is a remarkable tale; I only wish I cloud tell it better. He certainly knows how to ‘take off’ vets; and critique his employers!

See also:  https://sconevetdynasty.com.au/the-vet-on-the-stud-farm/ This ‘old’ film has live footage of Ron and the team at Woodlands in the 1960s

Ron Jeffries

Manager of Woodlands & Bellerive Studs

‘An old dog for a hard road. Puppies for pavements’!

(Ron made this remark about an ingénue Newmarket veterinarian whom Murray had just corrected!)

Pen Picture

If Cliff Ellis is the Victor Trumper of stud grooms/managers then Ron Jeffries is a combination of Stan McCabe and Doug Walters! Ron was Manager at Woodlands during the halcyon days of the late 1950’s, through the 1960’s and into the early 1970’s. This was a time when Woodlands was one of the world’s most prolific thoroughbred nurseries in one year producing over 180 winners of about 360 races. They also presented one quarter (109 yearlings) of the total draft at the one of the annual Inglis Easter Yearling Sales in the 1960’s. Ron is a great raconteur with a natural dry wit and laconic dispenser of percipient one-liners! “Dry as a lime burners boot” is one such example. “If you tap their hooves with a hammer they ring like a bell” was his graphic description of the hard quality of the yearling colt’s hooves at Woodlands. Another gem is “He thought ‘hygiene’ was a tall girl”.

Ron and Murray were great friends and I think there was mutual trust and respect emanating from their subliminal recognition of each others superlative qualities. There is probably no better person than Ron Jeffries to critically and objectively evaluate the veterinary fraternity passing through the Upper Hunter and Scone in particular from 1950 to 2000 and beyond! Ron has also spent a few pleasant years of his twilight era working with John Flaherty at Clovelly Stables.

One year in the 1960’s Ron had the champion yearling filly by Newtown Wonder in the Thoroughbred section at the Royal Easter Show. She was a full sister to Apple Jack (Newtown Wonder ex Silver Words) and competed against him for the championship. Sir Alan Potter was Chairman of the AJC and presented the championship ribbon. The Newtown Wonders were superlative strikers and Sir Alan placed the sash around Ron instead! The crowd was greatly amused!

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Earlier I wrote how much Murray Bain supported the working Stud Manager and Stud Groom. On the strength of that philosophy I dedicated my website to such a person: Alec Herbert. I also cited the Murray Bain Service to Industry Award we instituted. Cliff Ellis was in the Bradman Class. We in the industry do not always adequately honour our loyal ‘servants’.

See also: https://www.sconeadvocate.com.au/story/2013184/racing-hero-farewelled/

Clifford Douglas Ellis

Gentleman

Photograph taken in ‘Geraldton’ Courtyard

CLIFFORD DOUGLAS ELLIS (born 27/12/26 at Denman)

It is an incredible honour and even greater privilege to be asked by Cliff, Jennifer, Tim and Rebecca to deliver this encomium on their behalf which we have compiled together.

Cliff Ellis was born on his father’s dairy property “Ravenswood” situated between Denman and Jerry’s Plains on 27^th December 1926.  One of 5 children he was a great-great grandson of Thomas Ellis a noted Upper Hunter pioneer settler who came out from Devon, England in 1837 to manage George Bowman’s property “Ärrowfield” now renamed “Coolmore” at Jerry’s Plains.  On his mother’s side of the family Cliff also descends from a noted solid early settler.  He is a great-great grandson of London commodities broker John Wood who migrated to NSW in 1818.  Wood is remembered as an explorer and pioneer settler, who squatted on previously unknown country to the south west of Cowra where he established the mighty Brundah Station.  The town of Grenfell grew up on part of Brundah after gold was discovered there in the 1860s.

Born in the mid-1920s leading to the height of the great depression, Cliff’s early life was one of hard work around the farm.    His formal schooling was cut short with the outbreak of World War II when his father found it impossible to obtain enough outside labour to milk the cows and help run the farm. However life was not all drudgery as he and each of his siblings always had their own ponies; for Cliff the genesis of his life-long passion for horses. Their home also boasted a tennis court which resulted in Cliff becoming a more than proficient tennis player.

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Featured Image shows Murray Bain and ‘Birthday Card’ in 1964

Murray Bain Service to Industry Award

The Hunter Valley Blood Horse Breeders Association [HVBBA] as it was then known instituted the ‘Murray Bain Service to Industry Award’ at my suggestion and request. This was the beginning of the Brian Agnew era. Darcy Walden was the first recipient in 1985. This was a most memorable occasion at the Scone Bowling Club.  Babe Singleton was next in 1986. The major premise was that Murray was a great exponent of the ‘working stud groom’ and championed their cause. He always impressed on me that: “given the choice of a good stud groom and a good stud vet you take the good stud groom every time”! That put me firmly in my place! Many of his close friends subsequently received the award including Ron Jeffries, Cliff Ellis, George Bowman and Jim Gibson. I think Murray would have approved!

The back ground of the Perpetual Trophy relates to the letter from Mace to me and my subsequent response. Channel 10 had used Murray’s old original 16mm film ‘The Veterinarian on the Stud Farm’ [c. 1964/1965] for footage to make the Star Kingdom Video. They offered the munificent sum of $500:00 as payment of royalties to Mace! We had just formed the Hunter Valley Equine Research Foundation [HVERF] and Mace suggested the money be invested there. I made a ‘unilateral executive decision’ to put it into something more tangible and telephoned Mace [13/10/88] to request a ‘perpetual trophy in honour of Murray’. She agreed. A copy of the original letter from Mace to me is included below with my ‘annotations’ relating to debate on the ‘fate’ or ultimate destiny of the $500:00.

I purchased the trophy for c. $760:00 and ‘made up the difference myself’. This is the trophy presented each year at the Annual Dinner. The underlying and deeply entrenched principle is the award should be made to a “richly deserving person actively working with ‘hands on’ in the industry” and not at a safe distance. The Presidents Award was instituted for other purposes in 1990.

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Featured Image: ‘Cetigne’ at Mr T. A. Stirton’s Dunlop Stud at Merriwa NSW from a painting of the horse by Martin Stainforth when aged seven years.

‘Cetigne’ (29): Bay Horse 1912 by ‘Grafton’ (imp.) ex ‘Pretty Nell’

‘Cetigne’ was the winner of £27,216 and at the time second on the list of winning Australian racehorses. He was retired to stud in 1921 to Mr T A Stirton’s ‘Dunlop Stud’ at Merriwa. This is a scenario which has almost completely evaporated one hundred years later. Merriwa used to be a very fertile and productive area for thoroughbred production with several wealthy graziers and pastoralists strongly supporting the industry. Arthur Wright is the only relict of this once vibrant locale. Members of the Stirton family are still around the area but no longer involved in raising horses.

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The Mackay family have featured very prominently in the life of the Hunter Valley for almost 180 years. This is the story of the first generation to come to Australia. Duncan Forbes Mackay was the first settler arriving in 1826.

The featured image shows later descendant siblings Jack, ‘Woodgie’ (Peters), Ken, Bob, Bill & Kitty (Hodgson) dressed for a party at Dungog in the 1960s. They were the six children of Charles MacKenzie Mackay and Ethol Dorothea (nee Coleman) of Bondi. Kitty was an Olympic Swimmer (Berlin 1936). Ken and Bob were ‘adopted’ by J K Mackay & Mrs J K Ellen ‘Madame’ Mackay of ‘Pullaming’, Gunnedah and later ‘Cangon’, Dungog. This was not a formal adoption but rather a family ‘arrangement’. Both Ken and Bob became prominent graziers, polo players and horse breeders. Ken was Ringmaster at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for 18 years.

Mackay Family History

The Story of a Family

When all the families gathered at ‘Cangon’ on 30^th March 1962 to celebrate the 100^th birthday of Mrs J. K. Ellen “Madam Mackay” I was asked so often: ‘Who is that? Who did he or she marry? How are we related to him or her?’ I seemed to be the one who knew most of the answers. For instance someone pointed to George (Sandy) Mackay, son of Donald and Dorothy (Melbee) and said ‘How are we related to Sandy’? Without hesitation I answered, ‘My father’s first cousin’s son’s grandchild’, much to the amusement of others. As the younger generation know so little of the Mackays and perhaps when all we “oldies” go where all good Scots go, in the end I decided to write down and gather what I could of interest ‘from the oldies’ for future generations.

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The Coroneo Family in Scone

Featured Image: The Civic Theatre in the early days

I’m motivated to post this blog as I watch with rapt fascination the progress of the restoration of our Scone icon; the Civic Theatre. This is no small task! Good luck Andrew McPhee! The Art Deco building captures more than any other the focal pinnacle of our social culture and built heritage. It draws most favourable comment from visitors and attracts more photographs than anything else with the possible exception of the Mare & Foal Statue.  I duly acknowledge the pioneer Coroneo family as my fellow migrants and the contribution they have made to our local community and also nationally. We have much for which we should thank them and be forever grateful. I have only met two family members; a charming young advocate from Armidale named Anastasia who is a close friend of my similarly Scone-bred lawyer daughter Kirsty in Darwin! On a different occasion I was present at a meeting with Mrs Hellene Coroneo when on the UHSC.

See also: https://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/world_war_2/personal_stories/andrew_coroeno 

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