Bungarribee

‘Bungarribee’ was located at Eastern Creek, west of the city of Sydney. It’s now swallowed by the inexorable urban sprawl having also hosted an International Motorcycle Race Track.

The featured image shows the ‘glamourized’ rural idyll as it may have looked in 1858. It rather resembles the liberal artistic depiction of English country life so popular in the mid-19^th century. This may have been the deliberate intention? In the successive ownerships of Thomas Icely, Charles Smith and Henry Kater ‘Bungaribee’ was long one of the leading studs in Autralia.

Things were not so sanitised further out and further west.

Reprinted in ‘Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788 – 1900) and The Serpents Legacy’ by Keith R Binney. Publisher: Volcanic Productions

Exclusives & Emancipists

Featured Image: Mounted horseman in Macquarie Street, Sydney in 1854 (Joseph Fowles, DG 250) Acknowledge the State Library of NSW. The horse portrait depicts the owner’s status among ‘Colonial Gentlemen’. Publican Stephen Butts portrayal references those of political leaders and royalty who are similarly shown on horseback in oil paintings from the sixteenth century onwards. The painting also demonstrates Butts’ great pride in his possessions. (‘Equinity’ Exhibition 8 October 2007 to 13 January 2008, State Library of NSW).

While great changes were taking place on the pastoral properties and studs outside the County of Cumberland it was a much more genteel purview in the city of Sydney. Prosperity had arrived in the colony and become firmly founded. The establishment ascendant ‘Exclusives’ vied with the emergent ‘Emancipists’ for primacy in both private and public life. Competition bubbled away just below the surface; not infrequently exploding above ground. Suitable mounts were de rigueur for both castes. Even then as now the superficially meretricious arrivistes and parvenus tended to display more ostentatious wealth? In 2017 the latter tend to own the most glitzy SUVs, black stretch limousines and expensive sports models.

It has been postulated that the (named) gentleman on the magnificent white thoroughbred is from the ‘merchant caste’? An exclusive might have been more modest. It nonetheless underlines the status to be acquired by ownership of superior blood stock. Horses had well and truly arrived in both city spaces and outback country.

Jorrocks

Featured Image: ‘Jorrocks’ by Whistler

Sold in 1841 by his breeder Mr H Bailey who took in exchange for the gelding 8 springing* heifers (equivalent to £40 sterling). The gelding took part in 81 races, 57 of which he won, the majority being run in heats.

Springing* = ‘Due to calve soon’

In conformation and type it would appear ‘Jorrocks’ resembles ‘Nazeer Fareeb’; although the latter High Caste Arab was not imported from India until a few years later. The emphasis was probably on type; proved to be successful in competition?

Nazeer Fareeb (1846)

Featured Image: Nazeer Fareeb (1846) High Caste Arab ex India

While ‘Walers’ were being sent to India as British Army Cavalry Remounts there was still traffic in the opposite direction for quality entire colts. ‘Nazeer Fareeb’ was one such stallion. I don’t know where he landed but this was a continuum of the gradual improvement of the now ‘indigenous’ and expanding local brand/breed of horses. The same or similar was taking place with other livestock most notably sheep (Merinos) and Cattle.

It was not until 1971 that the ‘Waler’ horse was acknowledged as the Australian Stock Horse. Thoroughbreds had been recorded in their own Australian Stud Book for well over 100 years before that. It may have been the ‘chutzpah’ which accompanied the introduction of the American Quarter Horse to push overdue accreditation of the local breed?

Waler Export 1834

Reprinted in ‘Horsemen of the First Frontier (1788 – 1900) and The Serpents Legacy’ by Keith R Binney. Publisher: Volcanic Productions

Featured Image: The primitive transport of ‘Walers’ from NSW to Madras (Chennai) in c. 1834

While quality Arabic-type thoroughbreds were being imported from mainly India it was not long before NSW working stock horses were heading in the opposite direction.

Between 1600 and until independence in 1947 India had become increasingly ‘British’. Firstly the nascent British East India Company was set up with headquarters at No I Leadenhall Street in the City of London. They were granted exclusive rights by Act of Parliament for trade with the Far East. This was largely to counter the Dutch already in operation in the Spice Trade and also the aspirational French. Since settlement at Botany Bay/Port Jackson in 1788 in theory the British East India Company had exclusive entitlements over trade with the new colony. Sir Francis Baring took exception to the activities of colonist John Macarthur who he attacked as ‘that serpent we are nurturing at Botany Bay’!

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Skeleton (Ire)

The grey stallion ‘Skeleton’ was another quality import to NSW in the mid-quartile of the 19^th century. Skeleton had at least a superficial exotic background as befitted the standard profile of many of the introduced stallions of the era.

Skeleton was a fairly typical Arabic looking thoroughbred once the property of the Marquis of Sligo. It appeared this was the breed-type and conformation the breeders were avidly seeking. Good temperament may have been a lucky dip luxury. Some of the horses appeared very ‘fiery’; at least in the images portrayed.  He was described somewhat floridly as ‘The Celebrated Entire Irish Race Horse’. He ran successfully as a 2 year old in the Marquis’ colours before being purchased by Prince Esterhazy. It looks like ENTERHAZY in the script but it is presumably Prince Ezterhazy, Nikolaus III of the celebrated Hungarian aristocratic family. The latter spent some time in England.

Skeleton was imported to Raby Stud. This is/was in the Macarthur region of western Sydney. It was owned by pioneer merchant and pastoralist Alexander Riley (1778 – 1833) who in 1809 was granted 3000 acres on the corner of Bringelly and Cowpasture Roads. It may be a family member succeeded to the property. The property was initially used for sheep breeding and was also home to the first introduction of Cashmere Goats.

Dover @ Glendon

Featured Image: ‘Dover’ at Glendon

The Scott Brothers of ‘Glendon’ near Singleton were among the most prolific breeders of quality horses in the era 1825 – 1850. In 1833 the stud boasted a stock of some 300 blood horses. They had advertised the imported ‘Toss’ in the Sydney print press of the day (1828) as standing at Glendon at a fee of 8 guineas. It wasn’t long before the very useful Glendon bloodlines had permeated most of the major blood horse studs in the Hunter Valley. Certainly John Lee at Bathurst and later in the Widden Valley had availed himself of the quality horses available.

In 1836 the Scott Brothers had imported on the transport ship Henry Tanner a very successful thoroughbred sire which reputedly cost £800. This sire was Dover (GB) 1832 by Patron out of Maid of Kent. Dover became one of the most influential sires in the nascent colony. Through his son Marquis (1837) the famous colonial taproot C1 mare Sappho was bred. Other stallions to stand at Glendon included Tamerlane (1835) and Mentor (1835. A second sire named Hector was foaled in 1843 by Dover out of Hebe. He was sometimes referred to as ‘Young Hector’ to distinguish him from the earlier eponymous import then referred to as ‘Old Hector’.

The upgrading of the local mares at Glendon by the use of these imported quality sires led to a harem of part thoroughbred mares most suitable for crossing with subsequent superior sires. The ‘Waler’ industry in NSW had truly taken off in style.

Primitive Early Days

Very few facilities were available in the early days of horse management. Just as necessity is the mother of invention so is motivation the precursor of achievement. The pioneers had to be resourceful. They were. Very often they had to ‘make do’ with what was available. The cartoon in the featured image depicts a likely scenario. As usual there are fence sitting ‘armchair experts’ liberal with their well-practiced advice?

Hector

In the very early days of colonisation the ‘new age of fast transport’ (and communication) depended entirely on the best available horses. For the first settlers and subsequent squatters it wasn’t all about personal gratification or self-aggrandisement. It was hard-nosed perspicacious business acumen. In America it has been defined as: ‘Be best; be biggest; be first’. Since about 1800 it boiled down to who owned the ‘best and fastest’ most reliable means of conveyance.

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St Andrews Day Races

Featured Image: David Macintyre and the author marching with the pipe band on the main track a St Andrews day Races at White Park in 1974

It’s fast approaching the celebration of St Andrews’ Day on the 30^th November each year. St Andrew is the patron Saint of Scotland; as well as Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Sand Andres Island, Colombia, Saint Andrew, Barbados and Tenerife! We couldn’t fit them all in at White Park! I’m nonetheless reminded of two special events which celebrated the Scottish Heritage of Scone in the grandest manner. They were two contiguous related events:  the Scone Race Club St Andrews Day Race Meeting and the Scone Scot’s Dinner at about the same time. I’ll deal here with the former and later revisit the latter.

“I freely admit that the best of my fun I owe it to country racing”

(Not quite Whyte Melville – Horse and Hound)

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