Jack Kelso RHKJC Steward

Scone has a close historical link with the ‘colonial era’ Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (RHKJC) now known as the vastly successful Hong Kong Jockey Club.

http://racingmemories.hk/hottopics/clerk-of-the-course/

Jack Kelso became Stipendiary Steward for Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club in 1958 living in Repulse Bay for 6 years. In 1962 Mr J. Kelso was appointed Clerk of the Course of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and also a Stipendiary Steward.

The Chairman commented; “We must all regret that the Club did not do this before. Mr J. Kelso is an Australian with a good record as a successful trainer in New South Wales”. Jack Kelso was also handicapper and Clerk of Course until 1967.

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Bypass Prognosis

The Scone Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. issued a very positive report of its visit to Bulahdelah on Tuesday 14th August 2018:

See: info=sconechamber.com.au@mail129.suw14.mcdlv.net

See also: https://www.sconeadvocate.com.au/story/6262740/its-an-advertisement-for-the-town-says-mayor/?cs=1533&fbclid=IwAR312JMGmQBsK86pmXdxczMSLKWgpeBt2-w1XElEave3pPqLfTOWwNAaSC0

‘Focus on what we have now as an advantage’

Key outcomes from Bulahdelah Bypass meeting at Bulahdelah Tuesday 14^th August 2018

A delegation from the Scone Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Upper Hunter Shire

Council travelled to Bulahdelah to meet with group of business people to discuss their experience with preparing for pre and post ByPass installation. Included in the delegation were Anne Frame representing the Revitalization Committee, Steve Guihot and Garry Gilkeson representing the Scone Chamber of Commerce and Allan Fletcher representing the Upper Hunter Shire Council.

Key points to come out of the extensive conversation were as follows.

1. There was some generational change to the makeup of the business community as some older members decided to step down and were replaced by younger business owners.
2. The Bulahdelah bypass has now been operational for 6 years and the town is doing very well. For the first 2 months or so after the Bypass opened there was a dramatic decrease in visitation to the town as people tried the bypass. But then visitation figures increased by 10% and subsequently the figures have increased by 3% per year since.
3. One point made very strongly by the local businesses was that there needs to be a “WOW” factor on the approaches to the town and that the town entrances are very important. They also felt that these entrances need to be upgraded and in place well before the By Pass is functional. They made the point also that the main street needs to be refreshed (at least) before the By Pass is open to give visitor to the town the best possible view and impression of the town.
4. Focus on and build on what we have now as advantages. Don’t be seduced by developers coming in to tell us what they might do.
5. Tourism strategies need to work “hand in hand” with the Chamber of Commerce and there needs to be a co-ordinated approach with the Chamber, the Council and Community Groups to work together. There is a limited “window of opportunity” and it will rapidly close as the Bypass reaches completion.
6. In Bulahdelah the results have been very positive. The town wealth has increased, the town amenities have increased, and the town liveability has increased as well. New businesses like “Oliver’s” have opened and are doing very well. The locals have also made an effort to improve camping/caravan areas and they are finding that the tourists are coming to town and rather than continuing on North are spending two or three says using the town as a base while they explore the highlights of the area.
7. They also said; ”don’t forget the youth and children in your considerations”..( bike paths, walking paths, skate parks, things to keep them occupied)

All in all this was very successful project to gain further information, not to have to re-invent the wheel, and we were very grateful to the folks in Bulahdelah for their time and input to the discussions.

Notes generated and circulated by Scone Chamber of Commerce and Industry August 2018

Prologue

Trained scientists like objective measurement. Definitive decisions are based on established (measured) facts. A ‘tentative prognosis’ is based on the accrued data. This document serves the purpose admirably where a group of highly credentialed economic/statistical researchers have produced an estimable evaluation of data pertaining to the impact of town bypasses in known and tested situations. Admittedly Gunning, Goulburn and Yass are far removed from the Upper Hunter Valley and the New England Highway. However some of the overarching principles pertain. Perhaps a better analogy could be found comparing Scone to Mittagong, Bowral, Moss Vale and Berrima? The study has yet to be commissioned. Nonetheless there are lessons to be learned. Closer to home we might also compare Bulahdelah; and even Karuah? Berry is on the South Coast but already the early signs of ‘bypass renaissance’ are evident. The prognosis is good; not even guarded.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF TOWN BYPASSES  Final Report       OCTOBER 2012 RMS       12.365 ISBN      978-1-922041-45-6

See: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/town-bypasses-economic-evaluation.pdf

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Brown, John (1850–1930)

Featured Image: Acknowledge permission Newcastle Region Public Library Collection

By J. W. Turner

This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, (MUP), 1979 which I duly acknowledge:

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/brown-john-5388  

Featured Image: John Brown Cartoon reproduced with kind permission and grateful acknowledgement Newcastle Regional Public Library Collection

I admit this was both stimulated and promulgated by Ian Ibbett’s excellent story:

See also: http://kingsoftheturf.com/1909-the-rebarbative-john-brown-and-prince-foote/

However there’s a lot of local ‘gossip’ still about the Browns; and also Alan Cooper. I think this was what attracted the rapt attention of Graham Harper at the Scone Men’s Shed? It also brings back into sharp focus the long history of the original Segenhoe Stud in the eponymous valley near Scone. Potter Macqueen really started something in 1824 which endures even today. Gerry Harvey and his cohort partners are the current custodians under the banner of Vinery Stud. Regrettably the name was sold when a new owner acquired a neighbouring property at Broad’s Crossing. Potter Macqueen’s ‘go to’ man was Peter Macintyre (Kayuga 1827). His direct descendent Duncan now owns the equally totemic Invermien at Scone; originally selected by Francis Little.

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Kings of the Turf

See: http://kingsoftheturf.com/

Yesterday (26/07/18) I was talking with good mate Graham Harper at the ‘Men’s Shed’ in Scone. I was the enforced labourer assigned to pick up my wife’s refurbished desk. The men did a great job. Graham was quite excited. Knowing of my addiction to turf history he told me he’d uncovered a fantastic story on ‘The Rebarbative John Brown’. I like the word’ rebarbative’. You can insult someone without their really knowing it? Graham had my immediate attention. I was rapt. I’ve been concentrating on the Hunter Valley. The Coal Baron Browns were certainly up front and central in the early days.

I arrived home and successfully unloaded the restored desk without deleterious incident. I googled (new verb) the title. Straight away I discovered an absolute treasure trove of historical racing information. Ian Ibbett has done a superb job; and what a task! You can find all this by clicking on the URL above. You’ll find an ‘Introduction’, ‘Prologue’ and ‘Contacts’. Then the fun really starts. It’s a Magnus Opus (Latin I think). Ian has based his story on ‘A History of the AJC Derby from 1861 to 1977’. It’s monumental, comprehensive, complete and colossal.

For some time I’d been searching for information on Royal Sovereign, the triple Derby Winner who was bred by my wife’s great Uncle F K ‘Darby’ Mackay. It’s all there; in spades. Then I scrolled down to find information on the Thompson Family of Widden (1904). The late ‘Bim’ Thompson was groomsman at our wedding. It’s perhaps demeaning to claim that this online goldmine fills in all the gaps; but it does. Reading through this will take me some time. I’m greatly looking forward to the task. My next move will be to alert my very good friend racing and breeding journalist Brian Russell. Only last week Brian (88) became a resident in an Aged Care Home in Denman. I know it’s an excellent establishment. Brian will be able to compare notes with John Harris formerly of ‘Holbrook Stud’ in the Widden Valley.

Thank you Graham Harper for the introduction; I’m hooked!

Royal Sovereign

Featured Image: Royal Sovereign and Ray Selkrig returning to scale after the AJC Derby 1964 (AJC).

Trainer John Page had purchased Royal Sovereign for 1850 guineas at the Sydney Easter Yearling Sales on behalf of Mr and Mrs Agini, relative newcomers to ownership and their only previous winner had been Empress Rego in a minor event at Hawkesbury in March 1963.  Mr & Mrs Agini had only recently migrated from Great Britain as assisted passage migrants (‘£10 Poms’). Although originally of Greek/Cretan descent both had performed magnificently on behalf of the allies in the WWII conflict.

The Aginis had only paid 750 guineas through John Page for Empress Rego, but it was that Hawkesbury victory by five lengths – and the resultant winning wagers associated with it – that gave the couple the ammunition and incentive to pay much more for a better-bred colt at the Inglis Sales held a month later.  There were only two Chatsworths on offer in that catalogue, and after going through its pages a dozen times, Page kept coming back to Lot No. 87. It was a fortuitous decision.

The official presentation of the AJC Derby prize was made jointly by the Governor-General, Lord De L’Isle, and H.R.H. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent.  Apart from the normal blue riband, a London commercial firm of goldsmiths had donated a British Exhibition Cup as a trophy for the winner.  Lord De L’Isle had made previous presentations to jockey Ray Selkrig on the occasion of him winning the 1961 Melbourne Cup on Lord Fury and the City Tattersall’s Club Cup on Travel On and when the diminutive hoop walked out for the presentation was met with a good-natured vice-regal greeting of “Oh, no, not you again!”

If you scroll down https://kingsoftheturf.com/1964-a-pretender-crushed-a-sovereign-crowned/ you will find an image of a sartorially resplendent Mrs Agini with jockey Ray Selkrig about to accept the winning trophy from HRH Princess Marina.

The full text and photographs pertaining to Royal Sovereign can be accessed at Ian Ibbett’s excellent historical series (May 15 2018) which I duly acknowledge:

http://kingsoftheturf.com/1964-a-pretender-crushed-a-sovereign-crowned/

Note: Royal Sovereign was bred by my wife Sarah’s great uncle F K ‘Darby’ Mackay. He is unique in winning not only the AJC Derby but also the VRC and QTC Derbies in the same racing year 1964/1965).

The 1964 A.J.C. Derby field and race conditions appear in the table which can also be viewed on the website above. Keith Banks who rode Cranleigh (NZ) which failed to finish in the field of ten is now a Scone resident.

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St Andrews Race Day

One of the major events on the social calendar in Scone and district during the decade beginning in the early 1970s was the St Andrews Race Day. The inaugural event run under the auspices of the Scone Race Club was held on Saturday 1^st December 1973 at White Park. (See Featured Image)

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Thoroughbred 1936

Acknowledgement:

Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society; ‘Moving Images and the Theatre’; The Shiralee; Filming in the Upper Hunter; Scone’s Civic Theatre: Heather Ashford assisted by Mary Woodlands: Federation Publication No 1 Scone and Upper Historical Society Incorporated, Scone NSW 2337 Australia. 1997. ISBN 0 949187 14 3. © Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society, Incorporated. Designed and printed by Pritchard’s Press Pty. Ltd. 206 Kelly Street, Scone NSW 2337.

Featured Image:

Advertisement for ‘Thoroughbred’: Scone Advocate 16 June 1936

Dialogue

In 1935 Percy Miller’s Kia Ora Stud was chosen as the setting for Cinesound Production Ltd.’s film Thoroughbred. Hollywood celebrity Helen Twelvetrees was selected for the star role. Ken Hall was the director. The company “arrived in Scone, cavalcade style” on 19 December 1935. “Miss Twelvetrees was shown to a specially designed suite of rooms at the Golden Fleece Hotel”. The Scone Advocate, 20 December 1935.

Prominent Australians in the cast included equestrienne Violet Scuthorpe, brother Lance Scuthorpe and Arthur Winter of Willow Tree, formerly of Scone. The breaking-in segment of the film was shot in the yards at Kia Ora then managed by Bert Riddle. Violet Scuthorpe ‘doubled’ for Helen Twelvetrees who could not ride. The former was a solidly built brunette and the latter (Miss Twelvetrees) a leggy blond. The make-up artists, creative cameramen and editing (‘cutting’) teams were truly tested to lend the final product an ‘authentic’ ring.

Other celebrities in the cast were Frank Leighton and Nellie Barnes. Hall of Fame and all time great American jockey Johnny Longden appears in the official advertisement both listed by name and in a photograph with star Helen Twelvetrees. I doubt Johnny Longden actually came to Scone; but its just possible? It would be a very desirable connection between the industry in the USA and the Upper Hunter?

Thoroughbred was shown at the Olympia Theatre, Scone on three nights and also a matinee on 23, 24, 25 June 1936 and described in the Scone Advocate as follows:

“Australian in construction, in sentiment, in ideals, Thoroughbred reveals to the whole world the glory, grandeur, and true natural greatness of this wonderful country of ours. It was skilfully directed by Ken G. Hall, Australia’s young “ace” director. The film is of more than passing interest to Upper Hunterites, for Kia Ora, the premier stud of the Commonwealth, many wonderful shots were obtained. These not only embraced the scenic beauties of the place, but the great horses that have helped to maintain the reputation and traditions of the place of Australian turfdom.”

The production cost £20,000 ($40,000) and was premiered at the Mayfair Theatre, Sydney in May 1936.

Into the Straight 1949

Acknowledgement:

Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society; ‘Moving Images and the Theatre’; The Shiralee; Filming in the Upper Hunter; Scone’s Civic Theatre: Heather Ashford assisted by Mary Woodlands: Federation Publication No 1 Scone and Upper Historical Society Incorporated, Scone NSW 2337 Australia. 1997. ISBN 0 949187 14 3. © Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society, Incorporated. Designed and printed by Pritchard’s Press Pty. Ltd. 206 Kelly Street, Scone NSW 2337.

Featured Image:

Posters for ‘Into the Straight’: Scone Advocate Friday 4 June 1947 and 30 December 1949

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The Picture Show Man 1977

Acknowledgement:

Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society; ‘Moving Images and the Theatre’; The Shiralee; Filming in the Upper Hunter; Scone’s Civic Theatre: Heather Ashford assisted by Mary Woodlands: Federation Publication No 1 Scone and Upper Historical Society Incorporated, Scone NSW 2337 Australia. 1997. ISBN 0 949187 14 3. © Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society, Incorporated. Designed and printed by Pritchard’s Press Pty. Ltd. 206 Kelly Street, Scone NSW 2337.

Featured Image:

Scene from Murrurundi courtesy of Hunter Valley News Photography and the above

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Ride a Wild Pony 1975

Acknowledgement:

Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society; ‘Moving Images and the Theatre’; The Shiralee; Filming in the Upper Hunter; Scone’s Civic Theatre: Heather Ashford assisted by Mary Woodlands: Federation Publication No 1 Scone and Upper Historical Society Incorporated, Scone NSW 2337 Australia. 1997. ISBN 0 949187 14 3. © Scone and Upper Hunter Historical Society, Incorporated. Designed and printed by Pritchard’s Press Pty. Ltd. 206 Kelly Street, Scone NSW 2337.

Featured Image:

Scenes from filming ‘Rise a Wild Pony’; The Scone Advocate & Dr Judy White (‘Belltrees’) as recorded in ‘Moving Images and the Theatre’ (see above)

Dialogue

Walt Disney Productions chose ‘Belltrees’ to film ‘Ride a Wild Pony’ 1975 based on the book A Sporting Proposition by Australian author James Aldrich. The Director was Don Chaffey and the cameraman Jack Cardiff.

The story revolves around a rich girl, a poor boy and a Welsh Pony. Belltrees property and interior of the homestead were used as for filming over two weeks. An office was maintained at Airlie House Motel and the film ‘rushes’ were flown daily to Sydney for processing and editing. The cast included many acting luminaries: John Meillon Senior, John Meillon Junior, Michael Craig, Peter Gwynne with Eva Griffith and Robert Bettles as two child stars. Eva was the only non-Australian. The Meillons acted together for the first time.

Local ‘extras’ included Mark White as stand-in for Robert Bettles, and Ian Merrick at eleven years of age who ‘doubled’ for Eva Griffith who could not ride or drive a pony trap.

Further filming took place at Chiltern, Victoria where “$50,000 was spent giving the town a 1920s atmosphere”. The total budget was $1,000,000.