Dunkeld & District Historical Museum
Dunkeld & District Historical Museum
The first Dunkeld race meeting was recorded to be in 1856. There was reported to be a large assemblage of people, and the best order prevailed. Mr Thomas Keegan, of the Dunkeld Royal Mail Hotel offered a pig skin saddle worth ten guineas, bridle, whip and spurs, together with a Musical Box, a ladies’ side saddle worth fifteen guineas and a rifle valued at 12 guineas.
GO TO THE WINNERS LISTToday the race meetings are very different from these early years, crowds have swollen to over 10,000 people in attendance, marquee’s, and entertainment being arranged, and race day “packages” offered to patrons.
Top image: Dunkeld Racing Club Committee in 2015
Lower image: Fashions on the Field at Dunkeld 1998
In 1911, things had changed! The racecourse had moved. There was a new, ideal spot chosen for the race track, (out towards where the new cemetery is located), with advertising saying visitors should enjoy “A Day’s Outing Among The Mountains”, with special holiday excursion fares being arranged, and a special train to leave Hamilton and Ararat on the day of the races. The train fare to be refunded for horses travelling 40 miles or over.
In 1915 the committee of the Dunkeld Race Club were placed in a predicament in connection with their annual races. Arrangements were first made to hold the races on April 3, but was altered to May 8th. The Chief Secretary was not notified of the alteration, and the meeting was, therefore held without authority. Some time after this the club went into recess, no meeting being held during World War 1, the next meeting being held in 1920.
The club ticked along, at times struggling because of poor weather conditions and problems with the state of the course. In 1950 their meeting was held at the Penshurst Course. Then in 1952, the meeting was possibly held at the Hamilton Course, and back at Penshurst in 1953, and again held at Dunkeld in 1954, after the difficulty in obtaining a licence to race was resolved. Over the period of racing at Dunkeld, the course, first operated on land roughly described as near the corner of William St and the Victoria Valley road, later moving to land roughly describes as near the new Dunkeld cemetery, then to the present day re-formed race track, that is privately owned by the Dunkeld Racing Club.
The Dunkeld Museum has a large collection of racing club records, race books and memorabilia pertaining to the club. The above is just a taste of what can be viewed in our archives.
Background image: "Tauto" The Dunkeld Dynamo at the foot of Mt Sturgeon