I need to take some drastic action if I'm to get this poor guy uncovered. The NZTA gave me very little to go on for the first jockey they have on record who was fatally injured. All they wrote was "Unknown Maori Boy - Wangnui - 1848.
Facts as they are:
1) Maori Boys in 1848 didn't own horses, the Maori (native New Zealanders) did have horses, but not many. Chiefs or warriors would have ridden them, not boys.
2) In Whanganui (Wanganui now it has been renamed again) the Militia were based in and around the area in 1848. There is a record of them holding horse races in December of 1848. The date varies depending on what source you have, but two dates seem the most logical. 22 of December or 28th of December. My leaning is towards the 28th of December as this port town would have celebrated Christmas then before New Years celebrations kicked off, it would have been perfect to bridge the two festive dates by having the horse race.
3) I think the UMB would have possibly been a groom for an officer in the militia or just a boy who hung around the stables, when the owner of the horse couldn't make the ride, the boy would have stepped up and if he knew the horse, the valuable animal would have been given to him ... a familiar rider.
4) The wording implies that the UMB was probably between 10 - 13yrs old, if he was older he'd have been called a Lad.
So as of today I don't know who he was, or how he was injured. Kinda sad really. I was in Ratahi (central North Island) and while going through the museum I found a picture of the Whanganui Race course a few years after 1848. I paid for a copy of the image, and am waiting for it to be sent to me. I'll add it when it arrives so you can see how it looked. While I wait for the postie, I'll try and think of other places to search besides the Archives in Wellington.
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