Gotta read 'Harry - the ride of my life'

Spent the day reading The Noel Harris Story - harry the ride of my life.
What an awesomely put together book. Wally O'Hearn did a fab job on writing this with Noel. Love the way Noel's sense of humor and his directness comes through. Please ... Please ... Please ...  go buy this book and read it.

The Harris family were no strangers to tragedy as they had a rider death in their family. Jock Harris, Noels dad lost his brother Des (Dodo) Harris in an accident at Marton RC on New Years Day 1952 when Des was only 18 years old.

I was interested to see the other names of riders Noel mentions as losing their lives at the time they were riders.  I have a couple of new names to follow up. The guys who are riders who die off the course are often forgotten as their names aren't attached to a racecourse and can easily slip into oblivion. I'll update you when I discover more. Des Tucker & Mark Heaney were the names mentioned in the book. I also have a Murray Alexander (Pedro) who died in a car accident in 1958 found his name in a newspaper article.

If you do know of anyone else that should be on my list, give me a bell and I'll look them up. Rather waste some time researching than let someone remain unidentified.

George Albert Baker # 78

Returning from holiday in Rotorua in June 2012  I headed to Morrinsville looking for George Albert Baker who was killed in 1934 at the age of 19. I had to stop at the Morrinsville council office as the map they have of the cemetery was too large to email to me when I was at Matamata District Council. (Matamata DC has the responsibility of a number of cemeteries)  I guess the town grew around the cemetery as it is very close to the centre of town. But judging by the size of the trees it’s quite old.  I literally knew where to go the minute I parked on the road and looked up the drive.

George Albert Baker was 19 years old when he died. He was riding a horse called Kelly, in the Calliope Handicap at Takapuna Racecourse on the 27th of January in 1934.  Some reported that Kelly rolled against the running rail causing George’s injuries, others claim George and the mount merely touched the rail but that George got tangled and then went down.  What isn’t in debate is that on the bend just before the straight he hit the wooden running rail. George (Albie) Baker received a broken leg, concussion and internal injuries.  He died at the Auckland Hospital at 5.30 pm. His mum was on her way from Motumaoho (near Morrinsville) but didn't make it to Auckland before Albie died.  

The Stewards of the day immediately called an inquiry, but the broadest inquiry was undertaken by the Coroner Wyvern Wilson.  (Interestingly the Stewards came to the conclusion that the girth had broken causing the saddle to move up and this was what had caused Albie to be thrown through the railing. Nothing about the course being an issue. Makes you wonder if the course was the issue would they have cancelled the rest of the meetings races? and totally off the track, the local undertaker was very involved with the
TJC - that is a bit creepy).  The Coroner had a bit of difficulty getting corroborating evidence and at one point called an adjournment for more evidence to be provided. Before making his final decision on February 10th 1934, the coroner concluded that horses when put under pressure, naturally gallop straight forward, not in a circle? He then advises that the Takapuna course was too circular for inexperienced horses to maintain their balance and keep up a high speed . (Kelly was a two-year-old competing in it’s first race. However he did say the rider was skilled and the horse well trained.  The cause of death was listed as accidental.

No one wants to be the cause of someone’s death but it appears there were a few people covering their own backsides and trying to ensure they didn’t get the blame.  Albie was the 7th rider to die on the Takapuna course. He was also the last. Each and every time there was a fatality at the racecourse it was put down to jockey error. There were a couple of times that the course was clearly the issue, but it was the 7th coroner who pushed to have the course looked at, and within a year of George’s death the racecourse closed.  7 men died and the course was faulty. (Just trying to think what to write instead using lots of swear words) It just made me so mad!!  The following year the Takapuna JC held their meeting at Ellerslie, and as fate would have it, another young man died at that meeting.  The Takapuna JC had offered to fix their course and wanted to upgrade the stands etc, but this was declined and eventually their members joined up with the Ellerslie members.

Today the old TJC ground is the Takapuna Golf Course.  It’s a beautiful serene place. (I’ve seen only one aerial shot of the Takapuna Racecourse taken by the crew of a RNZAF plane out of Whenuapai. Which showed the actual racecourse in it’s day.   And yup it was most definitely very circular). When you pay your respects and sit looking at these young mens headstones you just wonder why it had to happen.  How flippin expendable were these riders and horses?

Albies father George Albert Baker was a farmer at Motumaoho, where he lived till he retired. Both he and his wife are buried beside Albie. Records list Albie as being born in New Zealand but he doesn’t show up in the Birth records in NZ. Maybe there is a spelling mistake, but I’ve tried all possibilities. Even so I believe he was born about 1915. It appears that because of his love of horses and his small stature, Albie decided to become a professional rider. He was apprenticed to Mr George Paul of Te Awamutu. I believe he was still apprenticed to Mr Paul at the time of his death. George Baker the father was the son of  Charles Baker who won the Auckland Trotting Cup in 1906 with Typewriter.   I found records that show an older son born to Kate & George Baker, but not much else. Records show a John Patrick Baker being born and it’s not uncommon to find someone called John who is called Jack as a nickname. Found the reference to a JP Baker (Jack) who won the NZ Cup at Addington Raceway in Christchurch in 1965 who might be the elder brother of the apprentice jockey Albie. I’ve yet to discover if there were any sisters in the family. JP Baker the trainer lived in Morrinsville. So I have my fingers crossed that maybe he was the older brother or a cousin?

When you walk up the slight incline to the cemetery, you see a large polished headstone in a warm red colour which broaches a large plot in the 3rd row to your right. This is where Albie rests. Him and his folks need a bit of  TLC and hopefully on my way to Rotorua next time I’ll be able to stop in and tidy them up.  I sat for a while after I wrote the inscription down from the headstone and closed my eyes to clear my mind.  I hope I find a picture of him one day, to see if he looks like I imagine he did. I’m sure that he would have had a write up in a local paper from the area. I wonder who owned the horse he was riding and what the colours were he wore that afternoon.

A while back I talked with Colin Jillings and he said that he could recall seeing horses using the course as they travelled past the Takapuna coast heading north by boat to attend races in Whangarei back in the 30's. Just makes you think how times have changed. In the 1880s they rode the horses to the races or used boats to transport them, then there was the automobile and now planes. Watching a clip of Black Caviar traveling to the Northern Hemisphere in that awesome body suit … just where does it all go now.  I’m sure our angel riders are looking down very amused at what a bunch of comfort creatures we’ve become.

1. Bertram Thomas Castleton                     19yrs           3 Jan     1897
2. Alfred Charles Walter Butler                  24yrs          26 Nov  1904
3. William James Moylan                           15yrs          26 Nov  1921
4. Alfred John McFlinn (aka AJ McFlynn) 38yrs          29 Nov  1924
5. Edward Montague Preston                    28yrs            2 Feb   1926
6.Robert Henry Reilly                                28yrs          28 Nov  1928
7. George Albert Baker                            19yrs           27 Jan    1934

    Sorry I've been gone for so long, I've been a bit busy in the last 6-8 months.  My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer – guess it’s a forgone conclusion when you smoke for 62 years. Fast as my dad was (and he’s up there in the super dad category) he couldn’t dodge that bullet.  When I first started my research he would just nod at me in his fatherly way and pass by with his coffee, as he headed to his man-cave.  Later when the cancer took a tighter grip, he’d sit and watch me as I wrestled with my research. Just knowing he was around to answer questions seemed to make him feel part of what I was doing. Gradually he lost the endurance to do even that. Dad was there when I made my first phone calls, and started building up the material on each rider. I’d get all excited and tell him about my new discoveries … He on the other hand would recall the names and exploits of riders he knew, (which while interesting wasn’t all that helpful as  none of them died during their careers) but it was something we shared.

     During one of his last stays at hospice, he looked over at me and randomly told me to “finish it” …  I didn’t know what he was on about and then he said  … “the jockeys” At that point I hadn’t touched anything for months. I was stunned that amongst the pain, and there was lots of pain by then, that he thought about my project.  I promised him that I would keep going … and I will.  This is the first time I’m doing it without him. I miss him so much and I can only hope that each of these riders had someone who loved them and grieved for them the way my siblings and I are grieving for our dad. I intend to make sure our generations don’t forget my dad either, I couldn’t have wished for a better Dad, a better friend and a greater inspiration.

Eugene Alexander Chan : 16 February 1930 – 19 March 2012

My Dad being cheeky to the camera 

Jockeys from WWI & WWII

     I'm still on the discovery jaunt. Have been really lucky to have access to a set of WWII registers of people serving. I want to include a small section in my book, that'll have a list of the Jockeys and Apprentice Jockeys in NZ who went to serve. It's proving harder than I thought it would be. WWI  wasn't too bad, there is a database that I was able to get most of the info from. However WWII is still within the time frame that some of the people might be alive so I had to be creative and while at the local library (Whangaparaoa Library) I noticed a bin tucked under one of the genealogy computers (we have an awesome area that is run by the Hibiscus Coast Branch of the NZSOG) I had a look in the bin, and found a bunch of registers. I have looked thru 9 of the registers, and today while I was looking for more riders, I took the time out to read the writing at the front of the registers. It was to do with troop movements and when they left NZ, where they were going, and how many left. I read the concern they had about Japanese submarines. Hard to believe Japan is now one of our trading partners.  At first what I was reading was just words, but then it began to sink in that these men were part of someones family, and many of the soldiers didn't come back. How awful that must feel to lose someone that way.
     The Auckland City Library has a resource centre for genealogists, on-line they have some images of early Auckland, and in their collection, I found the image of one of the jockeys I've been researching, it had a picture of him, and he had served in the Boer War. Sheesh that was like before 1900. It said that he went across with the Calvery, as he was trained as a Blacksmith.  The riders name was Thomas Taylor he was born in 1865 and was killed on the Ellerslie Racecourse. At 42 years he was one of the oldest men killed in racing. (actually there are 3 of them all aged 42 years old)
     You know what I worry about the most .... that I might miss a name and leave a person who deserves recognition out of the list. Dumb but it's always in the back of my mind.    

Jockeys from WWI

Spent the afternoon typing out a list of Jockeys from NZ who went to World War I. I kept thinking about the ANZAC day ceremonies we hold throughout NZ, and this is probably the first time I thought about the jockeys who went to war. Had a long chat to my dad about it, and he told me that most of the jockeys were of such a small body frame size that they often got the job of being the ones to wriggle forward and to cut the barb wire so the rest of their battalion could pass through without delay. There was a lot of the jockeys who were put on the reserves lists, either due to health or family commitments. But what I know about the jockeys who were around at that time, they were fearless. Maybe they had a different kind of mind set because a lot of them acted like they couldn't control the future, so living for the day was the way to get through life.
I saw a couple of names of guys who died during their racing careers after the war, on the list I was typing. It was sad - compared to today, they had a tough life, and it was a struggle. But through it all, they found things to enjoy and be happy about. I could take a lesson from them. Gotta remember to laugh more!!

John Mahoney #3

John Mahoney - where do I start with this fella. I thought this should be a piece of cake, but did I come unstuck. Since I began my book project, I've kept my eyes open for anyone in the 1860's called John Mahoney or related to a John Mahoney. It might be wrong for me to suggest there was a few bag eggs with this name but we got a lot of idiots called John Mahoney settling in NZ in the 1860's. The article in the paper about his death said only that his parents came from Auckland. (it would've been so helpful to at least mention their names?)But Auckland is where I tried to start my search. Don't ask my why, but I wish I could reach through time and give this kid a hug. He had a bit of a crappy life, his father ended up in court more often than not. Sometimes the escapades were funny, other times I could have cheerfully slapped the fool. John Mahoney was named after his father, but I think most of his life he rode under the nickname of Jack, till he moved to Nelson as an apprentice and his boss Mr Redwood Jr would have required him to use his proper name. (Mr R was a bit particular about those kinda things)

John Mahoney was attending a pretty important racing event in Nelson, South Island, NZ. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was making a visit to the region. 20/21st April 1869. There was a full day of racing which the Duke enjoyed, on the second day (a half day of attendence) John was going to ride a horse called 'Bones' for his boss, but the instructions were to rest the horse if he was tired, so that is what happened and John was available to ride another horse called 'Subaltern' for Mr McRae.  It was the second race of the day, and Subaltern baulked at a jump. It was said that John tried to rush the jump, but the horse somersaulted over the fence and injured his young rider. He was carried to the Turf Hotel across the road from the race track and there his friend Edward Cutts another rider stayed with him till he died just before 9 pm that night. Medical evidence was given by Dr Squires who was also the coroner in Nelson. As John had a deep gash on his head and an obvious fracture, it was decided no autopsy was need as the cause of death was clear.

I'm still digging, but I believe John M rode before HRH the Duke of Edinburgh the day before, and that the horse he rode came second. If that is so, it's quite possible that the little apprentice would have met HRH. Definitely a big deal back then. I understand that Prince Albert was pretty cool. 

At the time Mr Redwood Jr made it clear he did not give his permission for JM to ride Mr McRaes horse. I've since learnt that the apprentices took every instruction from their boss and only his boss should have ok'd the alternative ride.  Maybe if there had been some different input on that day, the little fella from Auckland who started riding at 12 years of age for a living, would have been around a lot longer. From the races he won in Auckland before going south to Nelson, it's clear he had a lot of talent. Even if he once rode a donkey in a race, (totally true) and was unlucky enough to run over a spectator during one of his races (dumb kid ran out onto the track at the end of the race and JM had no where to go to avoid him) Watch Utube and you'll still see idiots walking out onto race tracks totally oblivious to the thoroughbreds baring down on them.

Back to JM, I looked everywhere to find where his final resting place was, and eventually I found it under the spelling of John Mahney. (the phonetic spelling for Mahoney) He's buried in one of the sweetest cemeteries in Nelson. It's tucked into a small glade on the right hand side of the road leading into the city of Nelson. No matter what time of day, it has a very historic feel to it due to the huge trees planted many years ago. (and I have to say, it's spooky looking at night because of all the ornate headstones and the way the wind blows through the trees) But on my next visit back to Nelson, I'll definitely stop by and find JM

I lived in Nelson for many years, and while I have been to the race track at Nelson, and am familiar with the old pub on the corner in Richmond, I'll have to investigate further to see if it is the same hotel that is mentioned in the article about JM's last ride. It seems in olden days they would take the injured to the local hotel for treatment, both in NZ and in a number of other countries around the world.

(Have just realised that Mr McRae who's horse John was riding was the uncle of rider #24 Richard Nelson McRae who died in 1899 at Sandon.  Nelson McRae was injured in front of his father, he died a few minutes later. That's one story that ripped me up when I started digging. But you'll need to wait for that one it's still on the way to being added to my blog)

Why I began this

It all started on a foggy morning in the middle of a Waikato winter in 1975. Trevor Rowlands riding Grandeoso disappeared into a bank of fog while exercising his horse. It was the last time he was seen alive. He didn't return to the stables at Kaipaki, his horse had suffered a heart attack and both the horse and Trevor were found later that morning in a ditch beside the road when the fog eventually lifted. That one accident changed how I felt about horse racing for a long long time. I hated the fog, and it took 35 years before I put all the peices together and began to remember the person, and not the death. Trevor was 17 years old, and I was almost 16 when the accident happened, and talking to his friends in the last year or so, they have relished the chance to talk about him again.
I set out to research my Family History, but after having lousey luck with my own family , I typed Trevors name into the Burial Locator, and up his info popped. I went to the cemetery and at the office I got the directions and then drove to the area they said he was buried in. (I am not a cemetery person, do not hang out in them as a habit, and don't like walking in them cos I feel like I'm stepping on someone when I pass by) Having said that, I did find his headstone, I actually walked past it, but out of the corner of my eye I saw the letters TREV - the rest of the name was hidden by lichen. I turned back and brushed off some of the growth and discovered his whole name in faded white paint on the polished granite headstone. I thought of all the things I wanted to say, but just sat there crying as I looked at his unkept headstone. It was like he'd been forgotten and that wasn't right. I returned the next day with bucket and brushes and cleaned it up so that it looked spick and span ... (it's amazing how fast you can scrub in a cemetery when you have too) and I go back each month and leave new flowers. But Trevor isn't there, it's just his bones, Trevor's spirit is around a lot and he knows he's not forgotten. 
I rang the NZ Thoroughbred Association and they sent me a list of 82 names of jockeys killed during their careers in NZ. Sadly Trevors name wasn't on the list as he died in an off-track accident. So I started hunting down the lost and forgotten jockeys. My blogs are going to be about what I've done, who I've found and how I feel about this journey. One day it would be great to put them in a book and use the proceeds to fund a museum dedicated to NZ racing. But till then ... I'm going to be a Jockey PI and leave no stone unturned in my search for their stories.
I know this all started out from something sad, but what I've learned so far is that these men and women lived, and if they could tell us anything, it would be to grab each moment in our day and go for it ...... the number of jockeys/riders killed during their careers now stands at about 140. As I search some I've dropped off the list as they'd retired or had stopped before they passed on. Still it's sobering to think that 140 men and women have died so far.