Early Days –
The first instance of horse racing recorded in Western Australia took place on 20 July 1829 with a match race between two Timor ponies. The first race meeting held on 3 October 1833 did not include trotting races, but included a race between a number of timor ponies. The first organised and recorded trotting event was held at Fremantle Racecourse on Thursday morning 20 March 1834 over a distance of one mile. A match race was held between Captain Erskine’s Perouze and Mr William Samson’s well known Roan Mare. Perouze broke lesving the Roan Mare an easy winner. Apart from trotting races held on mixed programmes, it wasn’t really until the twentieth century that trotting meetings came to the fore.
The first country race meeting was held at York in 1843 while 1848 had its first meeting on the site of the Ascot racecourse, Perth. Neither meeting included trotting races although a trotting match race between Mr Skinner’s bay mare Beauty (winner) and Mr Sewell’s grey mare Watch was part of the 1845 York races.
Only the annual two day summer meeting at Ascot and a small number of meetings at Canning (starting 1868) and Guildford (1872) occurred during the 1850’s, 1860’s and 1870’s. A trotting race formed part of the advertised programme for the first time at Guildford in 1873. The Perth (galloping) Cup was run for the first time in 1887.
The Newcastle (renamed Toodyay) races of 2 November 1876 included a trotting race of two heats over approximately a mile, both won by Peggy. In 1877 Kitty won the sole trotting event at the Newcastle races.
No trotting races were held in Perth during the 1880’s, however in 1892 a trotting race was included on the programme held on 19 October (Proclamation Day) at the Cottesloe Sports Ground at Bullen’s Halfway House (later Albion Hotel). A field of ten accepted for the race with Nipper the winner. Six months later at the Chidlow Well Sports meeting (April 1893), the 2½ mile trot (£15) was won by Biddy from five others. Further meetings included trotting races at Katanning on Boxing Day 1893 and as part of the Bunbury Cycle and Athletics Club June 1894 meeting at Mr Moore’s racetrack (near the Church Bridge) in Bunbury.
The Canning Park Turf Club held two trotting races at their meeting on Coronation Day 1894, both over two miles and both won by George Cleverly (The West; Teddy) who also won the first ever Perth Cup for thoroughbreds in 1887 with First Prince. A three mile trot was conducted at Northam on 18 December 1894 prior to the next Canning Park meeting on 16 March 1895 (St Patricks Day) with Jack winning the two mile trot.
In May 1895, as part of the Cabmen and Carriers Grand Demonstration Picnic and Sports day at Ascot racecourse, a Cabmen’s Trot over two miles and a Carriers Trot over a mile were two of the days features. On the same day at Katanning, Captain Cook won the trotting feature from eight others. In 1896, the Sawyer Valley races included a further trotting race over two miles won by Acrobat.
Kalgoorlie held a gymkhana on the Price of Wales birthday (9 November 1896) with the 1½ mile trot won by Nap. The Lower Backwood (now Nannup) Race Club’s trotting race on 20 March 1897 was also won by Nap. Trotting races ceased at Canning Park after a controversial match race in May 1897 that was declared a no race 9reasons not known by this author).
The first Perth Trotting Club was formed holding its inaugural meeting at the Helena Vale racecourse on 4 June 1898. This was a six race meeting with approximately 250 patrons in attendance. It consisted of a Maiden trot, winner Sweet Lavender; Pony Handicap trot, Billy Boy; Helena Vale Saddle trot, Maud; Cab trot, Richmond; Bellevue sweepstake, Maud and a hack race.
The club’s next meeting was held on 30 July 1898 – less than 200 persons attended with trotting winners on the six race programme including two hack races being : Whalebone, maiden trot; Lucinda, Perth time handicap trot; Lily, pony handicap trot and Palo Alto, Vale time handicap trot. A further meeting of four races held on 20 August 1898 featured a 400 sovereign match race. Winners were : Sweet Lavender defeated Lucinda in a trotting match and Victoria time handicap trot; Palo Alto, Woodbridge time trot; The Childe, Yale time handicap trot). This meeting proved to be the last all trotting meeting held in Perth in the nineteenth century.
Single trotting races continued to be run for a while on mixed programmes at Helena Vale, normally run over a distance of two miles – 17 December 1898, Welcome Jack; 4 February 1899, Sarsfield; 11 March 1899, Maud; 4 April 1899, The Childe; 4 May 1899, 2½ miles, Dolly, final trotting race at Helena Vale. Trotting races were thereafter replaced with the Queens Bracelet for bona fide polo ponies for amateur horsemen. Whilst James Brennan is known as the driving force behind the advent of trotting in Western Australia in the next century, James Nicholls and Henry Hummerston and brother Richard were prominent with the Perth Trotting Club and Helena Vale trots, were the three financial guarantors for the West Australian Trotting Association in 1910 that enabled trotting to flourish in Perth.
Canning and Jubilee Race Club (unregistered), Cannington held a two mile trotting race on their inaugural programme in February 1899, winner Clyta. The Cannington Turf Club (unregistered) on 26 April 1899 held another two mile trot won by Pin.
In the early 1900’s trotting races were limited to events included in the programmes of local agricultural shows and the annual Royal Perth Show.
Central Wheatbelt Tracks –
The Central Wheatbelt Harness Racing Club (CWHRC) was formed and created in 2000, with the closure and rationalisation of a number of central wheatbelt harness racing clubs including Kellerberrin, Merredin, Trayning, Wyalkatchem and more recently Cunderdin. The creation of the new CWHRC continued to provide opportunities for harness racing within the central wheatbelt region with the club conducting approximately twelve race meetings each season.
Kellerberrin is located 202km east of Perth along the Great Eastern Highway with the trotting oval located at the Greater Sports Ground, Kellerberrin Sport & Recreation centre is home to numerous other sporting clubs and facilities featuring multi-purpose courts, lawn bowling rinks, gymnasium, conference rooms, hockey fields and changing rooms.
The CWHRC Club utilises the 806m Kellerberrin track that was opened in 1947 (originally 560m). The Kellerberrin TC held its final meeting on 15 May 1999 with Northam hosting a Kellerberrin meeting on 28 June 2000 this being prior to the formation of the CWHRC.
The inaugural meeting of the CWHRC was held on Sunday 24 September 2000 at Kellerberrin. The granitic sand track features mobiles over 1730m, 2130m, 2530m (ten starters, six front line) and standing starts over 1700m, 2100m and 2500m (twelve starters, front line of six). Feature races, the Kellerberrin Cup dates back to the track’s opening season of 1947 while the Central Wheatbelt Cup has been run since 2001.
Looking at each of the closed tracks that operated within the Central Wheatbelt region in turn :
Cunderdin is located 156km east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. Cunderdin HRC’s 812m track featured its last meeting on Saturday 22 May 1999) and is now used as a training/trialling track. Prior to the formation of the CWHRC meetings in May 2000 (1 and 22 May) were held at Gloucester Park.
Kununoppin is a small town located on the Nungarin–Wyalkatchem Road in the Shire of Trayning local government area, 257 kilometres (160 mi) north east of Perth. The 550 yds Kununoppin trotting track was opened on the recreation reserve on 25 March 1922. It was reported that the Kununoppin Trotting Club organised a successful dance held on Saturday 14 September 1929.
Merredin is located roughly midway between Perth (256km east of Perth) and Kalgoorlie on Route 94, Great Eastern Highway. The Merredin track was utilised as early as Wednesday 10 September 1924 as reported in the race programme carried for its meeting in the Wyalkatchem Wheatsheaf and Bencubbib Banner of 19 August 1924. The 815m track held its final meeting on Friday 5 March 1999 while Northam hosted a Merredin meeting on 14 June 2000 prior to the formation of the CWHRC.
Trayning with a population of 125 people is located 235km north-east of Perth. The trotting track and oval is located in Sutherland Street adjacent to Trayning Caravan Park. In 1916 the first organised trotting race was run between horses in sulkies racing between Kununoppin and Trayning with the prize being a barrel of beer.
An unregistered trotting club was formed in Trayning in 1917 using a track formed on the town common, now occupied by the golf course and catchment area. Trotting flourished with Trayning becoming the first country trotting club (third overall after Gloucester Park and Kalgoorlie) registered in the state in 1923. A half mile track was laid in 1924 (805m). Trotting remained very popular until funding cuts and falling T.A.B. turnover meant that insufficient funds were available to keep this and many other country clubs going. Racing in Trayning ceased in 1991 (last meeting 19 October) although the original grandstand can still be seen.
Wyalkatchem is located 192km east north east of Perth were a flat area of land known as Reserve 15004 has been in existence as a Sports Ground and 805m Trotting Track since 1914. It has been the Social & Sporting Centre of Wyalkatchem since then. The main grassed area inside the clay trotting track is used for Cricket, Football, Hockey and shows. There are Basketball/Netballl courts on the site to the west of the main buildings which include changing rooms, toilets, a bar, dining room and a covered area. There is an outside bar and buildings associated with the Trotting Track.
The sports ground was vested in the Wyalkatchem Roads Board in 1921 and the Wyalkatchem Trotting Club was formed in 1922 going through various stages of management and success. The current organisation held its first meeting in October 1947 (e.g. spring meeting held Saturday 2 October 1954). There were problems with the management and control of the grounds and at one time there was a possibility that the recreation facilities would be moved to another site. In 1950 the Roads Board confirmed the Grounds would stay where they were. The site is well maintained by the Shire with water available from a dam on site for reticulation of the grassed areas. The buildings are of mixed age but are representative of the years in which they were built. The Trotting Track is not currently used for races (no indication of when racing ceased) but the infrastructure is being retained.
Next Time : Other Western Australian regional tracks
Peter Craig
2 June 2021
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
