2015 marks the 125th anniversary of the formation of the Longreach Jockey Club. State Library of Queensland is very fortunate to house a large collection of historical administrative documents generated by the club, including correspondence, minutes of meetings, account books and annual reports.
R 272 Longreach Jockey Club Records. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Also part of our collection is the Longreach Jockey Club Registers 1893-1894. This old register records the names of horses which ran in each race and sometimes includes additional information, such as owner’s name, jockey’s weight and name, jockey’s colours and remarks.
OM79-47 Longreach Jockey Club Registers 1893-1894. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
This register also contains printed programs for the annual meetings in 1893 and 1894. In 1893, the races included the Maiden Plate (1 mile); Corinthian Handicap (1 mile); Longreach Handicap (1.5 miles); Hack Race (5 furlongs = just over 1km); Ladies Mile (1 mile) and Wingarra Handicap (0.75 miles).
Schedule of the 1893 annual meeting – Longreach Jockey Club. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Myles Sinnamon – Project Coordinator, State Library of Queensland