Roll With Joe
+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 32

Thread: Sulkies and Harness New and Old

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year Adaptor will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Noel Ridge
    Location
    Bendigo
    Posts
    639

    Lightbulb >>

    Grand Voyage's sulky
    One of the all time great Australian trotters Grand Voyage was trained at Huntly ( Bendigo) by Paddy Glasheen.
    Grand Voyage won 37 races in Victoria, NSW and NZ, including cup races against pacers, in the 1920's.

    Paddy Glasheen's grandson, Father Brian Glasheen (The Pacing Priest) has placed the sulky pulled by Grand Voyage in the care of the Bendigo Harness Racing Clubs memorabilia collection, joining the cart of Gentleman John, the 1956 Interdominion pacing winner.

    Here is Fr Brian Glasheen in Preston (Melbourne) with the sulky, on the way to Bendigo. It is in good nick considering it's nearly 100 years old.
    Attached Images

  2. #2
    Senior Member 3YO Race For Fun will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Toni Dartson
    Posts
    285
    That's a good photo Noel, a sulky almost 100 years old. If you have a look at the positioning of the seat it is not unlike the American style sulkies that are all the rage today (no back circle to support the seat). Years ago there was a style of sulky called an eagen but it had a bar across the back to support the seat. No doubt the more things change........

  3. #3
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year Adaptor will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Noel Ridge
    Location
    Bendigo
    Posts
    639
    Toni
    We have in the Bendigo collection an Egan (made in Sydney I think) , that was used by Eric Rothacker, from Bridgewater near Bendigo, on Gentleman John to win the 1956 Interdominion final in Sydney.
    It has the support at the back of the seat that you describe.
    We also have a really nice hickory Royal Speed made in Adelaide. It's the more well known style where the seat is supported on the rear crossbar.

  4. #4
    Senior Member 3YO Race For Fun will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Toni Dartson
    Posts
    285
    Quote Originally Posted by Adaptor View Post
    Toni
    We have in the Bendigo collection an Egan (made in Sydney I think) , that was used by Eric Rothacker, from Bridgewater near Bendigo, on Gentleman John to win the 1956 Interdominion final in Sydney.
    It has the support at the back of the seat that you describe.
    We also have a really nice hickory Royal Speed made in Adelaide. It's the more well known style where the seat is supported on the rear crossbar.
    Its good that some club have displays of the industries history. Hickory shafts were the best timber shafts that you could get.
    They would bend and twist when a horse hit the deck and when the horse got up the only thing wrong was the paint missing.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year arlington will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Wayne Hayes
    Posts
    787
    Quote Originally Posted by Adaptor View Post
    Toni
    We have in the Bendigo collection an Egan (made in Sydney I think) , that was used by Eric Rothacker, from Bridgewater near Bendigo, on Gentleman John to win the 1956 Interdominion final in Sydney.
    It has the support at the back of the seat that you describe.
    We also have a really nice hickory Royal Speed made in Adelaide. It's the more well known style where the seat is supported on the rear crossbar.

    I remember the Royal Speeds, made by the Brewer brothers? Beautiful sulkies, hand painted.
    Reg Walsh made an all hickory sulky http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/coll...ase/?irn=38352
    If a shaft did snap, the hickory's grain didn't give a long spike.
    I have seen the wooden rimmed, steel spoked race wheels with decorative paint work on the rims. And the tubeless glue on tyres. These were still used in the late 60's early 70's I think. I remember a guy named Ken, 'the wheel man' making his rounds through the trainers at the Melbourne Showgrounds, picking up and dropping off wheels each week.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Stallion Danno is a jewel in the rough
    Real Name
    Dan Gibson
    Location
    Hunter Valley NSW Australia
    Occupation
    Driving 175:1 winners!
    Posts
    1,153
    Horses
    No Stars
    Quote Originally Posted by arlington View Post
    I remember the Royal Speeds, made by the Brewer brothers? Beautiful sulkies, hand painted.
    Reg Walsh made an all hickory sulky http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/coll...ase/?irn=38352
    If a shaft did snap, the hickory's grain didn't give a long spike.
    I have seen the wooden rimmed, steel spoked race wheels with decorative paint work on the rims. And the tubeless glue on tyres. These were still used in the late 60's early 70's I think. I remember a guy named Ken, 'the wheel man' making his rounds through the trainers at the Melbourne Showgrounds, picking up and dropping off wheels each week.
    G'day Wayne,

    these were known as "Freebairn" wheels and tyres in NSW, and they were an extremely good wheel/tyre set, could withstand more knocks than the average set, performed REALLY well in loose conditions, and for reason unknown to myself dissappeared sometime in the late eighties/early ninties. BTW, we had an all hickory bike ( actually drove my first 20 or so winners in it in the 70's) and it was one lovely cart, with it's freebairn wheels and my youthful 55 kg frame I guarantee you the horses thought they were on their own out there!!

  7. #7
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year arlington will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Wayne Hayes
    Posts
    787
    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    G'day Wayne,

    these were known as "Freebairn" wheels and tyres in NSW, and they were an extremely good wheel/tyre set, could withstand more knocks than the average set, performed REALLY well in loose conditions, and for reason unknown to myself dissappeared sometime in the late eighties/early ninties. BTW, we had an all hickory bike ( actually drove my first 20 or so winners in it in the 70's) and it was one lovely cart, with it's freebairn wheels and my youthful 55 kg frame I guarantee you the horses thought they were on their own out there!!

    Come on Dan, still looking youthful and... in that invitational at Menangle I can only remember they referred to the wheels, or tyres, as singles down here. I always wanted a hickory bike, but couldn't afford a Royal Speed as a young fella. Yep those hickory sulkies, and set up, were light. The Conways, Toddway Lodge, used to put one up as a prize at the Hopetoun Show. Harder than the Hunter Cup to win.

    This bit's for Noel, on the subject of sulkies. Do you know the name of the fellow that made the Hamill sulkies (assuming his name wasn't Hamill) in Kangaroo Flat. Pretty sure they weren't far from what's now Lansell Plaza, on the opposite side.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Horse Of The Year Adaptor will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Noel Ridge
    Location
    Bendigo
    Posts
    639
    It was Wes Hammill.
    They were made from spotted gum with usually a stained finish with green and gold hand painted lines.
    Over the creek past Harvey Norman on the left as you come into Bendigo from the south. It's all housing around there now.
    At one stage Wes had a Cobb and Co coach in the workshop.

  9. #9
    Junior Member Foal jake80 will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    Jenny Johnson
    Location
    Victoria
    Posts
    7
    Hi Wayne,
    The Royal Speeds were made by the Brown Bros. in Adelaide, they were also trainers. The Brewer was made in NSW. Both sulkies were considered to be the best of their era. My mum still has a Royal Speed sitting in the shed from the late 60's.

  10. #10
    Junior Member Weanling Jim will become famous soon enough
    Real Name
    James Walsh
    Location
    Woronora
    Occupation
    Retired
    Posts
    19
    Quote Originally Posted by arlington View Post
    I remember the Royal Speeds, made by the Brewer brothers? Beautiful sulkies, hand painted.
    Reg Walsh made an all hickory sulky http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/coll...ase/?irn=38352
    If a shaft did snap, the hickory's grain didn't give a long spike.
    I have seen the wooden rimmed, steel spoked race wheels with decorative paint work on the rims. And the tubeless glue on tyres. These were still used in the late 60's early 70's I think. I remember a guy named Ken, 'the wheel man' making his rounds through the trainers at the Melbourne Showgrounds, picking up and dropping off wheels each week.

    The Royal Speed sulkies were made by the Brown Bothers in Adelaide, and fine sulkies they were. Dad (Reg Walsh) and I made hundreds of hickory-shafted sulkies in the 1960s before second growth hickory was no longer available. When you could no longer get good hickory, the Browns ceased making sulkies. In the early 1980s they became agents for our Regal brand stainless steel bikes and did a lot of repair work on them inAdelaide. They were excellent craftsmen.

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts