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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.
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........
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.
Originally Posted by Adaptor
GREAT Pick Up Noel, you'll soon need to take over the Winning View room or next door for this harness museum that you are passionately getting together
I will see you next week, 100% if you get my drift....hope it is a great night
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.
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!!
Come on Dan, still looking youthful and... in that invitational at Menangle
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.
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.
Spotted gum is very dense/hard wood and rather oily - makes a fantastic floor. Noel, do you know if it had characteristics suited to sulkies and thus its selection?
ps Might ask TC to role these into a Sulkies thread
per un PUGNO di DOLLARI
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