WHEN PUBLIC TRANSPORT TICKETS WERE LITTLE PIECES OF HISTORY. Would this anniversary of electric trains in Australia be of much interest to someone travelling to Flemington on 6 October 1968?
And a search of Trove suggest that those travelling to Flemington had a special horse on their minds – Galilee – not electric trains. From The Canberra Times, 7 October 1968:
Easy $3,500 for Galilee
MELBOURNE, Sun day. — Australia’s top racehorse, Galilee, treated the big crowd to an exhibition gallop at Flemington yesterday.
At Sandown on Wednesday the owners of Galilee put on a free gallop for the VATC, but yesterday the VRC put up $3,500 for first prize in the Turnbull Stakes.
It was nothing more than appearance money for the champion.He has now won 18 races and been placed on nine occasions from his 32 starts, and his stake winnings now total $169,090.
It was only the second occasion that Higgins has ridden Galilee in a race and he has now won both of them.
As soon as he asked the champion for an effort, Galilee picked it up in a stride, and on the turn all Galilee wanted to do was to jump over the three horses in front of him.
Once Galilee got to the front he started to loaf, which is a trait that he has developed. However, when Higgins knew that there was no danger of defeat, he allowed Galilee to amble over the line.
Won by 1 1/2 lengths
He won by a length and a half ahead of Agena, with a further two lengths to Palatial, third.
Although there were only four starters the mile and a half race was run in 2min 35-l/5sec.
A separate watch on Galilee timed him to run home the last four in 48sec.Galilee’s next run will be the W. S. Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 26.
In fact the first electric train trial in Victoria was on the Flemington line, maybe there wasn’t enough space on a ticket to make the connection between the anniversary and Flemington? So there may have train aficionados aboard too.
Does any ESA member want this ticket? Let me know via the comment section.
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