Bob Hallett, video producer and I, launched our 2 hour video to celebrate Heritage Month in Kogarah. Many hours of our time went into the production of this video. Outdoor areas connected to Moorefield were filmed, along with 9 interviews with people connected to Moorefield Racecourse.
I finally interviewed 8 people closely connected to Moorefield along with Graham Caves, racing historian from Heritage at the Australian Turf Club. Sadly, Desmond O ‘Leary whom I was to interview, sadly died a week before his interview. Desmond was the brother of the late horse trainer, Terry O’Leary, and had a great knowledge of Moorefield jockeys , trainers and horses of the 1940’s and early 1950’s.
I interviewed Desmond in early 2016 for my Moorefield Racecourse book. He reprimanded on the use of the word, “silks”, and reminded me to get my racing facts correct. I hope that I did! Desmond was quite a character…..
I am fortunate that as a result of my 23 years of research that I had a number of contacts to ask if they would be interviewed. Bob and I, were delighted with the diversity and depth of the information in the interviews.
Ten copies of the video were presented to Georges River Council, as per the conditions of the Heritage Publications grant. They will be put into local libraries within the Georges River Council area. Two copies were given to Bayside Council for the library.
Heritage at the Australian Turf Club have a copy , as well as Racing NSW. Heritage can be contacted through the Australian Turf Club. It is open to the public by appointment.
The State Library have a copy of my book. I am waiting to hear if they would like a copy of the video.
James Cook Boys Technology High School and Moorefield Girls High School will be presented with a copy for their records. They are built on the former racecourse.
A copy is possibly to be given to the National Library in Canberra to support my book, which is in their collection. A copy will go to the Cox Library in London, the world’s biggest collection of published horse racing histories.
Moorefield’s oldest jockey alive today, 90 year old Jim Griffiths was given a copy as were the interview subjects .Three Moorefield jockeys , who attended the video preview on January 23, 2019 at St Patricks Green in Kogarah, Ray Selkrig, Cliff Clare and Ted Mills, were given copies.
A copy is to be forwarded to Neil Snodgrass, now 98 years of age , a former Moorefield groundsman in the 1940’s . Neil lives in Wauchope NSW. Neil knew Ray Cunningham, a Moorefield groundsman, who inspired me to write the Moorefield story.
To Obtain a Video
Bob and I, have not as yet worked out what will happen in relation to the distribution of the video.
For a copy, please contact me directly to my email ko77582@bigpond.net.au. I maintain updates of my Moorefield work/ information on my website annefield.net.au. There is a Moorefield category on this web site.
My other web site, annefieldauthor.com has photos of my July 2016 launch on it as well as Moorefield articles My Facebook site, Moorefield Racecourse Kogarah is updated regularly.
International Connections.
Moorefield Racecourse material on my website has now been read in over 20 countries overseas. It has been read widely across Australia.
In April 2016, I received a letter from an elderly lady in the Netherlands . She had left Australia by sea in the mid -1950’s, and since 1956 had married and settled in The Netherlands. Topsy was researching information about her Australian (St George District) background on the internet, and my Moorefield material came up. She reached me by writing to Kogarah Historical Society, who forwarded Topsy’s letter to me. Topsy and I communicate regularly by email. I look forward to meeting her and her family in the future.
