FORBURY PARK

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1937, Page 15

FORBURY PARK

STORY OF THE COURSE During the course of the recent For- . bury Park Trotting Club's' Meeting the . president of the club (Mr. B. S. Irwin) 3 stated that he was being continuously asked about the origin and the why '. and wherefore of the Forbury Park ; Trotting Club. It would be rather , interesting for anyone seeing the,multil tude at Forbury Park to' know why . trotting meetings are held there (writes . "Sentinel"). Many years ago trotting in Dunedin ; was held on a half-mile track at Tahuna Park. It was decided to change quarters. The leading spirits 'of the club paid £100' as a deposit on ;an area of ground at Tainui, a low- ■ lying piece of ground to the north of Tahuna Park. One day the late ■ Mr. H. L. James, Mr.-J. A. Sligo, 1 Mr. W. J. Gore, and a couple of other • members of the committee of ' the Tahuna. Park Trotting Club, met the writer, and as an item of news imparted the information that the club had just put down a deposit of £100 as part purchase of an area of ground at Tainui. A question was asked: What was the contemplated.cost of equipping a track with stands, etc., of a new course? The lowest estimate was ■ £4000. At that time the. writer was negotiating for the purchase of Forbury Park for a small Christchurch syndicate headed by Mr. Murray Hobbs, but as Mr. Hobbs decided to go on a world tour instructions came to drop negotiations in connection with Forbury Park. The writer suggested that, instead of laying out a new.track at lainui, the club should endeavour to secure sufficient of Forbury Park to lay out a six-furlong track and include the existing stands and stables. That is the story of* Forbury Park, but a grave mistake was made in not securing sufficient ground to lay out a six-furlong track. After the ground had been secured, the outside area, sold as residential sections, doubled in value in no time. The club had then; to- buy extra ground. On looking up the records of the inaugural programme at Forbury Park, it is iound that no member of the committee at that time remains in official evidence. At Tahuna Park the writer was frequently the only sporting scribe on the course; now there is not only a room, full, but also a lack of room. In the old days at Tahuna Park the stewards. room, secretary's office, and hospitality room were all one and the same, in a very small area. In fact, the writer's copy was apt to be found floating about on the only table in the room. ' Mr. Murray Hobbs was a great patron of the Dunedin Jockey Club Meetings. He won the Dunedin Cup of 1902 with Dundas and the last Dunedin Champagne Stakes run at Forbury Park. He also bought Starshoot, who won the last .Dunedin Cup run at Forbury Park'i and won1 with her the first

Birthday Handicap run at Wingatui. Mr. Hobbs was in Dunedin for a Wjngatui Meeting, and whilsfon the visit he questioned the writer about the vacant Forbury Park and started ideas, about buying it as" a speculation as a potential residential area. It is really due to Mr. Hobbs that light-harness racing in Dunedin takes place where it does today.