A 127-year-old artefact has made its way back to Broken Hill after a recent act of goodwill.
The 1895 Broken Hill Jockey Cup returned to the Silver City and will now sit among the town’s Outback Archives collection.
Broken Hill City Library coordinator, Tracey Fraser, said it was great to have a piece of history back where it belongs.
“It’s wonderful for the community,” she said. “To reconnect missing parts of our history with the community is great.”
The 1895 cup was donated by the McInnes family, who reside in Western Australia.
They are pleased it could be in the safe hands of the Broken Hill Council and community.
Mrs Fraser said it was a pleasant surprise to receive the donation and said this would provide a much-needed contribution to the collection.
“Racing is an important part of Broken Hill’s history,” she said. “To have the cup to represent that history is wonderful.”
The Broken Hill Jockey Club was formed in 1886. A member of the McInnes family was a part-owner of the horse ‘Martha’ that won this prestigious event.
The trophy, which stands at 50cm tall, includes an inscription that gives details of the race.
The Petersburg mare won the race by “a clear length” despite being an outside favourite, according to past newspaper reports.
The cup was kept in Adelaide for many years by a McInnes family member, a third-party owner of the winning horse.
It was valued and shared between several family members before eventually making its way back to Broken Hill.
The Outback Archives relies on the generosity and commitment of donations to grow its collections for future generations and gathers material relating to Broken Hill and surrounding regions.
Mrs Fraser said she would love to see the town’s precious artefacts come back to go on display.
“If people have information, they are welcome to contact us,” she said.
“Anything relating to our history we are interested to look at. Donations will help fill gaps in our collection.”
The Archives is currently open by appointment. To book, contact 08 8080 3460.
