CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

Mr R TOWNLEY

The death occured in Timaru last week of Mr Robert Townley, one of the best known trainers and drivers in Canterbury over a long period extending from 1920 to 1944. He was 85. Mr Townley turned out winners consistently season after season during that period, and built up a fine reputation as a judge of pace, winning many races by going to the front at the start and staying there.

'Bob' Townley came from Warepa in South Otago, and for some years was the leading horseman at country meetings in the Clutha district. More than once he scored a treble at Clutha races, on one occasion winning three times on his own horse, Last Ensign. He gained what might have been his first trotting success at Balclutha on Lady Nelson about 1920. He tried his luck in an amateur's race at Forbury Park with Moving Picture and although beaten, received the stake because the rider of the first horse was ineligible. Soon afterwards he made a trip to Canterbury and won with Moving Picture at Ashburton. As a result of the trip Bob moved his family to Winchester and he later transferred to Washdyke.

One of the best horses trained by Townley was Dusky Sound with whom he attempted to win the 1940 NZ Cup practically from end to end only to be run down in the last few yards by Marlene. Other good pacers trained by Townley included Warepah, Girvan and Nor' Wester.

Townley's training methods were considered unorthodox compared with those of other trainers. His horses were jogged twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. This method bought results however, and he enjoyed outstanding success with trotters of all breeds, shapes and sizes. High class trotters trained by him were Engagement, Louis Bingen and All Peters and others in Gracie Fields and Reta's Own.

Mr Townley held a horseman's licence until the end of 1944 when the NZ Trotting Conference introduced a rule preventing drivers taking part in races after reaching the age of 65. Mr Freeman Holmes and the late James Bryce retired on the same day.

Mr Townley is survived by his wife, five daughters and five sons.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13Jan60

W T Lowe, Lucky Jack & R B Berry

Mr W T LOWE

One of the most successful breeders and owners of pacing and trotting horses in NZ, Mr William Thomas Lowe, of Hinds, died at Christchurch last week. He was 83 years of age.

With a lifetime association with the sport, Mr Lowe was a good judge and had a natural interest and love of horses. He had raced more than 70 horses for stakes amounting to more than £80,000 and bred about 200 horses. His most notable success was with Lucky Jack, an entire who started three times in the NZ Cup for two wins and a second.

When he was 17, Mr Lowe went to work for Mr Max Friedlander, of Ashburton, who bred thoroughbreds and trotters on his stud farm at Lyndhurst anf raced them with success. From this interest in the sport, Mr Lowe bought his first pacer, Yankee Lass, from Mr Carl Nordqvist, of Methven, for £40, winning two races before retiring her to the stud.

Although she never won a race, Jessie B, purchased for £50, was the foundation mare of a good stud at Hinds for Mr Lowe. She produced Sherwood, who finished first in the NZ Cup of 1921 but was placed second for interference. The 1912 foal of Jessie B, Tairene, a chestnut mare by Wildwood Jun, besides Lucky Jack, one of the finest stayers to race in the Dominion, left a string of winners, including Trenand, Dundas Boy, Dundee and Belle Lorrimer. Her daughters have bred on with outstanding success and there must now be over 100 winners credited to the family. The progeny of some of the mares from Tairene have been responsible for producing such winners as Globe Direct, Trusty Scott, Molly Direct, Gloxania, Flame, Melton, Merval and a host of others.

Mr Lowe also raced, trained and drove Trampfast, one of the greatest trotters to race in the Dominion. Trampfast was one of the very few Logan Pointer trotters to race and he was minus one eye which was lost in an accident earlier in his career. Trampfast was successful against the pacers on more than one occasion and after a lengthy spell from racing during the depression years, Trampfast made a successful return to racing under Mr Lowe and later won several races when trained by the late R B Berry, including the Dominion Handicap in 1934. Mr Lowe had a long and successful association with Berry.

Mr Lowe was born at Mount Hutt and was educated at the Tinwald school. He started work at farms at Chatmos, Isleworth and Lyndhurst. He took up farming on his own account at Bankside and eventually settled on 1000 acres at Hinds in 1912. Over the years Mr Lowe increased his holding and eventually settled his whole surviving family of 12 on farms in the Ashburton county. The homestead block still comprises 640 acres.

Mr Lowe saw service in the South African War and was a former president of the Third NZ Rough Riders, South African War Veterans, and chairman of the Ashburton South African Veteran's Association. He took an active interest in the affairs of the Hinds district and was chairman of the Hinds Domain Board for some years, a member of the Hinds Farewell Committee, sports club and Ashburton Agricultural & Pastoral Association and he helped form the Hinds Bowling Club. He was a past master of Erewhon Masonic Lodge.

Mr Lowe's hospitality and generosity were proverbial.

For more than 40 years Mr Lowe was a member of the Ashburton Trotting Club and when he retired from the committee in 1958 he was elected a life member. He was also a life member of the Marlborough and Nelson Trotting Clubs and a member of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club.

He was married in 1903 to Miss Annie Drummond and is survived by his widow, seven sons, five daughters, 40 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 13Apr60

MRS J NYHAN

A link with early light-harness racing was removed with the recent death of Mrs J Nyhan, of Wellington. Mrs Nyhan, who reached an advanced age, was the widow of the late Dan Nyhan, a prominent owner and trainer at the turn of the century. Mr Nyhan raced a number of outstanding horses including Havoc, Hova and Jewel Chimes.

By Franz from Murmur, Havoc won in each of his three races as a 3-year-old and in his second season he won, among other races, the 1909 Auckland Cup, an event Mr Nyhan later trained and drove Jewel Chimes to win in 1913. Hova (Pirate-Murmur) was an outstandingly fine trotter of exceptional quality in appearance. He won many races during a lengthy career.

Mrs Nyhan maintained he interest in the sport over the years. Among her six daughters is Mrs J Pringle, wife of the popular Jack, while both her sons, T C and D G have been trainers over a long period. Apart from his other numerous successes, D G Nyhan achieved distinction as the owner-trainer of the brilliant Johnny Globe.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 4Mar59

L M DENTON

Associated with the light-harness sport in NZ for more than 30 years, Mr L M Denton died in Christchurch last Saturday. Mr Denton was well known as a studmaster, breeder and administrator.

Mr Denton raced a number of horses over the years including Proud Nell, Kotuku Jack and Dandy Rose of an earlier decade and Supreme Command, Maestro, Russley Boy, Arnhem, Greenwich and Battle Royal in more recent times.

One of the best horses bred by Mr Denton was Ferry Post, who was sold to Mr W L Parkinson before being raced. Ferry Post won about 15 races for Mr Parkinson. Big Shot was another high-class pacer bred by Mr Denton. Big Shot won his way to NZ Cup class for Mr W Hosking.

Two thoroughbred stallions who stood for a time at Mr Denton's stud were Cassock and Newton Pippin. On a visit to the United States some years ago, Mr Denton purchased Garrison Hanover and also procured Flying Song, who stood his first season in Southland. Medoro was the first light-harness stallion Mr Denton had and he has also had Whipster and Fallacy.

Mr Denton had been actively associated in the administration of trotting for about five years and had been a member of the committee and a steward of the Canterbury Park Trotting Club. Last November he was elected president of the Canterbury Trotting Owners' and Breeders' Association and he was South Island vice-president of the NZ Owners' and Breeders' Association.

For some years Mr Denton was an hotelkeeper, holding licences at Kirwee, Kaiapoi and two hotels in Lyttleton. Mr Denton is survived by his wife, one daughter and two sons.



Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 20May59

A G WILSON

Mr Alfred George Wilson, one of the most successful trainers of trotters and pacers in the earlier days of the sport in Canterbury, died recently in Christchurch at the age of 82.

Mr Wilson had a life-long association with horses, both gallopers and trotters. As a youth he was apprenticed to Messrs R J Mason and G G Stead, for whom he rode many winners. 'Myosotis Lodge' as his training establishment at New Brighton was known, was one of the best-kept of the period. Mr Wilson was always a stickler for detail and this was reflected in the condition of his horses and their gear on racedays.

Mr Wilson is better known as the trainer-driver of the great trotting mare, Reta Peter, who beat the pacers twice to win the NZ Cup. Another grand trotter produced by Mr Wilson was Kawhaki, whom he regarded as being in the same class as Certissimus.

Born at South Brighton, Mr Wilson was the grandchild of the first white people to settle there. He went overseas to World War I, where he served in the Veterinary Corps. On his return, one of the first horses he trained was Reta Peter. For several years, Mr Wilson ran a popular riding school with 22 horses and 6 ponies.

On June 14 this year, Mr Wilson was a guest of the New Brighton Trotting Club and watched the running of the A G Wilson Handicap, a race named in his honour.

Mr Wilson is survived by a granddaughter, Mrs R M Skellerup.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 20Aug58

J E W CROSS

The death occured in Christchurch last week of Mr J E W Cross, who for more than 40 years was a prominent official of the Canterbury Park Trotting Club. Mr Cross was well known as a wine and spirits merchant. He was aged 79.

Mr Cross became a member otf the Canterbury Park Trotting Club in 1908 and he was elected a steward in 1917. He became a member of the committee in 1933 and was president from 1938-40. He was elected a life member of the club in 1940.

Mr Cross was a member of the grounds committee at Addington from 1944 and he became a director of Addington Trotting Course, Ltd, from its inception until his retirement last year.

Mr Cross raced several horses some years ago, one of his best winners being Sir Joe.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 25Jun58

MRS E A BERRYMAN

The death occurred in Wellington last week of Mrs E A Berryman, who had a long association with trotting. For many years she had a number of horses in work with the Belfast trainer C S Donald, who won many important races for Mrs Berryman.

Included among the many good trotters and pacers raced by Mrs Berryman were Wahnooka, Captain Bolt, Great Way and Kempton, four of the best trotters racing at that time, and Red Hussar, Dundas Boy, Superior Rank, Top Hand and Lee Berry.

Mrs Berryman was always a lover of the trotter, and in more recent years she met with considerable success with Great Belwin, who won the trotter's section at the Inter-Dominion Championship series at Addington in 1951. Trained by the late J Young, Great Belwin won £9720 in stakes.

Mrs Berryman also owned a half share in a grand trotting mare in Mistydale, who is the dam of Highland Glen, winner of the NZ Trotting Stakes last season. Mrs Berryman raced Highland Glen, in partnership with Mr J Palmer, of Christchurch.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 6Mar57

F J BEER

Mr F J Beer, Chief Stipendiary Steward to the NZ Trotting Conference, will retire from that position on July 31, the end of the present season. Mr Beer stated last week that after his 29 year's service as Chief Stipendiary Steward he felt he should tender his resignation.

In the 1920's prior to becoming Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr Beer was the central figure in tracking dowm a number of 'ring-ins.' It was mainly through his untiring efforts that those people connected with these 'ringers' were brought to boot. "I never had any illusions about being a Sherlock Holmes," said Mr Beer. "I was just an ordinary, garden variety investigator put on to this job after another detective had no luck tracking down the people behind all these ringing-in cases."

Mr Beer was born in Christchurch in June, 1890. Soon after that his family moved to Wrights Road, which is on the southern boundary of the present Addington course. Mr Beer can remember seeing the whole of the present grounds being sown in wheat. Mr Beer's father was a flour-miller, but was keen to become a farmer. In 1896 he moved to Southbrook. When the Waikakahi estate was cut up at Morven, his father drew a section. Mr Beer finished his schooling at Morven and worked on his father's farm until 1910. In 1911 he went to Matamata and worked on a dairy farm.

Mr Beer joined the Police Force in 1913 and after three months in the training depot at Wellington, he was transferred to Dunedin, where he remained until 1928. For 13 years he was in plain clothes in the detective branch. Just before he resigned to take a position as a stipendiary steward with the NZ Trotting Conference, Mr Beer was transferred to Invercargill in charge of the detective office. One year after joining the Conference staff, Mr Beer was promoted to be Chief Stipendiary Steward.

On two occasions he was a member of special detective staffs which accompanied Royalty on NZ tours: the visit in 1920 of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and now the Duke of Windsor); and of the Duke of York (later King George VI) and the Duchess in 1927.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 6Feb57

J Bryce & R Morten after the 1925 NZ Cup

JAMES BRYCE

One of the greatest trainers of light-harness horses the Dominion has ever known, James Bryce has been retired from active participation in the profession in which he was such an outstanding success, for several years now; but his interest in the sport remains high and he still possesses a keen eye for a good horse.

Trainers of the calibre of James Bryce do not come along every day.

James Bryce is the head of a family of horsemen who have written their names, large and bold, on the pages of 40 years of the Dominion's light-harness history. Bryce trained the winners of six NZ Trotting Cups, an all-time record for the race, and twice as many as any other trainer before him or since.

The story was told in Glasgow that Bryce's father had a peculiar genius for a horse. James relates that even among Scottish horse-dealers his father was known as a 'hard man.' In all his long experience he has never seen his father's equal in doctoring up a horse. He would pick up a steed that looked as though it was ready for the 'boneyard' and after treating it for a couple of months or so, he would have it in condition that would make it unrecognisable by its original owner. He usually got four or five times what he paid for these horses, which were mostly draughts.

James Bryce rode his first winner in Glasgow when he was 18. By the time he was 20 he was established as a trainer in a modest way at Govan, just outside Glasgow. "In those days," he said with a reflective smile, "they used to start trotting races with a pistol, and I was getting left. So I made a study of the starter and the way he raised the pistol and fired it. In the end I got to know his ways so well that I could tell to a fraction of a second when the report was due. After that, I never got left," grinned Bryce.

Bryce was soon training some of the best horses in Scotland and England. Like NZ horses the ones in the Old Country were nearly all American-bred on one or both sides. Trotting did not make the progress Bryce had hoped for, however, and one day, after reading about trotting in NZ in 'The Referee,' and seeing some pictures of Addington in the 'Weekly Press,' he decided Maoriland was the place for him. And it was thus that the neat little man with the raw Gaelic accent came to be standing on the Wellington wharf on a dull, cheerless morning in 1913...friendless? Well, not quite. Gathered around him were his wife, his belongings and five children...A stranger approached. "Are you Mr Bryce?" - "Yes." "Well, I have some bad news for you. Your two horses have been shipwrecked, and are still in England." The day seemed even bleaker to the little man from Caledonia. Not a promising start in a new land. When he reached NZ after paying passages for himself and his family and freight for two horses, Bryce had £300 left. He did not know a soul in NZ.

He was waiting on the wharf, pondering the future, when he was told that the two mares, Our Aggie and Jenny Lind, both of whom he had seen safely shipped on the Westmeath, an old troop transport, a fortnight before he left England, were still in the Old Country. The vessel had gone aground in the Mersey, and had to put back to port, but they had been transhipped to the Nairnshire, and after a rough passage to the Dominion they arrived - strapped to the deck, after the mate had suggested putting them overboard.

Our Aggie and Jenny Lind arrived two months after the Bryce family, who had decided to go to Christchurch. When they arrived at Lyttleton and saw the hills there, 'Scotty's' first question to himself was: "Where could you race trotters?" The family was taken to a boarding-house in the city but left after his wife had discovered that the woman of the house drank 'phonic' which is the Gaelic for methylated spirits.

Bryce's first home in NZ was Woolston, where he received a horse called Little Arthur, owned by Mr Wm Hayward, to train. Bryce relates that Little Arthur was a poor, dejected animal, and that he turned over in his mind that if this was a fair sample of the horses he was going to get, the future looked pretty bleak. "But I misjudged him," he continued. "I discovered he was asthmatical. I then included in his feed cod-liver oil, beaten-up eggs and sweet milk, and this helped his lungs. He did well and won at the Met. He was my first winner in this country."

A few months after arriving in the Dominion, Our Aggie struck form and won several races. Years later she became the dam of Red Shadow, considered by 'Scotty' to be the best-performed horse he ever drove. Red Shadow won the Great Northern Derby in 1930, and the NZ Cup and Metropolitan Free-For-All in 1933, taking all four principal races at the Cup meeting. Red Shadow sired Golden Shadow, winner of the Great Northern Derby Stakes in 1943, and Shadow Maid who won the Auckland Cup in the same year.

After a short time at 'Coldstream Lodge,' Fendalton, Bryce shifted to 'Oakhampton Lodge,' Hornby, then an 'unkept, dirty place.' Hard work promptly put that right, and soon the stables - 20 stalls to begin with - were built. The amenities included hot and cold water, a swimming pool for the horses, shelter sheds, railed yards, etc; so grew up the most modern trotting establishment seen up to that time in this country. And from this faithfully-harnessed source came an ever- swelling stream of fast pacers and trotters. Out of 'Oakhampton's' stalls were led superbly-conditioned horses that put Bryce at the head of his field only two short years after his arrival from Scotland. For seven consecutive seasons, from 1915-16 until 1921-22 and again in 1923-24, Bryce was leading trainer - eight times in all. He was also leading horseman in the 1915-16, 1918-19, 1921-22, 1922-23 and 1923-24 seasons and his son James, Jnr headed the horseman's list in the 1935-36 season.

Bryce trained and drove the winner of almost every important handicap and classic event in NZ. His sons Andrew and James carried on the family traditions. Andrew drove the 1927 NZ Cup winner Kohara; in 1921 he drove Man o' War to victory in the Auckland Cup, and in 1928 and 1929 he won the same race with Gold Jacket. James, Jnr, has driven two NZ Derby winners in Double Great and Twos Loose, four Auckland Cup winners in Shadow Maid, Sea Born and Captain Sandy twice, a November Free-for-all winner in Plutus, a National Cup behind De Soto, a Dominion Handicap on Waikato Prince, two Timaru Nursery Stakes on Highland Scott and Shadow Maid, a NZ Champion Stakes and a Wellington Stakes on Gallant Chief, a Great Northern Stakes on Highland Scott, a Great Northern Derby on Golden Shadow, and hosts of other good races; he still brings home the odd winner.

Few very big dividends were paid by horses driven by 'Scotty' Bryce. That speaks for itself. "They soon tumbled to me," he explained naively. Way back in 1923, horses driven by the old master had earned more than £100,000 in stakes for their owners; his full total must be nearer £250,000. When verging on three score and ten he was still a skilled reinsman. Much of this skill was in Bryce's hands. Only as a last resort did the whip come into play on a good horse 'Scotty' was driving.

Bryce considers Cathedral Chimes the gamest horse he ever drove. Catherdal Chimes won the Auckland and NZ Cups in successive years. Taurekareka was the first horse in the Dominion to win the trotting (or pacing, as you will)'triple crown,' the NZ Sapling Stakes, NZ Derby and Great Northern Derby. Bryce still affirms that he was unlucky not win a second Cup with Great Hope and a third with Ahuriri. Ahuriri was interfered with by Padlock or, in Bryce's opinion he would have won instead of going down to Peter Bingen and Great Bingen in a blanket finish in 1928.

He also thinks Matchlight, with an ounce of luck, would have won the NZ Cup. "I had a lot of time for Matchlight," said Bryce. "He won the President's Handicap at Forbury Park giving Trix Pointer 60 yards start, and then won both the big handicaps at the Canterbury Park June meeting when that club raced at Sockburn. He won those three races on end. Author Dillon was a bit lucky to beat Matchlight in the NZ Cup," declared Bryce. "Hendriksen, who drove Matchlight for me that year - I broke a leg and was in hospital - admitted he made a mistake in the way he drove him. Next day Matchlight won the Courtenay Handicap easily from the backmark," said Bryce.

"I always feel I had two horses that could have beaten two minutes," continued Bryce. "Red Shadow, from a standing start went 2.04 4/5 for third. Ahuriri was the other. As a 2-year-old before the 1922 Sapling Stakes he worked a mile in 2.10, his last half in 62sec. That was good work for any 2-year-old," remarked Bryce, who went on to say that he did not like the idea of sending his horses against time because there was so little inducement to do so.

J Bryce's principal training successes were in the NZ Cup (Cathedral Chimes 1916; Great Hope 1923; Ahuriri 1925 and 1926; Kohara 1927 and Red Shadow 1933); Auckland Cup (Cathedral Chimes 1915; Admiral Wood 1916; Man o' War 1920 and 1921; Ahuriri 1927 and Shadow Maid 1943; NZ Sapling Stakes (Ahuriri 1922; Taurekereka 1923 and Kohara 1924); NZ Derby (Great Hope 1922; Taurekereka 1923 and Kohara 1925); Great Northern Derby (Chid 1916; Tuarekareka 1923, Red Shadow 1930 and Golden Shadow 1943); NZ Champion Stakes - Metropolitan (Queen Chimes 1918; Great Hope 1922; Taurekareka 1924 and Kohara 1925); Taranaki Futurity Stakes (Queen Chimes 1918; Lochnagar 1919 and Ratana 1922); NZ Trotting Stakes - Forbury Park (Katute 1926); November Free-For-All (Admiral Wood 1916; Cathedral Chimes 1917 and Red Shadow 1933); Dominion Trotting Handicap (Whispering Willie 1916; Whist 1919; Moneyspider 1928 and Waikato Prince 1937); National Handicap (Matchlight 1918; Man o' War 1921 and Alto Chimes 1923); Timaru Nursery Stakes (Shadow Son 1938; Shadow Maid, division 1940); New Brighton Challenge Stakes (Shadow Son 1938); NZ Trotting Gold Cup - Wellington (Taraire 1923); Canterbury Handicap (Cathedral Chimes 1918 and 1919); and Rowe Cup - Auckland (Bluewood 1919), a record unapproached by any other trainer, past or present.

James Bryce tells some good stories against himself. Can you imagine the worthy Scot trying to get over the fence at Addington? Bryce will tell you how he was caught in the act, and how he came to be on the outside looking in. Two days of the Addington Cup meeting had passed - this was in August, 1928 - and between the second and third days the Trotting Association fonally made a decision on Bryce's appeal against a term of suspension in connection with the much-fought Free Advice case. Bryce had to take his medicine. Thinking that all the suspension did was to prevent him from driving, he went on the third day with his team only to be told he was not allowed on the track according to the rules.

After being graciously allowed to pay his acceptance fees and to see that the stable boys knew how to gear the team, Bryce left. On an upturned bucket in Bill Tomkinson's yard, just across the road, 'Scotty' indulged in a little self-pity and sympathy for himself. "After a' the years a mon's been in the game, nae tae be alooed on the coorse," he soliloquised. Telling Claude Dunlevey, Tomkinson's head man, how anxious he was to see if Native Chief would stand on the mark for the umpteenth time, Claude told him that if he went through the motor paddock he could see the start over the gate. Away went Bryce, and before he reached the gate he saw a "mon wi' a bit o' timber" leaning against the tin fence having a free view, so Bryce joined him. But not for long. Soon appeared authority in the form of a gateman, who ordered the pair down, waxing sarcastic as he escorted Bryce through the motor paddock, at the same time delivering a homily about getting through the proper channels and paying his bob like a man. And once again Native Chief stood on the mark.

Bryce made a notable contribution towards placing training on a higher plane here. A fellow trainer of his pays him the compliment of saying that Bryce was years ahead of most NZ trainers in the conditioning and driving of horses in those days. "We must never lose sight of the fact," said this admirer of Bryce's methods, "that it took men like 'Scotty' to improve the spit and polish part of our training methods. He was as meticulous, clean and thorough as any trainer I've ever known. Detail was his second name. The horse had to be fit and healthy, inside and outside, and he was kind to his horses, was proud of the 'guid yins.' Those of us with any savy tried to copy him."

Bryce was a great believer in swimming exercise for his horses, especially unsound ones, and at "Oakhampton Lodge" he built a luxurious swimming pool, 18ft at its deep end, as part of his comprehensive training routine. Many a lame horse was kept fit or saved from early racing oblivion by this pool, which was availed of by other trainers in the district, men who continue to acknowledge the debt they owe to the many refinements of conditioning and gaiting, and to the profound horsesense that took James Bryce to the top of the ladder and kept him there year after year.


Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 14Aug57

MR W L PARKINSON

Mr W L Parkinson, a well-known figure in the light-harness sport in Canterbury over a lengthy period, died in Christchurch last week after a long illness.

Mr Parkinson took an early interest in galloping but changed later in trotting, in which department he met with considerable success. One of the best pacers to carry his colours was Clockwork, who held the mile and a half record for several years. Another outstanding pacer raced by Mr Parkinson was Ferry Post, who was considered by many to be the best horse he owned, but unsoundness cut short Ferry Post's career. In more recent years, Mr Parkinson raced the champion 2-year-old, Vivanti, who took almost everything before her at that age, including the NZ Sapling Stakes. Other pacers and trotters to do good service for Mr Parkinson were Steel King, Good Review, Kapeen and Beehive. On his Kaiapoi property, Mr Parkinson also bred several pacers and trotters.

Apart from his interest in trotting, Mr Parkinson was one of the best known stock dealers in the South Island and started dealing at an early age. Born at Saltwater Creek, Mr Parkinson started buying and selling cattle as a boy. By the time he went to World War I, he was a familiar figure at the Addington Saleyards. He celebrated his eighteenth birthday in Egypt and on his return from overseas he resumed his dealing in stock.

Mr Parkinson was one of the most popular figures on racecourses around Canterbury especially, and his delightful sense of humour endeared him to all who new him. Mr Parkinson was 59 and is survived by his wife.

Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar 6Mar57