CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

CLUB HISTORY

CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CLUB

CPTC: Centennial History

December - The daily fees for officals at the CPTC Meetings were set at £4/4/- for the clerk of scales and £3/3/- for each of the timekeeper and the starter.

P Burke and Co Ltd had it's tender of £315 per annum for the rights to the booth at Plumpton Park accepted for a term of three years.

Credit: Extract from 1914 Board Minutes

MESCELLANY

In March 1914 in the Supreme Court, Christchurch, a claim by Clifford Tasker against the NZMTC for £750 damages in respect of injuries sustained by the trotting horse Michael Gillander was heard before Mr Justice Dennison and a special jury. Tasker also claimed £40 damages being the sum paid the Veterinary Surgeon in connection with the horse’s injuries. Tasker stated that while training his horse around the track he saw a draught mare coming towards him at a gallop and the mare hit Michael Gillander on the left side near the shoulder knocking him over. His horse fell on top of the witness who had been flung from the sulky and then scrambled to its feet and galloped around the track. In the opinion of the jury the gates were insecurely fastened thus allowing the draught mare to get onto the track and it found the Club liable on various counts and granted damages of £200.


Credit: NZMTC: Historical Notes compiled by D C Parker

PEOPLE

A I RATTRAY

A report in the NZ REFEREE of 9th April 1913 stated that a very well deserved tribute was paid to Mr A I Rattray, Secretary of the three trotting clubs of Christchurch, when on the first day of the NZMTC’s Easter Meeting at Addington he was presented with a handsome silver tea and coffee service and salver as a mark of the Clubs’ appreciation of his services to the sport. The Hon. Charles Louisson, President of the NZMTC, in making the presentation said that as most of those present were aware Mr Rattray had recently taken a trip to America for the benefit of his health and they were glad to see he had returned fully restored. It is largely due to Mr Rattray’s efforts, he continued, that the sport of trotting had reached the high standard it now held and the Clubs felt that the present was a good opportunity to show how they valued Mr Rattray’s work. Mr Howell, President of the Canterbury Park Trotting Club and Mr Archer, President of the New Brighton Trotting Club also spoke briefly of their appreciation of Mr Rattray’s services. Mr Rattray in his reply expressed his thanks for the kindness which had been shown him and said that what he had done for the sport had been done as a labour of love.


Credit: NZMTC: Historical Notes compiled by D C Parker

CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CLUB

CPTC: Board Minutes

July: Members Subs were set at 10/6.

November: Mr Horace Shirley was appointed caretaker of Plumpton Park at £2 per week.

Credit: Extract from 1912 Board Minutes

FIRES & THEIR PREVENTION

The first fire reported on in the NZ REFEREE was an outbreak one afternoon in October 1912 when eight or ten horse boxes in the outside enclosure, adjoining the Canterbury A & P Assn’s property, were destroyed together with a number of boxes in the Showgrounds. If the fire had not been discovered early considerably more damage would have resulted. The boxes which were destroyed were replaced in time for the Cup Meeting.


Credit: NZMTC: Historical Notes compiled by D C Parker

January 1909 - A decision about the building of a new grandstand was deferred. Bookmakers' levies were fixed at £15/15/- for both the inside and outside enclosure.

June 1909 - A tender of £2,390 from N N Smith was accepted for the construction of a new grandstand at Plumpton Park.

September 1909 - N N Smith's tender of £590 for the erection of a new totalisator house was accepted.

October 1909 - The name of the Club was changed to the Canterbury Park Trotting Club, the change to be effective from October 29.

December 1909 - The committee resolved that the president be given a free hand to extend hospitality to visitors on the day of the opening of the new grandstand.

Credit: Extract from 1909 Board Minutes

CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CLUB

Mr N Goodwin operated the totalisator until 1906, after which Mr W McDougall was appointed to the position.

Credit: CPTC: Centennial History

SECRETARIES & EXECUTIVE STAFF

Andrew Rattray

MR A I RATTRAY

The following appreciation of Mr A Rattray was written by Mr H E Goggin and is reproduced here unabridged:-

Mr Andrew Innes Rattray, who died in August 1941, in his 87th year, was aptly called the "Father of Trotting". The energy, time and thought he put into the sport was amazing. In many walks of life men are found who are unique in a particular way. Just such a man was the late Mr Rattray in regard to trotting. He was a unque character.

I joined him in August 1904, as a lad of 14, he having had only one previous assistant who started 18 months earlier. The clubs had just moved their office from Duncan's Buildings - now known as Church House - to new offices in Tonks Norton's Buildings, Hereford Street, Christchurch. Mr Rattray rode a bicycle and one of my first remembrances was of it having been stolen from outside the office and being sold to a dealer, and of Mr Rattray going for the dealer for its recovery. He eventually got it back, but never rode it again.

Mr Rattray was born in Scotland and came to New Zealand at an early age. He always had a keen partiality for horseflesh, and his trips from Avonside to West Christchurch School and back were made in a dog cart, and many a race he had on the roadside with other embryo sportsmen. Later on he owned the trotters Cleveland and Bloxwich, and won races with them at Heathcote.

His first position was to represent Matheson's Agency, a big firm of merchants and woolbrokers. Subsequently, for 10 years, he was a member of the Bank of New Zealand staff, rising to take charge of the Bills Department. The commercial education he received there stood to him in later years. After leaving the bank in 1887 he took over the secretaryship of the Lower Heathcote Racing Club, a position that had previously been held by Messrs Scott and Bamford. At that time nominations and acceptances were taken at the Empire Hotel, and the totalisator met with such strong opposition from bookmakers that £500 ($1,000) was considered a good day's turnover. This club later became a trotting club and closed down in 1893.

The Canterbury Trotting Club, which raced on the Show-grounds was formed in 1888, and Mr Rattray was appointed secretary and joint handicapper with Mr H Piper. Subsequently this club merged with the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club. Besides the NZMTC, Canterbury Park Trotting Club and New Brighton Trotting Club, Mr Rattray was also secretary of the Christchurch Racing Club, which raced three days a year on the CPTC's course at Sockburn, and ran six galloping and two trotting events. This Club was abolished by the Racing Commission of 1910.

Mr Rattray was also the first secretary of the New Zealand Trotting Association, which was formed in 1888, and did great service in framing the rules and stamping out ringing-in, which was prevalent in those days. He often told me that on many occasions he travelled to Lyttelton by a 5am goods train to inspect horses arriving and departing. So persevering was he in trying to stamp out ringing-in that the wrongdoers soon came to the conclusion that the game was not worth the candle. The Association was also active in investigating the affairs of clubs run by proprietary interests, of which there were a number.

Up to the early 90's there was a dead set against what was then known as "the poor man's sport," emanating chiefly from racing club officials. This enmity, combined with early mismanagement, was solid hinderance to trotting, and those controlling the clubs had a keen uphill fight for many years. Their first great effort was to obtain Government recognition of the NZTA, and it was mainly due to the efforts of Messrs Rattray, Mace and McIlraith, that this was brought about in 1891.

Another matter of which he saw the evil was the danger of the sport being overdone. Prior to 1891 unlimited totalisator permits could be obtained, and through his agency a rule was passed whereby no club could hold more than four meetings in one season. The abolition of bookmakers from racecourses was another matter for which he fought hard. I have seen the racecourse detective take a man into the secretary's office on the course and a scuffle take place as he was searched for evidence of betting, which, if found, always led to prosecution. Because of Mr Rattray's desire to clear the courses of bookmakers, the local trotting clubs were more insistent upon prosecuting them than racing clubs throughout the country. After a lot of hard fighting for many years the present regulations regarding bookmakers were framed. Telegraphing of betting to racecourses, which was in vogue for many years, was another matter he fought against, he being strongly of the opinion that betting should be confined to the racecourse.

He worked hard and put boundless energy into getting the horses out on to the track. He realised that the public would not start to bet until they had seen the horses, and in those days the clubs required all the finance they could get. He frequently went to the saddling paddock and spoke sharply to the clerk of the course for not having them out, and even went around the horse-boxes urging the drivers to hurry into the bircage. Mr Rattray carried on with this work until shortly after the Great War, when the meetings had grown to such proportions that he asked to be relieved of it, and the late Mr J C Clarkson was appointed birdcage steward for the NZMTC. After working hard to bring about these reforms it was natural he should express strong views on them in later years in order to maintain them.

Mr Rattray did not always confine himself to secretarial work. In addition, he did handicapping for several years, and at odd times acted as timekepper and starter. I well remember as a youth assisting him to start at a Canterbury Park meeting at Sockburn, when the starter, Mr H Reynolds, was unable to attend, my job being, at a signal from him, to pull out the lever to set the starting clock in motion.

An incident which I vividly recall, happened during the running of a meeting by the Christchurch Racing Club. The third race had just been run when the news arrived of the death of King Edward VII. The stewards met and decided to abandon the meeting out of respect to such a great sportsman. The outside crowd and others from inside then swarmed into the secretary's office and demanded the return of their three and six pence (35c) entrance money (many had only paid 1/- (10c)). I can see Mr Rattray now, stretching himself up behind the small table, which was his desk, and defying the menacing crowd and telling them they would not get it. It was necessary to wait some time before we could leave the course with our cash.

Mr Rattray had tremendous faith in the future of trotting and backed it up in every way. At one stage, when the Addington grounds were being laid out the club had spent all their available cash and had not sufficient to pay the men working there. For some time this was paid by Mr Rattray himself, who visited the grounds every Saturday afternoon for that purpose. On another occasion, when he wanted a job done better than the committee intended to do it, because of lack of funds, he offered, anonymously, a loan of the necessary amount, free of interest, and this was accepted.

He was an indefatigable worker. Hours meant nothing to him. Originally nominations and acceptances closed at 11pm. This was altered to 10pm about the time I joined him, and the day for taking nominations was always Saturday. When the big alterations took place at the course in 1910 he spent hours there with Mr Syd Luttrel superintending them, and also with Mr Alf Luttrell in the office going through plans, etc.

I think one of his greatest virtues was his loyalty. He was intensly loyal to his clubs, and was always out to create such a standard for them in dignity and prestige that anything which did not measure up 100% in his opinion was scorned. Again, he was always loyal to his staff, particularly those who played the game. I remember an incident some years ago where a steward of one of the clubs had come without his ticket and the gateman refused to pass him in. An infuriated official then demanded of Mr Rattray that the gateman be sacked. The reply he got was "that man is carrying out his instructions; if he goes, I go."

When I went into camp in World War I, he told me he would not allow anyone to replace me, and for the three years I was away he carried on alone - an action I deeply appreciated. He was a stern disciplinarian, but beneath his brusqueness was a kindly heart and a geniality which won him great respect. His memory will live for a long time.


Credit: Pillars of Harness Horsedom: Karl Scott

CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CLUB

CPTC
OCTOBER - The Christchurch Racing Club offered £100 towards the cost of a new stewards stand. This was declined, with the committee deciding to go ahead without outside help.

The tender of Mr H J Otley of £508/5/- was accepted for the erection of the grandstand.

NOVEMBER - Decided to hold a meeting on December 26, 1904 and January 2 & 3, 1905. The main race was the New Year Handicap, a 4min 55s class race over two miles. Nomination fees were set at £2 and acceptance fees at £1/10/-.

Decided that the Christchurch Racing Club be charged £20 a day for the use of the course.


Credit: CPTC: Centennial History

CANTERBURY PARK TROTTING CLUB

Extract from September 1903 Board Minutes

Three sections were sold for £150.

Resolved to run an eight-race programme between 2.30pm and 4.45pm, four races to be in harness and the other four in saddle, all events over one and two miles.

Two racecourse inspectors were engaged.

Credit: CPTC: Centennial History