This year on Saturday the 18th of June, Ipswich and many of its residents will celebrate an amazing milestone. This year marks the 150th year since the first Ipswich Cup was run back in 1866. Many people today see ‘The Cup’ as a major Ipswich social event where friends and families can come together to celebrate in style with sophisticated marques, decadent finger food and delicious wine. However, this is a far cry from what in the 1800s was seen as a serious sporting event for both the people of Queensland and even Australia.
The first official Ipswich Cup was said to have been raced in 1866, with the Cup itself, a magnificent trophy, being made and transported from England for the special event. Approximately, 1,500 people attended this first event. Although, ‘The Cup’ at first was viewed as a major sporting event by Ipswich’s male residents, it soon came to be viewed as one of the highlights on Ipswich’s social calendar, and for women it came to be a time of year when hats, gloves and your finest frock were the order of the day.
Ipswich Amateur Turf Club, Rules of the Club, Ipswich, 1948 – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich
The first Ipswich races to be convened by the Ipswich Amateur Turf Club were held at the site of the old Grange Racecourse, before they were moved to the Bundamba Racecourse site in 1890. However, it wasn’t until 1934 that ‘The Cup’ took on the current glamorous form that it is most famously known for today. During these early days entrance to the cup was charged on your method of transport: people entering on foot were Sixpence; vehicles were Two Shillings and Six Pence and horse and rider were One Shilling. Although this price is a fair way off what is charged today, the atmosphere that can be experienced at this yearly event is truly climatic.
Since, ‘The Cup’s’ inaugural run many a horse has beaten the odds to the finish line. Here are just a few of the worthy winners in the early years of ‘The Cup’s’ existence:
1933 – Noel Soldat
1936 – Bernie Ross
1948 – Emrose
1949 – Forge
1950 – Gold Hawk (the horse that set the track record to beat in 1950)
1952 – Thuwise
Photograph taken from the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper, 15 May, 1948 – Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia
Each year the event gets bigger and better, with last years crowd topping 20,000, which is a far cry from the 1,500 people who attended the first cup in 1866. But, nevertheless let us hope that the Ipswich Cup will continue to prosper and grow so that we may celebrate this important event that has become such an important part of our city’s history.
Information taken from: “Ipswich takes off” Queensland Times (13-12-2014); “Cup seals its spot as Queensland’s favourite” Queensland Times (14-06-2013); Ipswich Turf Club website.