Heritage et AL

To celebrate Auckland Cup day at Ellerslie today,  we've  had look through various Heritage and Research collections held at Auckland Libraries to find out some the history around the Auckland Racing Club , the Auckland Cup and Ellerslie racecourse. Ellerslie Horses have raced at Ellerslie since 1857 when Robert Graham hosted a race meeting on his property, on the site which is now Ellerslie Racecourse. The Auckland Racing club then purchased thirty-six hectares of land from Graham in 1872 on which the course is situated. Ref: GB Scott Publications Limited, Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland, New Zealand, 1970s, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 996-1505.

The poet Thomas Bracken (1841-98) was born in Ireland and orphaned at a young age. He was sent to Australia to live with an uncle, near Melbourne. He was initially apprenticed to a pharmacist but later worked as a station hand and shearer. His first volume of verse appeared in 1867, and there was a steady output from his pen until his final years. Listen to the Real Gold podcast on Auckland Libraries Soundcloud . Bracken moved to Dunedin in 1869, and concentrated on journalism, working at the Saturday Advertiser . In the edition of 1 July 1876, he published a five-stanza poem of his own composition entitled ‘National Hymn’ and announced a contest with a prize of ten guineas for the person who composed the best musical setting to accompany his words. The judges were trio of reputable Melbourne-based German-born musicians: Herr Zelman, Herr Siede and Herr Zeplin. They unanimously chose an entry submitted by John Joseph Woods , head teacher at St Patrick’s Catholic Sc...