Time is a great leveller, and age is its bulldozer. This we must accept. But, as we turn into the home straight ourselves, so the pain of loss is deeper felt. This last week we lost two great horsemen, "Kanga" Smith, and Joey Weller. Like all HORSEMEN, they were "same same, but different."
"Kanga" up front and GOING FOR IT!
"Kanga", whose name was Ron, was born at Junaby near Warwick in 1936 , living opposite the Coy brothers, Fred and Doug in his formative years. There was only Show harness racing in Queensland at that time, so, naturally young blokes reared on farms were drawn to the shows. The option of riding or driving the pacers and trotters was a further attraction to those lads who were too big for the gallops. Information available indicates that he became involved with another Warwick based trainer driver, Cliffie Mewes, a man who had driven in excess of 2,000 Show Final winners when presented with the Queens Medal during the 1954 Royal Tour. "Kanga" became a "showie", and over the years, was a part of the great Show Circuit, starting in Armidale, and finishing in Cairns. Not for the faint hearted, but it must be remembered that Show prizemoney then, was far in excess (in real purchasing power) of today's money. Show Societies also knew the crowd drawing power of "the trots", and paid accordingly. When Registered racing was restored to Queensland in the mid 1950s, "Kanga" landed his first winner at Ipswich with Ribbon Hall. Another successful pacer was Lochinar, a winner on the first Southport track. All in all, "Kanga's" career on the registered tracks spanned some 40 years, and was highlighted by the homebred pacer, Harleray. Foaled in 1961 this iron horse raced for 12 years, winning 40 races and running 150 placings . Trainer and horse made the arduous trip across the Nullabour to compete in the Perth Inter-dominion in 1974. No money, but a feat in itself, one horse one man and a one ton ute with a crate on the back. Harleray raced successfully at the Brisbane exhibition every year from 1966 to 1974. No doubt "Kanga" was a rough diamond, but, if you broke through the exterior, there was a heart of gold. Horses were his love story.
Joey Weller photo above.
Families are complex arrangements, sometimes "one in all in" and on other occasions the bond is more exclusive such as that which existed between Joey Weller and his son Dean, the very Australian bond of Mateship. As a young lad at school, Joe Weller could not decide where his future lay. Like most Brisbane lads, born towards the end of World War2, he saw, and was involved with plenty of horses of all shapes and sizes, while working at Cannon Hill saleyards, a great a great training venue for aspiring horsemen. At age 16, the young man went west to take up a job as horse breaker at Marion Downs Station some 50 odd kilometres from Boulia in the Channel Country. Lightly framed, JW found opportunity as an amateur jockey, successfully training and riding the Marion Downs homebreds (most stations of that and earlier eras used thoroughbred stallions over their band of mares to improve speed and conformation) at local race meetings. Back in Brisbane Joe worked a small team of both pacers and gallopers, including a Prunda Cup winner. Standardbred pacer, Dual Ratio, was a dual winner at Albion Park in the "right handed" days, as was Glendevon, which was worked almost exclusively on the dirt roads round Pinkenbah, yet managed to win on successive Saturday nights at "the Creek". Another interesting sideline was maintaining a team of ponies owned by a local Drive In Movie company. Their purpose being to keep the kids occupied while the parents enjoyed the movie, or whatever, from the comfort of a child free car. Until Joe Wellers health deserted him, he was constantly with Dean at the races and the rodeos. the best of Mates, and equals. When JW required constant oxygen to compensate for his tobacco damaged lungs, he had taken to staying home and listening to the races. At the time of his passing, being fed up with this lack of "live entertainment" he had ordered the construction of a trolley with which he could pull his oxygen cylinder with him. Joe Weller was determined to get back to the track to see the action in "real time". Strangely, the night before Joey Weller went to that Trotting Track in the Sky, Dean produced three pacers at Redcliffe. Major Mischief winning at his first start for the combination, an effort complimented by the place getters, Showem Simon and Mullum Boy.
Both HORSEMEN are gone. They were part of the fabric of Queensland "TROTTING". Remember THEM and be SAD.
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