Thomas John ELLIOTT b. 1827 Co Fermanagh, Ireland, son of ___ and ___ was married in 1857 at Koroit, Victoria to Mary HENNESSY, b. 1831, Co Cork, Ireland, daughter of ___ and ___.
Thomas and Mary ELLIOTT had at least seven children at Merino and they are both buried in the Merino Cemetery in 1895 and 1910 respectively.
Thomas John ELLIOTT & Mary HENNESSY had the following known family....
"The Argus" (Melbourne, Vic.) Wednesday, 18th October 1939.
THE DIGGERS' PETS.--MEN of the A.I.F. Reserve camp at Broadmeadows have adopted "Buster," a retriever dog, as their mascot. "Buster" can perform many tricks. When Mr. Dick Elliott went into camp he was given permission to take the dog with him. There are several magpies in the pine trees in the camp. The men have made a pet of one of the birds, which has become tame and relishes a diet of raw meat fed to it by the troops."The Sporting Globe" (Melbourne, Vic.) Wednesday, 5th March 1941.
Another Triumph For Windfalls.
"Windfalls" system scored a triumph on Saturday over the Newmarket Handicap.
It found the winner, All Veil.
Private Dick Elliott, of the A.I.F. Garrison Battalion, Broadmeadows, originator of "Windfalls," promised The Globe that he would play it on the Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap and bring his selections along before the races. The Oakleigh Plate flutter was a washout. Link Boy was its winner; and, as everyone knows, Link Boy was among the alsorans.
Last Saturday morning, for the second time, Private Elliott made his appearance at the editor's office.
"My system let me down in the Oakleigh Plate, but I've got the winner of the Newmarket today--All Veil. I gave it a fly yesterday, and All Veil won easily.
So the old "digger" scored again.
Private Elliott claims that this system "found" for him Old Rowley and Tidal Wave in the Melbourne Cup, Remare in the Williamstown Cup, and True Flight in the Eclipse Stakes.
It is simplicity itself, he writes the names of the runners on slips of paper, throws these into the air and allows the wind to find the winner for him. The slip blown the farthest is the winner.
This definitely puts the hatpin to the shade."The Portland Guardian" (Vic.) Thursday, 5th June 1941.
In the "Growl" Battalion.--An old Digger of the last war, Pte. A. (Dick) Elliott, who was formerly a well known Merino identity, started off hiking back to the metropolis on Friday from Casterton, where he had been spending some leave from a Garrison Battalion, with which he is now serving (says the "News.") Pte. Elliott's prized possession is an official leave pass for his dog Buster, who sensing the start of the trek on Friday morning, gave a few barks of delight. On his leave pass, Buster, the mascot of the unit adorned with a special collar, is described as a member of the 12th Growl Battalion, from which he can never be classed as A.W.L. (absent without leave.) The expiry date reads--"39/15/91." Buster's pedigree is unknown, but he is the shape and size of a bulldog, with the markings of a black sheep dog.--[Both Buster and his master are known by many in Portland.]"The Sporting Globe" (Melbourne, Vic.) Wednesday, 4th June 1941.
CASTERTON MEMORIES. By DICK ELLIOTT.
As my recreational leave became due the same week as the Cup meeting was being held at Casterton, I decided to go there and renew some old friendships.
Befriended by Jack Jamieson, who happened to be travelling that way in his car, and who also had Major McIntyre, late of England and the Hunter River district in New South Wales, as a passenger. I started off in good company. We stopped at Hamilton for dinner and then on the trail along the fields of Coleraine. Along by Mathieson where Hentys raised sheep and cattle in the good old days, and we were soon in Casterton.
Out on the Penola road the training stables and track were on the property of Chaffey Bros., E. J. Riley and E. J. Hatwell trained there at different times. Many good horses showed their paces there, among them The Parisian and Waranton.
A few miles in the other direction the late Harry McCalman was trainer and jockey to Murray Mathieson before setting up as a public trainer. Best known among the jockeys were : E. Gorry, A. G. Carter, Reuben and S. Koops, and Jack Cody. Aftre a rest, the first port of call was the Glenelg Hotel to have a yarn with the veteran Jack Stock, who rides his own horses work. He informed me that he was 80 last August. His friend, Frank Musgrave, is a little older. Another friend, the late James Scobie, was born the same year. The late James Hanlon and Jack Stock both rode in the the veterans' race at the Jubilee meeting of the Mt. Gambier Hunt Club. The race was for amateurs (60 and over). Jack rode the winner with Hanlon third.
Although many good horses were owned by the Stock Bros., the one that holds pride of place in Jack's affections is Last Mistake, winner of the Casterton and Coleraine Cups, and hurdle races, including one at Caulfield. Jack rode Ingleby in the Hunt Club Cup at Casterton. Taken to Melbourne for the Australian Hunt Cup, Ingleby had a lead of seven lengths when he made a mistake and gave Jack a good tumble.
The horse that Jack had the least affection for was The Dentist, who lived up to his name by kicking Jack, breaking his Jaw, and displacing seven teeth. The doctor put seven stitches in the wound. Jack has always dodged sevens since, as the accidnet happened on the 7th July (the seventh month).
Ned O'Connor, of Mt. Gambier was down. He owns Blackstone, a lepper that was second in the steeple on the first day and won on the second. Ned was known years ago as a dashing rider over fences. One oh his best efforts was landing the Amateur Steeple at Onkaparinga three years in succession on three different horses for which he won a wager of £500 to £1. Ned said that he won that race seven times.
SECRETARY'S YARNS
Harold Hanlon happened along soon after, and some more yarns. Harold is secretary of the Coleraine Racing Club, and was a leading amateur rider a few years ago. He used to ride for the late W. Thompson. Harold rode that grand pony Cornflower, and he had the weights she carried at his finger tips. He wrote them down for me--First year, second with 13.7 ; second year, won with 13.7 ; third year, won with 14.12, and fourth year, won with 14.12.
The same Harold had amusing anecdotes. Here's one :--His dad (the late James Hanlon) had a great friend in town who was a noted gunshot. His housekeeper annoyed him one time, so he grabbed a gun and shot her in the stern. When news of the episode reached Jim remarked. "That woman should not have tried to run away ; she should have remained seated, because old Mac never shot anything sitting in his life."
Frank Widdicombe, from Wando Vale, blew into the party. A noted show ring rider in his younger days, Frank won the bareback at the Royal Show about 1919. His yarn about a family in the district many years ago was funny. The old man of the family looked like shuffling off his mortal coils, so the two boys drove 30 miles to Casterton for waht they now call "the casket." However the old man came good again. As he then appeared to likely to live for a long time, the boys used the coffin for a fishing canoe.
Casterton course is likened to Moonee Valley. The racing was good. Many of the young familiar faces, were missing ; they are over on a more serious job. George Grant, James Hanlon, Knocker Clarke, Ernie Jeffries have passed away with many others, since the writer was last there. Hans and Bill Rhodes, master and huntsman respectively at the Casterton and District Hounds of years ago ; Colin Cameron, Con Sealy and G. R. Patterson were the only old followers I could remember.
Frank Lawrence was missing from the bookies' stand, and about the oldest visitor was Harry Mort. Con O'Connell, from Mildura, seldom misses a meeting. Harry Youngman, who bears evidence of his crash in Italy when they were our allies and he was a member of the 47th Squadron R.F.C.; Bill Johnstone, Lenny Jeffries, Harry Mitchell, Fred Germaine, Don Ross, Jim Henry, Eric Reid, Vin McKenzie, Poddy Harvey and W. Lawrence, clerk of course, were some that I have a hazy recollection of meeting at the finish, when they were all having one for the road.