Tambo Valley Racing History

Wonthaggi Heathlands Cutlers Beach

Racing in the Tambo Valley probably commenced sometime in the 1860s. The enormous Bindi Station, some 15 km northeast of Swifts Creek, hosted a large seasonal workforce of shearers to remove the wool from the huge flocks of sheep that had been brought into the area in the few short years after European settlement.

Looking for some entertainment at the end of a hard season of shearing – and a way to spend some of their hard earned money – the shearers would race their horses against each other, wagering on who had the fastest steed.

The first known official races in the Swifts Creek area occurred around the locality of Tongio, about five kilometres north of the present racecourse. Races later shifted to Doctors Flat, about 7 km south of Swifts Creek, and were held on the other side of the Tambo River from the highway.

Sometime later they were relocated to Jim Gibson’s property just north of the Swifts Creek township, on an attractive piece of flat land between the highway and the Tambo River. This land is now owned by the Richardson family and remains the present location of the Tambo Valley racecourse.

Meanwhile, racing at Swifts Creek survived to the present day. For many years the club shared the Labour Day long weekend with the nearby Hinnomunjie races, with the Hinnomunjie races held on Saturday, and the Tambo Valley races held on the Labour Day holiday on the Monday. Massive and prolonged bushfires in 2007 saw the event postponed from its usual date and moved back to the Easter long weekend. This proved so popular that a permanent change was made to run the Tambo Valley Racing Club's picnic races every Easter Sunday.

The name Tambo Valley Racing Club and the Tambo Valley Picnic Races recognise not just the long history of racing at Swifts Creek but serves as a representation of all the communities throughout the Tambo Valley, past and present.