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Melbourne Cup won by Tim Whiffler

1867

National Museum of Australia

National Museum of Australia
Canberra, Australia

The Melbourne Cup presented in 1867 was made in England by Thomas Smily of London firm WR Smily & Company.

Victorian jewellers complained to the Victorian Racing Club (VRC) that the trophy should have been made locally; believing the work of Melburnian William Edwards to be superior in both design and workmanship to the English-made trophy.

Perhaps because of the controversy, no trophy was awarded to the Melbourne Cup winner for the next eight years, when an Australian-made trophy was awarded for the first time.

The 1867 race featured two horses by the name of Tim Whiffler, the 5-2 favourite and eventual winner from New South Wales, and a local horse owned by Walter Craig, a well-known Ballarat hotelier. To avoid confusion, the bookmakers referred to them as ‘Sydney Tim’ and ‘Melbourne Tim’.

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National Museum of Australia

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