The Coen Races was an annual event attracting locals and visitors to the dusty town racetrack for an enjoyable two days of racing and betting. Constable Howard Green, recently from Cairns, was in attendance to police the event, and he also took a collection of photographs. Constable Green’s colleague, Constable Charles Rattenbury, helped manage the people whilst Acting Sergeant James Dunne supervised the younger policemen and the crowds. The Acting Sergeant was no stranger to horses. As a Constable in Roma Street Police Station, 18 years before, Dunne had stopped runaway horses attached to a lorry on Victoria Bridge.
Fashions on the field in Coen included straw and lace hats for the ladies, with a choice of dress style; below the knee or ankle length. Most of the men favoured silk banded felt hats, long trousers and either a vest or long-sleeved jacket. The boys wore shorts with knee-high socks. The most likely picnic lunch fare would have included potted meat, egg and watercress sandwiches with a dab of mustard, consumed under canvas tents or gunyahs made from locally milled posts and shaded by plentiful tree branches (pictured), with the food traditionally catered by local station owners.
The Cooktown Independent newspaper reported ‘good racing and honest riding’ at the Coen Races. There were no misdemeanours mentioned, however at the request of Jessie Stevens the Queensland Police Gazette of 1928 requests information as to the whereabouts of her 43 year old husband, Vere Stevens from Brisbane, an unemployed bookmaker on route to Coen. Mr Stevens was later mentioned in the September QPG as being located by the Banana police. Both Constables Green and Rattenbury were reposted to Cairns shortly after; the Coen township had no need for so many police officers when the races ended. Acting Sergeant Dunne moved to Mackay then Camooweal where he was Superannuated (retired) in 1936.
“Men folk of Coen and Cape York Peninsula gather together at the Coen races, 31 July 1928.”
Image No. PM0266 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
“ ’Why Not’ owned by F. Monaghan of Rokeby Station and ridden by Charles Hunter, is the winner of the Coen Handicap on 31 July 1928.”
Image No. PM1244c courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
“Constable Charles Rattenbury weighs himself on the jockey scales at the Coen Races, 1 August 1928.”
Image No. PM0265 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
“A crowd gathers around the twig roofed betting booth at the Coen Races, 1 August 1928.”
Image No. PM1244b courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
“The Clerk of the Coen Racecourse sits on his horse in front of the Judges Box and winning post at the Coen Picnic Races, 1 August 1928.”
Image No. PM1244a courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.
________________________________
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM THE VAULT – A day at the Coen Races in 1928” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode