Australia Day: Life’s a picnic on ‘our big day of the year’

For more than 70 years, the Balnarring Picnic Racing Club has hosted the Balnarring Cup on Australia Day.

Happy crowds at the Balnarring Picnic Racing Club meeting. Picture: Aaron Francis

For more than 70 years, beside the picturesque bushland of the Emu Plains Reserve on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the Balnarring Picnic Racing Club has hosted the Balnarring Cup on Australia Day.

Despite grey skies and cool weather, about 2500 punters turned up, including 88-year-old former jockey Norman McDonell, who won the first Balnarring Cup in 1948 on his father’s horse, Helenette. “Things have changed, of course … there was no rail around the track and I was only 14,” Mr McDonell said.

“[Winning] was awesome … it was a flag start, a chap with a white handkerchief, I think,” he said.

Although he had been around horses his whole life and continued to volunteer with the club for the past 20 years, Mr McDonell said the Balnarring Cup was the first and last meet he raced in.

“I’m a hairdresser by trade. I finished racing because in those days we opened on a Saturday … it was too difficult to ride and work,” he said.

The annual event has proven popular with families, who marked Australia Day this year with flags displayed trackside, speakers dangling off portable eskies blaring Tubthumping and traditional ­barbecues.

Balnarring Picnic Racing Club president Terry Mulcahy said the 1600m race on Australia Day was the third in the year’s picnic season and crowds — mostly locals from the peninsula area — had slowly returned to the popular events.

“We never gave up … this is our big day of the year and we race every Australia Day,” he said.

“We have grown our meetings over the years. Thirty or 40 years ago, we might have only had 1000 people here,” he said.

After a “nightmare” year in 2020 that saw Racing Victoria suspend meetings because of the pandemic, Mr Mulcahy was proud the Cup on Australia Day could go ahead thanks to the hard work of the volunteer-led organisation.

So Able, ridden by jockey Maxwell Keenan, won the Cup out of 10 starters.

For the fourth year, Rosebud local Anne Holland organised for her family — including her youngest grandson Xavier Williams — and friends to attend the Balnarring Cup on Australia Day.

“We weren’t sure until a couple of weeks ago that we would be able to do it this year so it’s pretty nice … especially now the sun is coming out,” the 66 year-old said.

“I usually put a small bet on everything and win nothing,” she said.

Friends Jess Laity, 20, and Tomeisha Serong, 21, brought a picnic and a few drinks to celebrate Australia Day at the Cup.

“It’s pretty chill and a nice day out,” Ms Serong — a strapper and track rider said.

“It’s great to be out and it feels like normal (life) again. It’s great to be here without a mask,” she said.

“I work at the local pub (the Heritage Balnarring) … luckily we were closed today so I could take a day off and relax down here,” Ms Laity said.