For the love of horses: an Australian exhibition to March 2015

Spirited: Australia’s Horse Story is an exhibition exploring the relationship between people and horses at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.

The collection shows the history of horses in Australia from 1788 to the present time. Mixed breeds arrived in Australia initially from the United Kingdom, India, and South Africa and were used originally on pastoral stations. In 1827 former soldier William Pitt Faithfull established a sheep and horse stud, breeding draught horses, stockhorses, carriage horses, and race horses (thoroughbreds).

By 1900 there were tens of thousands of horses, used mainly for transportation – almost every Australian owned a horse. From 1900 to 1919 as the number of horses increased, city streets were reeking of horse manure. Streets were washed down every day and a large number of ‘scoop boys’ were employed to clear away the horse manure. The scoop boys were also called ‘sparrow starvers’ and they used long-handled brooms and a metal or wooden scoop.

By the early 1950s the number of horses for personal use dwindled rapidly with the rise of the automobile. In Melbourne there were barely 500 horses in the city although they were still in abundance in the suburbs where they pulled carts and were used in local businesses. Horses were still used to deliver milk, bread, and beer to people’s homes. Today there are about 400,000 wild horses, called brumbies, in the alpine areas and across central Australia.

When the Boer War broke out in South Africa, Australia sent about 20,000 troops and 40,000 horses. The lancers, or horsemen, were later called the Light Horse Brigade in World War I.

In the exhibition is a beautifully crafted wooden rocking horse belonging to a young Andrew Gibson who became a vet. The rocking horse (circa 1929) has elliptical wheels for easier rocking. Also in the exhibition are several trophies, such as the 1866 Melbourne Cup trophy. Although the Melbourne Cup horse race – the ‘two-mile’ handicap – was first held in 1861, it initially only awarded money or a watch to its winners. The first actual cup was awarded in 1865.

The exhibition runs from 11 September 2014 to 9 March 2015.

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