Mount Perry veteran celebrated for half-century of starts

By Andrew Smith

There are not many people across Australia who have contributed over 50 years of service to the one race club.

And for Geoff Mooney, his long-standing connection to the Mount Perry Race Club could see him claim to be one of the country’s longest-standing officials.

The 85-year-old was recently rewarded for his lifetime of service to the small country race club with Racing Queensland’s Cheer A Volunteer award.

The local legend has been the official starter for the Mount Perry races since 1976, having come on board as an assistant starter several years before that.

Back when he first became involved in the club, Geoff and his fellow officials simply pulled a rope to start a race, in the absence of the barriers that are used today.

“The horses used to be pretty jittery, and then the jockeys would be trying to get on the fly so you would have to try and beat them,” Geoff said.

“If they were 10 yards back off the rope and they looked to be in line, you'd yell out ‘go’ and just pull the rope at the same time so they didn't get hung in it or catch them off guard a bit.

“One horse one day, he turned around and went the opposite way (laughs).

“You never knew when you were going to get into a fight over the rope barriers, because they were always blaming the starter for a bad start because their horse didn't win.

“When the barriers came along, you press the button, and if the horse didn't jump, well that was his fault - I couldn't do anything about it.”

With improvements in safety and regulations, Mount Perry transitioned to the standard mechanical barriers in the late 1970s, bringing them up to speed with other tracks across the Sunshine State.

For Geoff and his team, making the adjustment to the new machinery was a slow process.

“There was a big difference when the barriers came along…we had to learn how to use them for a start, it was a bit of an eye-opener,” Geoff said.

“We had to set them up on the track - we didn't know anything about that either, and there was nobody here much to tell us.

“The jockeys sort of wised us up to it saying the barriers weren't facing the right way…we woke up that you have got to face them so the horses are not jumping into the rails.

“It's just like sitting down having breakfast nowadays unless you get a hard one to load.

“Apart from that, you just climb up in the stall there and run your eye over the horses and yell out to your jockeys to be ready and it’s up to them from there on.”

The Mooney family has been involved with the North Burnett club since 1909, with Geoff’s grandfather Joe a legendary local jockey.

When picnic racing resumed at Mount Perry following the end of World War Two, Geoff and his siblings would walk their horses from one side of town to the other for the meetings.

Geoff has also dabbled as a trainer over the years but his primary responsibility has been the starter’s role.

His sister Jocelyn Warrell also makes a significant contribution to the club as the track curator, with her own involvement also stretching back to 1974.

“I'd been in New Zealand for three years, and I came back to here, and our secretary died, and I thought, who's going to do all this?” Jocelyn said.

“Back in those days we had no toilets, we used tin sheds with pans, and we had no water and no electricity, and you had to cart water out to wash things down with.

“I don’t like giving orders to anybody, I just like doing my own thing and I can come here every day of the week and do what I like, I just love it.”

Mount Perry assistant secretary Joy Jensen paid tribute to Geoff for his award win, along with the entire Mooney family for the impact they had had on the small club over the decades.

“It's an immense contribution – to have the long service like that, all on a voluntary basis, is really exceptional, I think it goes with the family,” Joy said.

“Geoff has stuck at that job, and he's good at the job - he's had a lifetime of working with animals, so he understands how to deal with the racehorses, and it's just great to have that asset.”

“It is a full family, the next generation are coming along and all of our older members have next generations including children and grandchildren working here.

“It helps to keep the club going and it keeps Mount Perry on track.”

The club usually hosts its annual race day in November, with crowds of over 2000 people camping next to the track and tripling the town’s population for the weekend.

The venue is also unique in that it contains an aircraft landing strip in the middle of the track, which is used by racegoers flying in for the meeting.

“We've got inside and outside running rail that has to be put up on the day, so all the planes have to be landed before midday, and then the team go out and put the inside and outside running rail up on both ends so that we can race,” Joy explained.

“We love to have the planes come in, it's a great spectacle for everyone and it’s just another aspect to our day that makes it entertaining.

“It's a big day for Mount Perry, people see it as a weekend away from wherever their drudgery of work is and it’s not far to come from the coast.

“We've got a marvellous location here that they can come just for the weekend, there’s a magnificent vista here, with the mountain looming over the racetrack - it's just the prettiest racetrack around.”

As for when he may retire and hand the starter’s duties over to someone else, Geoff is keen to see more of the younger generation come on board to carry on the legacy of the small club.

“We've got another young fella who is learning the ropes and he does a lot of the work now that I used to do, like calling the horses in and all that sort of thing,” Geoff said.

“He has a go of starting, because he intends to take over when I give it away, and can't do it anymore, the day will come.

“We're roping in a few young ones to come around and give us a hand to start the horses nowadays, but there's not too many.

“They go somewhere else, looking for a better job than what they can get around here and they leave the town which leaves us a bit empty-handed.”

Clubs are encouraged to nominate their valued volunteers for the award, which is sponsored by Neil Mansell Transport & Mittys.

State-wide, there are more than 8,300 volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the industry, providing their time and expertise to sustain Queensland’s three codes of racing.

Click here for more information on Cheer A Volunteer and to nominate.