Goondiwindi Race Club rings the bell of history

By Jordan Gerrans

When correct weight was declared at Goondiwindi on Saturday for their annual Cup day, the club did so while also paying tribute to decades of racing history in their region. 

The Goondiwindi Race Club was gifted a bell - named the Malagarai Bell - by the local Doyle family in the 1950s, which they believe dates all the way back to 1834 and arrived on the HMAS Australia in 1911.  

The brass bell needs to be carried by two people for its size and weight, with markings on the bell displaying that it was built way back in 1834. 

In more recent years, the bell was starting to fall into disrepair before Goondiwindi local Ross McKinlay stepped in to refurbish it to be showcased at the local races.

To coincide with their local Cup program on Saturday at Gunsynd Park, the Goondiwindi club proudly had the Malagarai Bell at the track and it was rung after every race to declare correct weight to punters for the sizeable crowd on hand. 

“It was incredible, dating back to 1834,” Goondiwindi Race Club treasurer Graeme Scheu said.

“It is interesting and a great story. The families related to the bell came along to the races, as well.

“We had a symbolic ringing of it and then used it as a bell for the correct weight with different members of the family ringing it throughout the day.

“It added to the story of it all, using it as the correct weight bell.” 

Scheu and the club thanked McKinlay for his efforts to restore the bell to its former glory. 

According to the Goondiwindi club, it was Admiral Alec Broughton Doyle who started the bell’s journey to the regional racetrack.

The Doyle clan acquired a property at Boggabilla in 1926 as the family moved north with the bell in their possession. 

Once racing at Boggabilla wound up, the bell was eventually transferred north to the Sunshine State. 

“Back around 1950, they raced a lot of horses around Boggabilla, the family did,” Scheu said.

“That is just over the bridge there from us.

“We suspect that the Doyle family, that raced a lot of horses and ran the club there, when their club closed down at Boggabilla, it came over to Goondiwindi. 

“No one knows exactly what happened but that is what we are presuming.

“The Goondiwindi Race Club are proud to continue this history and are thankful to the Doyle family for enabling Goondiwindi Race Club to be a part of history and continue tradition.”

With a crowd of upwards of 550 people at Goondiwindi for their local Cup program on Saturday, the refurbished bell was a popular item for local punters to look at during the meeting. 

“It was a big crowd for us, a good crowd,” Scheu said.

On the track, Philip Minter claimed the Goondiwindi Cup of 2025 with Tara Jasmine scoring over 1400 metres with $16,000 on offer in the event.