Sedan Dip races ready to celebrate 75 years in August

The debate happened during one of the many weaner exchanges between the two Australian Estates properties, and so the Gulf Country event was born, at the cattle clearing dip on Dalgonally, 100 kilometres north of Julia Creek.

Frank became the bush race meeting's first president and Jim the first secretary, beginning 75 years of volunteering by a vast number of people that's being celebrated as a 'Sip at the Dip' between August 17 and 20.

The grassfed meeting 'in the middle of nowhere' on the banks of the Cloncurry River was started for the enjoyment of people living a long way from established centres, evolving into a weekend of campdrafting and gymkhana as well, and making lots of memories of ferris wheels, a lavish cocktail party and planes that almost ran onto the racecourse, among others.

Jack Beach took over the presidency from Frank McDermott after six years, and held the role for the next 40 years.

His son, also Jack, said the races had always been a part of his life, having attended his first before he was one year old.

He recalled the basic bough sheds that housed facilities in the early days, along with the long drop toilets, and how, in 1961 when the Beef Road was surveyed right through the middle of the racecourse and the old store building that was used as a dance hall, everything had to be moved 500 metres to the west.

"The original course was a back to front J, but the races weren't longer than seven furlongs so it didn't really matter," he said. "When it was moved, it became a circular track."

Jack remembers having to rely on the train getting in to Julia Creek on time, with its load of ice to keep all the beer cold for thirsty punters 100km north.

"By midnight, all the ice had melted and being black soil, the bar staff were bogged to their knees," he laughed.

He also remembers bolting a portable dance floor together before there was a hall, together with a couple of lights illuminating the area plus the bar, run by a generator that cut out at intervals.

"It was basic but we had a ball," he said, adding that it was probably the first picnic race club in the north west to have flush toilets, rural power and water connected to the site.

"It's a beauty that it's kept going - it would have been a shame for it to end, after all the work put in to have those facilities, and it's brought so much enjoyment," he said.

"The driving thing for my dad was that it had to be for everyone, not just a racing elite.

"There were six or seven families that had horses - Dad always said we were there for business, the rest were there to party."

He remembers a field of 72 starters for the grassfed meet once, many of which would have run a couple of times during the afternoon.

A fair amount of cash changed hands at the meetings, and one of the stories Jack tells is of the secretary/treasurer who had "4000 quid" in one little brown suitcase and race books in another, and who slept with what he thought was the money port as his pillow in the back of his ute overnight.

"He woke up in the morning and discovered he'd been sleeping with the race books," Jack said. "Of course, the money was still there."

There were up to eight or nine bookmakers on the course at times and another story revolves around one who finished the meet with no money and no way of paying for fuel to return home.

"He found a blanket nicely wrapped in plastic so he went round the bar selling raffle tickets in it," Jack recalled. "One bloke recognised it as one he'd won earlier, and the bookie said to him, shut up and don't worry, you're going to win it."

Regarding the beginning of campdrafting 40 years ago, Jack said his father had a great love for grassfed racing but could see its downhill slide underway due, he said, to bureaucratic red tape.

"Dad was a good horseman but he wasn't a drafter," he said.

"He knew how much Sedan Dip meant to the community but knew there was no way it would continue as a sanctioned race meeting.

"They had to find some other reason to exist, and a lot of other volunteers were into campdrafting and grasped the idea of running a draft pretty quickly.

"The arena was built in two days."

The grounds also became home to the North West Pony Club in 1966, and current club member Thea Harrington said it was the fastest growing part of the weekend, hosting 200 youngsters last year.

She said fourth generations were getting involved in the sport and recreation club now.

"I love the stories of the Dalgonally Bracelet, steeped in history, and the emerald jewellery and silver servingware trophies given out, and the family jockey silks that are still in the district," she said. "I also love the story of the federal political representative at the time who overshot the runway when he was landing and almost ended up on the racecourse."

The social media page seeking historic photographs and stories of the club has a video of children swimming in the Cloncurry River on the day, and memories of the amazing food that was produced for patrons.

Jack has vivid memories of the cocktail party his mother hosted after the races, as the president's wife.

"The table was covered with an immense amount of savouries and nibbles that she and others had worked on for months, in the era of kerosene fridges," he said.

"It went for a couple of hours, with an army of women that helped.

"Sometimes I think people remember that more than Dad's contribution - it was a bit of an institution."

He also remembered the difficulties of getting horses back if they broke free at any time, being sited in the middle of a 30,000 acre paddock.

"We lost a couple and got them back a couple of months later," he said.

Jack said the event had survived and become such an institution because people were willing to look forward and find ways to best utilise the resource.