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Phar Lap Collection

Image: Scrapbook - Phar Lap

Source: Museum Victoria

The Melbourne Museum has been the home of Phar Lap, since his mounted hide first went on permanent display in January 1933. He immediately became one of the Museum's most popular exhibits and has continued to draw the fascination of visitors over the decades since, becoming one of the most significant historical icons in any Australian Museum.

The Museum also holds an important collection of over 350 items of racing equipment and memorabilia relating to Phar Lap, including race programmes, winner's sashes, saddles, horseshoes, horse rugs, jockey's silks, a whip and other items collected by his owners and carers during his working life. Since the late 1980s, the Museum has activevly developed the collection to further document the social and historical context of Phar Lap's career and the enduring public interest in the horse since his tragic death at the height of the Great Depression. Included in the later category is an extensive archive of documents and photographs, examples of publicity materials produced by the Museum featuring Phar Lap, and a range of commercial and homemade souvenirs and memorabilia reflecting people's ongoing fascination with his story.

Highlights of the collection include the following:

Phar Lap's mounted hide, taxidermy specimen prepared by Jonas Brothers, New York, in 1932
Catalogue of the Annual New Zealand Thoroughbred Yearling Sales, 24 Jan 1928, at which Phar Lap was sold for 160 guineas
Certificate of Registration of Racehorse, issued for Phar Lap, 3 December 1928
Tommy Woodcock's suitcase, in which the strapper stored equipment & memorabilia relating to his beloved Phar Lap for 50 years, before donating it to Museum Victoria
Harry Telford's tonic book, used during the 1930s when he was trainer and part-owner of Phar Lap
Jockey's silks & cap owned by trainer Harry Telford, used on Phar Lap in 36 races from 1929-1931
Tommy Woodcock's horse brush & whip, used while caring for Phar Lap
Presentation sashes awarded to Phar Lap for his win in the VRC Derby, 2 November 1929, and three other races
Training saddle worn by Phar Lap during trackwork, early 1930s
Framed photograph of Phar Lap winning the 1930 Melbourne Cup, from the family of Harry Telford
Billy Elliot's Phar Lap Saddle used by jockey William Elliot in Phar Lap's final races
Pair of horseshoes for the Agua Caliente Handicap, Mexico, worn by Phar Lap during his final race in March 1932
Horse rug worn by Phar Lap at the time of his death at Menlo Park, California, 5 April 1932
Dozens of sympathy letters sent to Harry Telford by adoring fans and supporters following Phar Lap's death
Scrapbook of newspaper and magazine clippings, compiled between 1930-1990 by Marie Davie, one of the many fans who became a lifelong devotee of Phar Lap.

Items per page: 10 50 (showing 21 - 30) 252 items

Negative - Race Horse Night Raid, Sire of Phar Lap Sire, Timaru, New Zealand, 1932

Black and white copy negative depicting the horse Night Raid, which was the sire (father) of champion race horse Phar Lap. It belonged to the donor's father, Mr Jim Shaw (1908-1992), ...

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Negative - Annual Trentham Horse Sale, New Zealand, 1931

Black and white copy negative depicting the 1931 horse sales, held annually in Trentham, New Zealand. It was from the 1928 sales that Harry Telford purchased Phar Lap. It belonged to t ...

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Book - Helen Townsend, 'Phar Lap', Lansdowne Press, 1983

Book 'Phar Lap' published by Lansdowne Press in 1983 to coincide with the release of the motion picture `Phar Lap'. It was written by Helen Townsend, and was based on the film script by ...

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Cake Tin - Phar Lap, Metal, 1930s

Metal cake tin sold in the 1930s by an unknown Australian manufacture to take advantage of the popularity of the champion race horse Phar Lap.

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Print - Daryl Lindsay, Phar Lap, 1932

Print of an original painting of Phar Lap by local artist Daryl Lindsay. This print was published by Melbourne's Sporting Globe newspaper as a colour supplement after Phar Lap's death i ...

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Poster - Movietone News, Melbourne Cup Special, 1940s

Poster issued by Movietone News to advertise their newsreel showing the running of the Melbourne Cup. In the days before television, these posters would have been displayed at cinemas a ...

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Tobacco Tin - Myona Cigar Company, Phar Lap, 1931-1932

The Phar Lap Tobacco Tin was produced by the Myona Cigar Company of Richmond, Victoria during 1931-1932. The company was only in operation for around 18 months, so examples of its tins ...

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T-Shirt - Phar Lap, Museum Victoria, Pink, 1983

Pink child's souvenir t-shirt is an example of the Phar Lap related merchandise sold in the Museum of Victoria shop in the 1980s.

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Newspaper Cutting - Phar Lap's Career Earnings, 1932

This newspaper cutting, from an unknown newspaper, lists the total career earning for Phar Lap after he won the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap. It is part of a group collected by the donor ...

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First Day Cover - Australian Horse Racing, 10 Oct 1978

This first day cover was issued by Australia Post in 1978 to celebrate the Australian Racing Industry, particularly horses that had won the Melbourne Cup. One of these was the race hors ...

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