Back when the first Melbourne Cup was being run in 1861, Bagot as a civil engineer and surveyor was busily supervising the transformation of the Melbourne Cricket Ground from a paddock into a magnificent sporting oval. When he came to Flemington he similarly transformed the basic racetrack into a proper racing surface. The two greatest sporting arenas of our city owe a debt of gratitude to ‘The Indefatigable’ R.C. Bagot.
The Betting Ring at Flemington by Carl Kahler, 1889. Source: VRC collection
Bagot always innovated. Racing matters he left to the committee. Practical planning was his forte – improving, building, landscaping, as far as budgets stretched. He created Flemington’s first huge grandstand. Today’s Lawn Stand is on its footprint. He masterminded the Straight Six track. He issued ladies’ tickets to the all-male membership, a clever way to boost attendances, and set the highest standards for the smooth running of race days. Bagot’s successor as Secretary, Henry Byron Moore, was the land developer responsible for ‘Bagotville’. The names of the two principal roads commemorate the early VRC Chairmen, C.B. Fisher and William Leonard. The
4
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software