There was a palpable air of excitement around Melbourne Museum< Australia, as people queued and tv crews jostled at the starting gate of the revamped Phar Lap display.
The exhibit was officially opened by Victoria’s Minister for Racing, Hon. Rob Hulls, with speeches by Museum Victoria’s Director, Dr. Patrick Greene, and Michael Houlihan, Te Papa’s Chief Executive. Michael’s speech, filled with racing analogies, had the crowd laughing but thinking about New Zealand’s significant contribution (in terms of bloodlines) to Australian racing history. Melbourne Museum’s manager Brett Dunlop did a fine job of keeping proceedings trotting along until the final reveal.
Sorry I don’t have better pictures – the lights were all geared for the cameras! The hide of Phar Lap is in a case directly behind the skeleton (so they are nose to tail). BUT I do have better photos of the morning tea spread – all Phar Lap-oriented, of course!
Now the heart is in Canberra at the National Museum of Australia and is far too fragile to travel but Melbourne Museum made sure that it was remembered.
Phar Lap’s skeleton will be on display at Melbourne Museum until the end of January 2011 and will be back on display at Te Papa in his home “stable” in March.Phar Lap
that skeleton display always gives me a very strange feeling… i dont really know why.
Thank you very much, Jane, for the response. I will check out that link. Knowing that someone in my family was somewhat involved with Phar Lap would be such an honor…thanks again. Marcia
Thanks for the post Marcia.
Your best bet would be to contact Melbourne Museum as they hold a lot of Phar Lap ephemera. Here is the link to their online research request form – http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/ask-us-a-question/general-research/.
Good luck!
I am looking for factual info about Phar lap racing in the USA. My father, Samuel Silverman, told me this….Davis (owner) brought Phar lap to USA to race and my father then met them as Davis was a relative. My dad was 16 at the time and told me that he was invited to return to Australia with them when his racing was finished here…although the horse’s death was to come. My father was from Providence, Rhode Island, and was with a stable (somewhere), having horses of his own. I am trying to find out if this story he told me was,in fact, true. It had been mentioned a lot. If I should be addressing this elsewhere, I would like to know. Marcia Silverman Pella.