South Beach Horse Exercise Area

Child Places

• 27013 Wyola Wreck and Barge (Remains)
• 17006 C. Y. O’Connor Statue
• 27013 Wyola Wreck and Barge (Remains)

Statement of Significance

The beach remains an important part of the natural coastline surrounding Cockburn Sound.
This particular stretch of beach has many associations with the horse racing community and represents a continuous link with the past. The beach is still used as a horse beach as horses from Randwick Stables are still walked to the beach along the same routes they have taken since the 1920s.
The memorials were erected to commemorate the historical significance of South Beach and to emphasise the links with C. Y. O’Connor and the horse racing industry.
The beach is a representative of a unique aspect of the history of the Cockburn and Fremantle area.

Physical Description

South Beach is a managed coastal landscape of tracks, parks, beach facilities, groynes, public art, fenced and unfenced tracks, dune vegetation and re-vegetation, and a beach with archaeological remains. It was the site of the first official horse race in WA in October 1833 and has been used for exercise and training of horses, both recreational and sporting, in particular horse racing from that time to the present
The Beach is the site of two monuments, one to C. Y. O’Connor and the other to horses. The horse monument is situated in front of old South Fremantle Power Station, and depicts seven riders on seven horses. The C. Y. O’Connor monument is situated in the ocean and depicts O’Connor on a horse.

History

South Beach is a well used public beach marked by two bronze monuments depicting the connections between the beach and the horse racing/training industry (artist Anne Neil) and C. Y. O’Connor’s final ride and suicide site (artist Tony Jones). The beach was first used as a horse racing ‘track’ on 3 October 1833 only four years after the foundation of the Swan River Colony. The contestants in the race were imported Timor Ponies. The field of seven raced twice around a half mile course for a purse of five sovereigns.
On 10 March 1902 C. Y. O’Connor rode into the water off South Beach and shot himself.
In World War I the 10th Light Horse Group was camped at Woodman Point. They trained on the beach from Woodman Point to Robb Jetty.
The following memories of South Beach were written by Jimmy Banks a horse trainer that has lived in the Cockburn or South Fremantle district for many decades:
My memory of South Beach goes back to the early 1930s. South Beach at this time was the most popular and safest beach for children in the metropolitan area. Summer time saw the beach full with young families enjoying a long stretch of white sand, grassed areas large shady trees and a shallow beach for children to safely swim. It also had, unique from other local beaches, a shark proof swimming area. The shark proof net ran from alongside the jetty and enclosed a large area that was well lit at night. I learned to swim by dog paddling around it.
There was a railway station there and loads of people would arrive by train to enjoy a day’s swimming and on hot nights to enjoy the benefits of a sea breeze. It was also connected to East Fremantle by tram. A big attraction was the carnival atmosphere with side shows, merry-go-rounds and various other amusements. There was a two storey wooden structure called a hydrodome where cool drinks, lollies, ice-creams and snacks could be bought. It also contained change rooms and dances were held regularly.
The railway station provided the racing people and their horses a means of transport to the race meetings. The horses were loaded and taken to both metropolitan and country racecourses. The station held great fascination for me, as I was horse mad. The Irish Police Sergeant was always chasing my mates and I away, and many a time I felt his big hand giving me a good smack on my bottom, but it didn’t deter us as we were back as soon as the coast was clear.
Not far from the beach the horses that pulled Manford’s lorries were stabled and on Sundays we boys were privileged to take these gentle giants to South beach for a swim. Racehorse trainers in the Fremantle district used South Beach as a great working facility. Horses from stables in Fremantle, White Gum Valley, East Fremantle, Hamilton Hill and South Fremantle were regularly worked there with excellent results. From James Rocks to Robb Jetty was a straight 6.5-7 furlong and if the tide was out the horses could gallop four to five abreast (of course this was before the building of the South Fremantle Power Station Place, Record Number 75). After they were worked the horses were given a quick dip in the ocean before returning home, of course the horses were walked to and from the beach as floats were nonexistent in those days.
Further history recalled about South Beach includes the recollection that there were a number of pensioners living near the beach in roughly built shacks. The shacks were built from material located at the tip and the people relied on ground water from wells. The shacks were located at the south end of the beach near the old smelters and hence the nick name Smelters Camp. People from outside the district that came to the beach included people from the goldfields that made South Beach their annual holiday destination to stay at boarding houses close to the beach. The Midland Railway Workshop also held their annual picnic at South Beach.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.