Just after the turn of the 20th century, a burly gent walked into a plumbing shop in the New South Wales city of Newcastle and ordered a twenty nine and a half pound lead weight. He said that he was a keen fisherman who needed the the exact weight to get the best from his nets. When quizzed some time later about the man involved, all the retailer could recall was that he was a well dressed, large gentleman. He couldn’t swear to a face. Although it could never be proved, the face probably belonged to Jim “Grafter” Kingsley also known as Gentleman Jim and the Big Walrus. Gentleman Jim was a horse trainer and big time ducker and diver who mostly plied his nefarious trade in and around the Hunter Valley, about a hundred kilometers north of Sydney. In the days when cheating was rife in racing, the Big Walrus made it an art form. But for all his cunning, he came unstuck big time in 1903 at a Newcastle meeting. James Kingsley trained a galloper which just happened to carry his nick name, Gentleman Jim. It was a very useful type, no bush champion, but an honest type, which is more than can be said for his trainer. Gentleman Jim, the horse, soon began to rack up a series of impressive wins around the coal field courses. And as he did so, the handicapper whacked more and more weight on him. It didn’t make the slightest bit of difference. The horse rapidly built a rather large fan base. The more weight he was allotted, the more the bookies were prepared to lay him. The punter sees all. The legions began to take advantage of the situation. There is no horse loved more than one who defies the weights and rips wads of cash from the satchels. The rank and file were cleaning up. So too was the Big Walrus. Then came that fateful day at Newcastle. Gentleman Jim had again defied a massive weight to salute. Bookmakers were furious. Punters were ecstatic. The bagmen couldn’t see how it was happening, it defied logic. He’d just won with a massive 10 stone 9 on his back. That sort of impost should have stopped him dead in his tracks. As per usual, the Big Walrus was hot footing it back to the scales for the weigh out, but on this occasion, he was accosted by a livid bookmaker. A bit of a shouting match ensued. Kingsley was 'weigh'-laid for a minute or two, causing him to be late getting to the scales. By the time he’d arrived, the scales Official, a Mister Fisher had ordered Gentleman Jim’s rider Herb Moran onto the machine. Much to the stewards surprise, Herb had come up 29 pounds short. Instead of 10.9 he weighed in at just 8.8. After asking Herb to step down, he then asked the rider of Silk, the second placed horse to step up. Atkins made the weight, as did D. McCarthy who had finished third on Miss Minerva. At this point, Kingley bolted into the room. Realising that the situation was dire, he thumped his foot on the floor and demanded that Herb be reweighed. A shocked Mr. Fisher could only stare at what he saw. The rider tipped the scales at 10.9. There was nothing he could do but to issue correct weight. Bookies were forced to cough up. Mr. Fisher decided to do a bit of investigation. He pushed and shoved the scales about, and in doing so, he notices a minute hole in the floor, through which a thin piece of wire found its way to the underside of the contraption. A junior official James Vickery was sent to take a gander under the building. What he came up with was a grubby little youth named George Lucas who had been cowering in a secluded bolt hole, hoping to avoid detection. He’d failed. All kinds of stuff was found in the dugout, among them, clothing, food, drink, a lamp, screw driver, a brace and bit and…you guessed it, a 29lb weight. For a pound, he was hired by a gent he refused wouldn’t identify, to add the lead to the wire on command. Nobody confessed to anything, but it was plainly obvious that when the Big Walrus stamped his foot, little George hooked her up. Then on command, he slipped it off. Alarm bells went off within the industry. As Gentleman Jim had won with 9.12 the week before at nearby Wallsend, it thought prudent that the investigation should move there. Sure enough, they found another bolt hole under the scales there. It was enough for the police. Jim Kingsley was arrested as was the horses rider Herb Moran and dugout boy George Lucas. All were charged with trying to defraud the Newcastle Jockey Club of 22 quid. Charges were later dropped against the boy, in exchange for evidence against the other two. But it was all to no avail. The NSW Attorney General refused to file charges. With no option but to take the matter into their own hands, the NJC rubbed out James Kingsley for life. That could have been the end for the Walrus, but he seems to have been born with a winning ticket in his pudgy little fist. There was more to the man than skulduggery. During the First World War, he rolled up his sleeves on the home front, and in doing so, earned himself an amnesty, allowing for his past misdemeanors to be written off. With his slate wiped clean, he again took to the horse scene. For years he battled, but he stuck to his trade long enough to see a good one eventually find its way into his stable. His horse High Disdain cracked it in the 1931 G2 Villiers Stake. All the world loves a rogue, especially if he’s larger than life. The 20 stone man possessed a winning personality, wherever he went he attracted people who revelled in his company. So much so that, by the time he passed away in 1935, he was held in great affection. His funeral turn out was enormous. He was ushered from this world by a cortege that stretched the better part of a mile in length.
Top read Cyc. Somehow the Betfair villains of today lack the romance and artistry of what went on way back when.
I've been reading a book about the History of Newmarket for the much maligned dissertation. There are endless tales of skulduggery. From the relatively innocent such as conducting public gallop trials with the good horse carrying significantly more weight then his rival and then cleaning up on the subsequent match race, to the more sinister such as the poisoning of the water trough at the top of Warren Hill. Probably no bad thing that it doesn't go on nowadays (particularly the poisoning bit anyway). It wouldn't surprise me if the gallop rigging goes on though . . . ! Though it must be said in a less scheming manner. I do love the old tales of ingenious ways to beat the system. Hanging weights on the scales from under the floor is bloody marvellous!
Great story Cyc - always enjoy a decent con story. You have to accept that he must have been a seriously clever man, innovative and some.....
lovely article Cyc. I've actually been to Newcastle, NSW, many years ago on a business trip. I remember the town looking "past its best" - is there still much coal mining going on there, or is it all imported these days? My taxi driver reckoned they also exported the very white sand from local beaches to Hawaii but he may have been pulling my leg Certainly have the Hunter Valley as one of the top wine areas worldwide, some of the reds you get from up there are truly fantastic
The locals swear by the place Oddy, but I've always found Newcastle to be a dingy city. Don't like it at all. The Sand export tale is probably a myth. Some went over, but it seems that it went to things like construction and golf courses. Do we import coal? **** no! We are the biggest exporters of the stuff in the world. It's our biggest earner, by a country mile.
I've flown over Newcastle NSW many times, I'm sure on one journey I heard the pilot over the PA system advise passengers to close their eyes...
The Chinese are about the only country in the world with the capital to get these massive investments up and running. Most mines, part owned by China in Australia, are manned by Australians. Mining is a huge generator of jobs. If China doesn't invest, the stuff stays in the ground, which means we miss huge returns in royalties and revenues raised by joint efforts. It's estimated that by 2030, China's plans to build 50,000 new skyscrapers will be complete. They can't do this without our resources. we can't get rich without them. we were one of a handful of countries that continued to grow during the Global Financial Meltdown. We did it on the back of we ripped out of the ground. We are resource rich. In time those massive returns will lead to other industries like manufacturing becoming much stronger.
For such a big country Cyc, Australia should be safe for the future IF you keep finding all this precious ore. It not like you have to move buildings or towns to get to it as not many live out in the bush do they...!!! This country had just passed a £2billion railway line, London to Birmingham, and its going to rip up a lot of beutiful landscape and have to re-house many familys... We dont have industry anymore like the coal mines, steel works etc... A damn shame that to... ps - A really good story to read as well...
Most of our mines are out in the mulga Red. There might not be a living soul for 500k for some of these mines. They still need to be relatively close to the coast though, for shipping. As for our population we have 23 million scattered around the 6th biggest country in the world. So we are virtually empty. There are places here where you can get in your car, do a hundred kph and not see a soul all day. That's out in the middle of nowhere though. But because it's so large, it takes forever to drive anywhere.
Red - that bill is closer £26b I think. Cyc - selling out to the Chinese is only short term though mate, at some point the reserves will run out. Whatever happened to the Japanese takeover ? It seemed they once owned half of Queensland but I think that's changed....
23m ? I think that many people use the District Line every morning. Seriously, fly from Perth to Cairns (6 hours) and there's nothing out there, not a thing until you get to within a few miles of the East Coast....
I'm jealous. I spent the best part of 4 months writing about Stochastic Calculus when I was a student. That sounds so much better.
We have a choice when it comes to mining Grizz, sit on the stuff and struggle, or mine it and continue to prosper. Whatever we earn is reinvested in the future. I can certainly see where you're coming from mate, but we're up to our ears in coal and iron ore. Although the world coal production is estimated to peak in about 20 years, we won't suffer. We have 90 years of known coal reserves on hand. We're now also heavily into gas as well. Population wise, we're very small, but our economy is ranked at about 13. Even if the world goes into a prolonged recession, things have to be built around the globe, power needs to be generated. We supply. The saying says that we're the lucky country. We are.
It's pretty dry actually. Planning and all that. I won't bore you with any further details!!! But I would agree, better than 'Stochastic Calculus'!
