Fifty years ago, Frank Reys made a scorching burst in the closing stages to win the Melbourne Cup on Gala Supreme. Frank was the first, and remains the only, First Nations jockey to win the Cup.
An Emergency Warning has been issued for parts of Nambeelup, Serpentine and the Shire of Murray in Western Australia. For the latest, search onNOTE to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.In 1973, he became the first Aboriginal jockey to win the nation's greatest race, the Melbourne Cup.He's also the only jockey to have won from barrier 24, widely regarded as the hardest spot to win from.
On the 50th anniversary of his historic win, our family has travelled from around the country to reunite in Melbourne to bring his story back to life.He and his 13 siblings grew up with horses from a young age. Annie was a member of the Stolen Generations, misplaced from her family as a result of racist policies at the time.Frank had always told people he was of Filipino descent, and while I can't ask him why he chose not to disclose his Indigeneity, members of the family have different understandings as to why he did."I think it comes back to him feeling culturally unsafe, and that's not his fault," she says."But I do know he was proud.
But Melbourne was always the goal and the place to be for any serious jockey. So he and his wife made the move.Sitting at my nan's house with my mum and uncle, looking through old photos, stories emerged of the relationships Frank formed with those he worked with during his time in Melbourne."Ray and Dad were a formidable pair," Deb remembers.
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