Stawell Gift

The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria. As of 2016 the carnival encompasses events for both men and women of all ages and abilities, across distances from 70m to 3200m.[1]

The final of the iconic main race is run on grass over 120 metres up a slight gradient. Competitors are handicapped according to their form, with each competitor "marked" by between 0 m and 10 m or more to theoretically reach the finish line at the same time.[2] This process is administered by the Victorian Athletic League (VAL). Due to the relatively short handicap limit, the class of runners that can potentially win the event is limited compared to other Gifts in Australia.

The winner is, hypothetically, the runner who can best "rise to the occasion" and perform better than their previous form, although the key can often be to perform slightly below their best in lead-up events and thus receive a favourable handicap.

Central Park, Stawell, site of the Stawell Gift, with the historic grandstand in centre frame; the Gift is run diagonally across the oval, finishing to the right of the grandstand near the large tree

History

The Stawell Gift began in 1878 at the end of the gold rush, as the "Easter Gift" of £24 (several thousands in today's dollars) conducted by the Stawell Athletic Club in a program of seven races, most run in multiple heats.[3] It has been raced every year since, except for four years during the Second World War. Originally it was the townspeople putting together an entertainment package to happen over Easter, complete with 'special trains' to the event. Today it is the most prestigious footrace in Australia, with a $40,000AUD first prize. The finals are televised live around Australia.

The event was historically run over 130 yards (118.9 m).[4] In 1973 the race converted to the metric system, and the distance was altered to 120 metres (131.2 yd), essentially an identical distance. Electronic timing was introduced in 1982 thus allowing higher precision in race results.[5]

In 2010 the Gift track was found to be around 3 metres too long, with times much slower than expected during the heats.[6]

In 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic the race was postponed. The Stawell Athletic Club was considering "… options to run the event later in the year".[7]

Format

On Easter Saturday the heats are conducted, with the winner of each heat going through to the semi-finals along with the next best fastest times. On Easter Monday, the six semi-finals are run approximately two hours before the final, with only semi-final winners advancing to the final. Six semi-finals were first run in 1988, before which there were only five semi-finals.

The Gift is run on a 120 m grass track in front of the 100-year-old Stawell Grandstand, and the athletes run in lanes that are separated by lane ropes rather than painted lines.[2]

The idea of the handicap system is that all runners should, theoretically, cross the line at the same time. The handicapper works out what mark or handicap the runner will have according to their previous performances in sprint events. Currently the maximum handicap is 10 metres, although this is occasionally increased to 11.

Each metre in handicap denotes approximately a tenth of a second in time. Race winners are often those that are able to "beat the handicapper", in that they need to perform well enough to qualify for the event and the finals, but below what they are truly capable of, so that they receive a handicap that gives them the best chance of a victory.[2] The handicapping system often ends up pitting local runners against international professionals.

Gambling is allowed in the venue, and there is an extensive bookmaker's compound.

While the Stawell Gift is the feature race, the meeting also includes many other races, with more than sixty events taking place over the three-day meeting.[5] The Women's Gift has run since 1989.[5] In 2015, the Women's Gift had equal prizemoney with the men's for the first time.

Records

Winners

Winners of the Stawell Gift have been:[5]

Year	Runner	From (City/Town, County/State/Territory, Nation)	Handicap (yd or m)	Time (s)
1878	William Millard	Condah, Victoria	3	12.75
1879	E.S. Grose	Creswick, Victoria	6.5	13
1880	C.G. Witney	Brighton, Victoria	7.5	12.7
1881	J. Rodgers	Avoca, Victoria	9	12
1882	A.B. Parkinson	Sale, Victoria	11	12.75
1883	Bobby Kinnear	Dimboola, Victoria	14	12.5
1884	W. Smith	Melbourne, Victoria	7.5	12
1885	W. Mummery	Bowman's Forest, Victoria	10	12.25
1886	W.B Clarke	England	7	11.75
1887	J. Brown	Balmoral, Victoria	12	11.75
1888	Charles Bingham	Fitzroy, Victoria	10.5	11.75
1889	E.S Skinner	United States of America	9	12
1890	J. Midson	Eaglehawk, Victoria	11	11.875
1891	H. Martin	Maryborough, Victoria	13	11.75
1892	A. Heppner	Port Melbourne, Victoria	12	12
1893	E.J. Hough	Mudgee, New South Wales	12.5	11.5
1894	P.J. Breen	Gippsland, Victoria	11	11.75
1895	W.E. Joy	Dunolly, Victoria	5	12.25
1896	R.G. Nesbitt	Adelaide, South Australia	11.5	12.5
1897	George Stuckey	North Melbourne, Victoria	12	12.2
1898	J.S. Lewis	Euroa, Victoria	14	11.8
1899	Norm Clark	Roseberry, South Australia	14.5	11.8
1900	Dave Strickland	Menzies, Western Australia	10	12
1901	E.T. Kenny	Woodend, Victoria	14	12
1902	Alf Tredinnick	Malvern, Victoria	11.5	12.2
1903	H. Dew	Adelaide, South Australia	12	12.O
1904	J.F. Flanagan	East Melbourne, Victoria	12	12.2
1905	C.N. McKenzie	Mount Gambier, South Australia	10.5	12
1906	E.W. Thompson	Abbotsford, Victoria	10	12.2
1907	C.W. Knox	Numurkah, Victoria	12.5	12.4
1908	Chris King	Rutherglen, Victoria	12	11.8
1909	Harold Franklin Rigby	Burnie, Tasmania[8]	11.5	11.8
1910	Tom Dancey	Dirranbandi, Queensland	13	11.6
1911	D.H Devine	Stawell, Victoria	13	11.4
1912	E.E. Carter	Kew, Victoria	11.5	12.2
1913	Ernest George	North Melbourne, Victoria	12.5	12.2
1914	Billy Robinson	Maldon, Victoria	12	11.8
1915	E. Fleming	Elphinstone, Victoria	10	11.4
1916	C.P. Cassidy	South Melbourne, Victoria	13.25	12
1917	F.C Swindells	Moonee Ponds, Victoria	11.75	12.2
1918	A. Roach	Melbourne, Victoria	14	12.6
1919	H.W. Evans	Abbotsford, Victoria	10.5	12.2
1920	A.G. Cashmore	Balliang, Victoria	7	12.4
1921	L.J. Jennings	Parkville, Victoria	10.25	12.4
1922	P.L. Till	Cobden, Victoria	10.5	11.7
1923	J.E. Curran	Stawell, Victoria	9	12
1924	Bill Twomey, Sr.	Stawell, Victoria	8.5	12.1
1925	T. Banner	Carthcart, Victoria	5	12.15625
1926	W.G. Allen	Coburg, Victoria	9.5	12 4/16
1927	T.J. Miles	Bundaberg, Queensland	10	12.0625
1928	Lynch Cooper	Jeparit, Victoria	8	11.9375
1929	Clarrie Hearn	Tocumwal, New South Wales	10	11.9375
1930	R.K. Hodge	Lakes Entrance, Victoria	11.75	11.8125
1931	F.J. Ralph	Richmond, South Australia	9.5	11 14/16
1932	R.L. Barker	Essendon, Victoria	11.75	12 2/16
1933	C.G. Heath	Baileston East, Victoria	11	11 10/16
1934	T.L. Roberts	Mulwala, New South Wales	9.75	11 9/16
1935	M.M. Bishop	Port Pirie, South Australia	7.5	12
1936	Ron McCann	Castlemaine, Victoria	6.5	12 4/16
1937	F.A. Bradley	Coolamon, New South Wales	10	12
1938	Jack Grant	Geelong, Victoria	11.5	11 11/16
1939	L.W. Sprague	Ballarat, Victoria	9.5	11 14/16
1940	A.J. Reid	Port Augusta, South Australia	8.5	12 3/16
1941	Ken Hutton	Devonport, Tasmania	7.25	12 6/16
1942	No race (World War II)
1943	No race (World War II)
1944	No race (World War II)
1945	No race (World War II)
1946	Tommy Deane	Wahring, Victoria	7	11 14/16
1947	Arthur Martin	Ballarat, Victoria	4.5	11 14/16
1948	Tom Brudenall	Ballarat, Victoria	8	12 3/16
1949	J.E. Cann	Broken Hill, New South Wales	8.25	11 15/16
1950	Ken Trewick	Brisbane, Queensland	10	11 15/16
1951	Gerald Hutchinson	Brighton, Victoria	8	11 13/16
1952	Lance Mann	Albury, New South Wales	7.25	11 14/16
1953	Roy Hart	Chelsea, Victoria	5.75	12
1954	Jack Hayes	Rutherglen, Victoria	9	11 8/10
1955	John O'Donnell	Preston, Victoria	8.75	12
1956	Bill Williams	Altona, Victoria	12	11 8/10
1957	Jack Carr	Bacchus Marsh, Victoria	10.5	11 8/10
1958	Malcolm Durant	Ascot Vale, Victoria	8.5	11 8/10
1959	George Treacey	Northcote, Victoria	11.25	11 8/10
1960	Bill McCann	Dimboola, Victoria	6.75	11 8/10
1961	Colin Savage	Nunawading, Victoria	6.25	12 2/10
1962	Neil Beachley	Rosanna, Victoria	8.25	12 1/10
1963	A.J (John) Bell	Moonee Ponds, Victoria	12	12
1964	Noel Hussey	Echuca, Victoria	8.5	12.1
1965	Bruce Cox	Brighton, Victoria	7.5	12
1966	Bill Howard	Wodonga, Victoria	8.75	11.9
1967	Bill Howard	Wodonga, Victoria	5.75	11.6
1968	Ian Miller	Surrey Hills, Victoria	9.75	11.6
1969	Barry McLeod	Braybrook, Victoria	7.75	12
1970	Barry Foley	Ascot Vale, Victoria	11	11.8
1971	Treva McGregor	Templestowe, Victoria	7.25	11.7
1972	Barry Foley	Ascot Vale, Victoria	7.5	11.8
1973#	Bernie Moss	Croydon, Victoria	10.75	12.1
1974	Peter Durham	Ripponlea, Victoria	7.25	12.0
1975	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	Scratch	12.0
1976	Allen Pollock	Heidelberg, Victoria	8.5	12.1
1977	Warren Edmonson	United States of America	1.25	12.0
1978	Steve Proudlock	Gunnedah, New South Wales	8	11.9
1979	Noel McMahon	Ivanhoe, Victoria	8.25	12.0
1980	John Dinan	Viewbank, Victoria	5.5	12.3
1981	George McNeill	Scotland	4	11.9
1982*	Chris Perry	Malvern, Victoria	7	12.19
1983	Dallas O'Brien	Bentleigh, Victoria	6	12.22
1984	Paul Singleton	Jilliby, New South Wales	5	11.95
1985	Paul Young	Essendon, Victoria	10.75	12.07
1986	Glen Chapman	Albury, New South Wales	7	12.01
1987	Russell Elliott	Preston, Victoria	8.25	12.13
1988	Scott Antonitch	Roselands, New South Wales	6	12.28
1989	Simon McIntyre	Wagga Wagga, New South Wales	6	12.14
1990	Dean Capobianco	Kalamunda, Western Australia	2.25	12.29
1991	Steve Brimacombe	Eltham, Victoria	6.75	11.93
1992	Andrew McManus	Essendon, Victoria	7	12.03
1993	Jason Richardson	Caulfield South, Victoria	7.5	11.94
1994	Rod Lewis	Ringwood, Victoria	7.5	12.05
1995	Glenn Crawford	Katamatite, Victoria	6.5	11.79
1996	Steve Hutton	Alberton, South Australia	6	12.26
1997	Daniel Millard	Mount Gambier, South Australia	10.75	11.98
1998	Dale Seers	Edithvale, Victoria	7.75	12.04
1999	Rodney Matthews	Buninyong, Victoria	9.5	11.91
2000	Jarram Pearce	Wodonga, Victoria	8	12.01
2001	Andrew Pym	South Riverview, New South Wales	7.75	11.97
2002	Stuart Uhlmann	Cedar Grove, Queensland	6.75	11.98
2003	Josh Ross	North Lambton, New South Wales	7	11.92
2004	Jason Hunte	Barbados	4.25	12.07
2005	Josh Ross	Gillieston, New South Wales	Scratch	12.36
2006	Adrian Mott	Essendon, Victoria	7.25	11.98
2007	Nathan Allen	Toowoomba, Queensland	5.25	12.35
2008	Sam Jamieson	Williamstown, Victoria	6.00	12.09
2009	Aaron Stubbs	Lismore, New South Wales	7.25	11.87
2010	Tom Burbidge	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	8.75	12.01
2011	Mitchell Williams	Gold Coast, Queensland	6.50	12.18
2012	Matthew Wiltshire	Ballarat, Victoria	8.00	12.22
2013	Andrew Robinson	Launceston, Tasmania	7.25	12.01
2014	Luke Versace	Bayside, Victoria	10.0	12.33
2015	Murray Goodwin	Gold Coast, Queensland	6.5	12.10
2016	Isaac Dunmall	Brisbane, Queensland	6.75	12.17
2017	Matthew Rizzo	Langwarrin, Victoria	7.5	12.10
2018	Jacob Despard	Lalor, Victoria (formerly Tasmanian)	4.5	12.12
2019	Dhruv Rodrigues-Chico	Victoria	7.0	12.151
2020	No race (Coronavirus pandemic)

Notes:
# Converted to metric distances in 1973.
* Commenced electronic timing in 1982.[5]

1878: First winner

The inaugural winner was William J. "Bill" Millard (1855–1939), a farmer from Condah, Victoria,[9] who reputedly trained by chasing kangaroos. Millard, running off 3 yards, won the race when the leading runner, W.J. Lambell, of Birregurra, running off 11 yards,[10] fell two yards before the finish of the race.[11] In 1889, aged 34, he won the 220 yards handicap at Stawell, running off 18 yards; and, at the same meeting, having been run out in the Gift's heats, he came third (off 11 yards) in the consolation race, the 120-yard Jubilee Handicap.[12] Millard married twice, had 22 children, and died in 1939.[13][14] His great-grandson, Daniel Millard, won the Stawell Gift in 1997.[2]

Winners from scratch

Only two people have ever won the men's race running from scratch (0 m handicap):

• Multiple time Malagasy Olympian Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa in 1975. Due to winning from scratch, Ravelomanantsoa also technically holds the fastest ever time of 12.0 seconds.
• Athens 2004 and London 2012 Olympian and multiple Australian 100m and 200m champion Joshua Ross in 2005.[2]

Multiple winners

Three sprinters have won the race more than once:

• Bill Howard (1966, 1967) (the only back-to-back winner);[4]
• Barry Foley (1970, 1972);
• Joshua Ross (2003, 2005).

Stawell Gift Olympians

Four Australian Olympians have won the Stawell Gift:

• Dean Capobianco (1990) – 1992 Olympics, Barcelona & 1996 Olympics, Atlanta
• Steve Brimacombe (1991) – 1996 Olympics, Atlanta
• Andrew McManus (1992) – 2004 Olympics, Athens (Squad only, did not compete)
• Joshua Ross (2003, 2005) – 2004 Olympics, Athens and 2012 Summer Olympics, London

VFL winners

The following Gift winners also played senior VFL football:

• 1897: George Stuckey, Essendon;[15] won in 12.2 seconds, running off a handicap of 12 yards, and was also captain of Essendon's 1897 premiership team.
• 1899: Norman Clark, Carlton;[16] won in 11.8 seconds, running off a handicap of 14½ yards.
• 1900: Dave Strickland, St Kilda,[17] father of Shirley Strickland; won in 12 seconds, running off a handicap of 10 yards.
• 1902: Alf Tredinnick, Melbourne; won in 12.2 seconds, running off 11½ yards.[18]
• 1914: Billy Robinson, Carlton; won in 11.8 seconds, running off 12 yards.[19]
• 1924: Bill Twomey, Sr., Collingwood and Hawthorn,[20] father of Bill Twomey Jr, Pat Twomey, and Mick Twomey, and grandfather of David Twomey; won in 12.1 seconds, running off a handicap of 8½ yards.
• 1929: Clarrie Hearn, Essendon;[21] won in 11 and fifteen sixteenths of a second, running off a handicap of 10 yards.
• 1936: Ron McCann, Collingwood;[22] won in 12 and 4 sixteenths of a second, running off a handicap of 6½ yards.
• 1938: Jack Grant, Geelong and Fitzroy;[23] won in 11 and eleven-sixteenths seconds, running off a handicap of 11½ yards.
• 1952: Lance Mann, Essendon;[24] won in 11 and fourteen-sixteenths seconds, running off a handicap of 7¼ yards.
• 1956: Bill Williams, Richmond;[25] won in 11.8 seconds, running off a handicap of 12 yards.
• 1971: Treva McGregor, Fitzroy; won in 11.7 seconds, running off a handicap of 7¼ yards.

Given the nature of the modern game, it is highly unlikely that any further AFL players would win a Stawell Gift.

Relocation

On a number of occasions there has been discussions about relocating the Stawell Gift for economic reasons.

On 14 February 2001, after much discussion about moving the event to Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, Premier Steve Bracks announced on ABC Local Radio that the Gift would be staying in Stawell and the State Government's $40,000 contribution would continue.[26]

On 14 July 2009, it was announced that Ballarat had offered the Stawell Athletic Club more than $1 million in cash and incentives, including a $20,000 grant to the Stawell Gift Hall of Fame, to relocate the Gift from Central Park in Stawell to Ballarat City Oval for five years. The Club released a statement through Secretary Ian Lawrie stating they were considering the offer but the "decision is, without question, the most difficult ever undertaken by the Committee of the Stawell Athletic Club". He said the club would investigate and exhaust all other options to ensure the survival of Australia's most famous footrace.[27]

On 16 September 2009 Victorian Premier John Brumby announced more than $300,000 State Government funding to keep the Stawell Gift in Stawell.[28]

Womens Gift

• Race was 100m from 1989 to 2005, and over the traditional gift distance of 120m since 2006.

Year	Runner	County/State/Territory	Handicap (m)	Time (s)
1989	Ruth Taylor	South Australia	8.5	11.55
1990	Bernadette Marantelli	Victoria	8.75	11.67
1991	Sue Carr	Victoria	12.75	11.52
1992	Jodie O'Donell	Victoria	13	11.39
1993	Andrea Benton	Victoria	11.5	11.42
1994	Karen Parkes	Victoria	10.5	11.21
1995	Sue Carr	Victoria	13	11.57
1996	Karen Simpson	South Australia	11	11.58
1997	Melissa De Jong	Victoria	4.75	12.05
1998	Narelle Harris	Victoria	9.25	11.70
1999	Vanessa Cowling	South Australia	18.75	11.51
2000	Tamsyn Lewis	Victoria	5	11.70
2001	Jennifer McGibbon	Victoria	4	11.76
2002	Snezana Ivisic	Victoria	9	11.67
2003	Kimberley Meagher	Victoria	14.5	11.15
2004	Rebecca Foster	Victoria	14.75	11.57
2005	Alison Fairweather	New South Wales	13	11.64
2006	Samantha Brailey	Victoria	14.5	14.25
2007	Bronwyn Anderson	Victoria	10.5	14.03
2008	Catherine Brennan	Victoria	4.75	13.88
2009	Trisha Greaves	New South Wales	6	13.60
2010	Jacqueline Watt	Victoria	12.25	14.06
2011	Melissa Howard	Queensland	9.5	13.90
2012	Melissa Breen	Australian Capital Territory	Scratch	13.95
2013	Davina Strauss	New South Wales	10	13.98
2014	Holly Dobbyn	Victoria	11.5	13.13
2015	Grace O'Dwyer	Victoria	10.25	13.40
2016	Talia Martin	Victoria	13	13.70
2017	Liv Ryan	Victoria	11	13.74
2018	Elizabeth Forsyth	Queensland	7	13.69
2019	Alexia Loizou	Victoria	5.75	13.58
2020	No race (Coronavirus pandemic)

Footnotes

1. History at official website, 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2020
2. "Stawell Gift: Top Ten Trivia". Official Website. Stawell Gift 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
3. "Town Talk". Geelong Advertiser. Vic. 27 March 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 24 July 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Bill Howard's Stawell Gift, 1966". theage.com.au. The Age Company Ltd. 15 April 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
5. "Stawell Gift Results". Official Website. Stawell Athletic Club. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
6. Brehaut, David (4 April 2010). "Stawell Gift: track distance error the worst mis-measure". Ballarat: The Courier. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
7. Wales, Sean (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus forces Stawell Gift to be put on hold putting Victorian businesses under unprecedented pressure". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
8. The Stawell Gift: Burnie Man's Fine Win, The North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, (Saturday, 17 April 1909), p.3.
9. Stawell Gift website. "History" (PDF). Retrieved 17 October 2008.
10. Town Talk, The Geelong Advertiser, (Wednesday, 3 April 1878), p.2.
11. Stawell, The Geelong Advertiser, (Tuesday, 23 April 1878), p.2; Notes, The Colac Herald, (Tuesday, 23 April 1878), p.3.
12. The Stawell Athletic Club Sports, The Bendigo Advertiser, (Tuesday, 23 April 1889), p.2.
13. Obituary: Millard, The Horsham Times, (Tuesday, 2 May 1939), p.2;
14. "WON FIRST GIFT". The Argus (28, 918). Melbourne. 29 April 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 27 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
15. AFL Tables: George Stuckey
16. AFL Tables: Norman Clark
17. AFL Tables: Dave Strickland
18. Athletics, Kalgoorlie Western Argus, (Tuesday, 15 April 1902), p.38; AFL Tables: Alf Tredinnick.
19. Stawell Easter Gift, (Broken Hill) Barrier Miner, (Thursday, 16 April 1914), p.2; AFL Tables: Billy Robinson.
20. AFL Tables: Bill Twomey, Sr.
21. AFL Tables: Clarrie Hearn
22. AFL Tables: Ron McCann
23. AFL Tables: Jack Grant
24. AFL Tables: Lance Mann
25. "Tigers of all sports". 3 January 2015.
26. ABC The World Today. "The World Today Archive: Stawell Gift to stay put". Retrieved 14 July 2009.
27. ABC Sport. "Ballarat looks to poach Stawell Gift". Retrieved 14 July 2009.
28. Premier announces funding for Stawell Gift. "Premier announces funding for Stawell Gift". Retrieved 16 September 2009.

References

• Watt, Gary. Stawell Gift Almanac. Legacy Books (2008). Includes the details of every heat, semi-final and final ever run. Available from the Stawell Athletic Club.
• Pandora Internet Archive of the Stawell Gift
• The Sports Factor Transcript Sport and Religion over Easter, 10 April 1998
• Daffey, Paul (27 March 2005). "The ten best footballers at the Stawell Gift". The Sunday Age. Archived from the original on 26 January 2006.
• ABC Asia-Pacific Nexus 6 September 2005 Transcript
• Esthonian Enters for Stawell Gift., The Argus (Australia), Saturday 24 February 1934, Page 18
• Wells (Samuel Garnet Wells (1885-1972)), "Stawell Stalwarts", The Age, (Monday, 14 April 1952), p.12.

External links

Media related to Stawell Gift at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website of the Stawell Gift
• Tourism Victoria Site
• Joshua Ross winning the Gift in 2005 from The Age website.