Carlo Catani and the Caulfield Racecourse

The area occupied by the Caulfield Racecourse, operated by the Victorian Amateur Turf Club (VATC) (1), has been the subject of on-going disputes regarding public access to the land for well over 120 years. The land had been used for racing since 1859 (2) and that same year Trustees were appointed to the site, which had been set aside for racing and other purposes of public recreation.  

Trustees appointed to the Caulfield Racecourse, 1859.

Victoria Government Gazette April 5, 1859, p. 660.  https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1859/V/general/50.pdf 

The multiple uses of this land were confirmed in 1879 when the land was permanently reserved from sale as a site for Racing, Recreation and Public Park Purposes.

Gazetting of the land for Racing, Recreation and a Public Park, 1879.

Victoria Government Gazette, p. 2185 https://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1879/V/general/86.pdf

This post is not a detailed history of the alienation of this public land by a private organisation but these three excerpts from the newspapers tell the story. 

From The Argus of January 18, 1906  - Caulfield Racecourse - Access for Public and Perambulators - 

Last night a number of residents of Glenhuntly waited on the Caulfield Council, and asked that a gateway, with a swing bar, be placed on the Caulfield racecourse, at the junction of Neerim-road and Queen's avenue, in order to give better access to the railway station, and also, that perambulators would be able to pass through. Mr Devine, who acted as spokesman to the deputation, said that the residents of Glenhuntly had no means of going into the racecourse with perambulators. They were told the racecourse was the property of the people, and yet they were not allowed to go through the gate.

Councillor Lloyd said that he and the mayor and Councillor Wood had waited on the committee of the V.A.T.C, and they had been informed by that body that under no consideration would they open the gate as requested by the deputation, as it was dangerous. The club pointed out it was a more direct route to the station along Queen's avenue than by the way proposed (3). 

A motion at the Council meeting that the VATC be asked to put a turnstile at the location, was carried,  however it was not unanimous as Councillor Lempriere said the V.A.T.C. had spent £43,000 on the course, and had the right to say that the racecourse should be conducted as they thought fit (4).  He apparently didn't understand the concept of public access to public land, or care about women taking their babies out for a walk. 

From The Age, November 4, 1911 -  The Caulfield Racecourse - Original Trust Conditions Evaded - Public Reserve Annexed - 

The revival of the movement to free Caulfield from the associations of the racecourse in that district has led to an investigation of the conditions under which the V.A.T.C. holds the park lands used by the club for racing. It has also led to a resuscitation of local organisations interested in the development of the district, and the transformation of its civic utilities and transit facilities on modern lines. The result of the investigation shows: - 1. That the V.A.T.C. has been permitted by the inertia of the Government and the negligence of certain local governing bodies to acquire a relationship to the Caulfield racecourse, recreation ground and public park which violates both letter and spirit of the Crown grant under which the land was set aside. 2. That were the conditions of the law complied with the V.A.T.C. would be compelled to leave the district, and spend some of its huge reserve funds in the acquisition of another racecourse elsewhere. The land at Caulfield now regarded by most people as the property of the V.A.T.C. committee does not belong to that body at all. It really belongs to the people, whose interests are supposed to be represented by a body of trustees, in whom the Crown has vested the control, subject to the right of the Executive Council to annul, modify or repeal any of those trustees acts........At that time [of the original agreement] the V.A.T.C. was not what it is to-day, and very little fear was entertained that the fifteen days' occupancy would within 23 years be converted into a pseudo-proprietorial interest, or that its influence on the Government of the day and the municipal institutions would be so powerful as to almost ignore the "public recreation ground and public park" character of the reserve (5).

From The Age, October 25, 1913 - Caulfield Racecourse - Serious Social Menace - Filching a Public Reserve -
The few individuals who have laid marauding hands on public property, who have deliberately filched a public recreation ground, have not only done a grave wrong to the district in monopolising public lands, but they have become a downright nuisance.

The article continues -  When the V.A.T.C. was established, over 40 years ago, it was an association of amateur sportsmen who held races, at which they ran their own horses, and rode, jumped, and raced with one another for amusement. The land at that time was thought to be a long way from the city, there was no railway, the scrubby area liable to floods had no particular value; nobody dreamed that the grant of a user of the ground to a small body of horsey enthusiasts would culminate in the creation of a racing proprietary, conducting not amateur races, but the ordinary game of swindling, roping, and sharping that has characterised the turf since the unlucky Charles I gave the first cup for competition on Newmarket Heath. After the "amateurs" had had the use of the land for some years - the public having free access to the place, for it had not been fenced in - the area was dedicated to the public in 1888 as "a racecourse" for fifteen days in the year, and as a "public recreation ground and public park" for the remainder of the year. The prime object of the reservation was to create a public park and recreation ground, portions of which could be used only on certain days by the Victoria Amateur Turf Club for racing purposes. At all other times the course was to be absolutely free to the public.

There is no need to point out how the powers of the V.A.T.C. have extended until they have established virtual ownership of a public recreation ground. Not withstanding the fifteen days as the limit of the club's occupancy, it fenced off a large area for lawn and stands, betting ring, bird cage and saddling paddock, and forbade the public to trespass on these illegally acquired reserves on pain of expulsion. The area so absorbed in defiance of the original grant is being constantly extended. Land is set apart for training tracks. While training is going on the public cannot use the training ground, which is necessarily an extensive territory. The club charges fees for training horses, and imposes regulations on jockeys and trainers using the course that would be considered harsh in the German army. Some of the oldest stagers of the Heath have been brought before the V.A.T.C. committee and fined for offences such as crossing the course on horseback during training hours. Fancy fining a member of the public for going on to public land! What kind of a public spirit is it that calmly yields to such treatment? What influences were at work that bulldozed local bodies and progress associations, and made them submissive tools of the V.A.T.C. in respect of action which under any Government jealous of public rights would have led to prosecution, and in England would have aroused one of those stirring and historic demonstrations against the local land grabber for the maintenance of the right of way. (6).

How does Carlo Catani fit into this story? In 1910, at the request of the Caulfield Council, the  Minister for Lands directed Carlo, who is an expert in designing parks and gardens (7), to report on the Caulfield Racecourse and the issue of public access. This is his report, as published in The Herald, March 17, 1910 - Caulfield Racecourse - Mr Catani's Report - Interesting Recommendations.

"Having examined the Caulfield racecourse and heard the requirements of the Caulfield Council, the trustees, and the residents, I am of the opinion that the reserve cannot be turned into a general recreation ground without impairing its efficiency as a racecourse. So many tracks are required for schooling horses, and the number of horses availing themselves of the reserve is so great, that practically the whole of the reserve is fully utilised, with the exception of the central portion, which includes the lake. This area is fairly large, and could be considerably improved, but owing to the impossibility of planting it with large, shady trees, or erecting thereon a roomy pavilion, the required summer shade will always be wanting, and the place cannot be made into a proper summer resort for the ratepayers. But if kept absolutely free from horse traffic, it would provide a very useful recreation ground for 10 months of the year. I think, however, that a good plantation of tree or a shelter shed, or both, could be provided at the southern end of the reserve. At the northern end the area in front of the public stand is fairly free from intrusion from horses, and could be availed of with a little improvement for the recreation of residents.

The improvements suggested are as follow: -
"(1) The deepening of the lake and the using of the excavated material to level the depressions formed by the promontories and mounds.
"(2) Facing in the margin of the lake with stone, forming little points, bluff, etc., so that the subsidence of the water within the lake in summer time would not mean a reduction of the area of the lake, etc.
"(3) Forming paths, draining, and gravelling them, the path round the lake being the main feature, and the area between the path and the rocks on the water's edge being covered with buffalo grass.
"(4) Formation of land for sports and gatherings.
"(5) Water supply for grass, and stand pipes for drinking taps for the public.
"(6) Formation of flowering beds; also plantation of flowering shrubs, so as to maintain a succession of blooms.

"The financial arrangement, at present arrived at, is that the club should supply the necessary funds for the improvements at the rate of L500 per annum for five years, and that the trustees should do the necessary works and keep them in order. It seemed, however, that it would be in the interests
of all parties to effect substantial improvements at once, so as to have the place made sightly and available for recreation purposes, and to this end I would suggest that the club be requested to advance at once L1125, and to pay in the future on the reduced contribution of L275 per annum. The total
would be the same at the end of five years. If the proposal were adopted I would suggest that the following be carried out at once:—
1. Deepening lake and filling depressions — L350.
2. Facing margin of lake with stone — L300.
3. Forming paths, gravelling, and planting buffalo grass— L250.
4. Forming and planting lawn — L75.
5. Water supply and seats— L100.
6. Clearing and planting south end — L50.
Total outlay — L1125. (8). 

In spite of these clear suggestions from Carlo the VATC decided they would rather spend £500 per annum for five years (9). In December 1911, the Trustees of the land wrote to the Caulfield Council  that it was proposed to carry out, as far as practicable, the scheme propounded by Mr. Catani to beautify the lake, and form the surrounding paths. In 1910, £390 6s 7d., had been expended on improvements, and in 1911, £359 19s 10d. (10).  However, four years later, in July 1914 it was reported that the trustees were endeavouring to carry out Carlo's scheme of improvements (11).  By then, of course, the project should have been nearly complete. The reality was that the VATC simply didn't care about improving public access and public amenities for the local people, even with pressure from community groups. In September 1914, for instance -
The Glenhuntly branch of the A.N.A. is strongly in accord with the motion carried on August 14 by the Caulfield City Progress Association regarding the encroachments on the rights of the public by the trustees of the Caulfield Recreation Reserve, Public Park and Racecourse, and further, the branch desires to support the request to the Minister of Lands asking for an increase in the number of trustees by the election of three public spirited citizens who reside in immediate vicinity of the reserve.(12)

In 1922, due to the demand  for greater public use of the racecourse, the Minister for Lands decided that 10 acres to be permanently reserved on the Neerim road side for use as a public park and gardens. The high fence at present enclosing this area will be removed and re-erected on a line to be defined by the Minister, adjoining the racecourse. The new outer fence adjoining the public road will be sufficient only to protect the hedges and ornamental shrubs (13). This is what is now called Glenhuntly Park (14). At the same time, another four acres was also set aside for recreation. The areas are both shown in the map below.

14 acres of the racecourse grounds were turned over to public use in 1922

The Argus, October 20, 1922 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1849870

Fast forward 100 or so years and what has changed? A 2014 Auditor's General report which examined the effectiveness of the management of the reserve by the trustees found that conflicts of interest have not been adequately managed and preference has been afforded to racing interests with insufficient attention given to use of the reserve for recreational pursuits and as a public park (15). 

In April 2021, a glowing press release from Andrews Labor Government announced that they had launched a plan to transform the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve into a people-friendly community recreation space....Over the next 15 years the reserve will become an increasingly accessible and activated space, supporting diverse uses and events. Access into all reserve areas will be improved and parts of the reserve that currently are not accessible will be opened to the public (16). It appears that  progress still moves at a glacial pace when it comes to the public's right to access their own land on the Caulfield Racecourse site. Children who were just starting school in 2021, can look forward to better access to the Reserve in 2036, when they will be half way through University. 

Trove list - I have created a short list of articles on Carlo's report and public access issues to the Caulfield Racecourse. Access the list here.

Footnotes

(1) Now called the Melbourne Racing Club https://mrc.racing.com/our-club/history
(2) Murray, John R and Wells, John C From sand, swamp and heath...a history of Caulfield (City of Caulfield, 1980), p. 170.
(3) The Argus, January 18, 1906, see here.
(4) Ibid
(5) The Age, November 4, 1911, see here.

(6) The Age, October 25, 1913, see here.

(7) The Argus, March 18, 1910, see here. 

(8) The Herald, March 17, 1910, see here.

(9) Brighton Southern Cross, October 29, 1910, see here.

(10) Brighton Southern Cross, December 9, 1911, see here.

(11) Oakleigh and Caulfield Times, July 25, 1914, see here.

(12) Malvern Courier, September 4, 1914, see here.

(13) The Argus, October 20, 1922, see here. 

(14) For an update of what is happening around the area - City of Glen Eira Caulfield Major Activity Centre Structure Plan, September 2022. Chapter 3.4 Open Space, Public Realm and Landscape https://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/media/files/Caulfield-Major-Activity-Centre-Structure-Plan.pdf

(15) Doyle, John  - Auditor's General report - Management and Oversight of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. Tabled: 17 September 2014, see here.  

(16) Press report - https://www.lilydambrosio.com.au/media-releases/ambitious-strategy-to-transform-caulfield-reserve/