Gayndah Racecourse
| Gayndah Racecourse | |
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Gayndah Racecourse
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| Location | Fisher Avenue, Gayndah, North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 25°37′42″S 151°35′33″E / 25.6282°S 151.5924°ECoordinates: 25°37′42″S 151°35′33″E / 25.6282°S 151.5924°E |
| Design period | 1840s - 1860s (mid-19th century) |
| Built | c. 1855 |
| Official name: Gayndah Racecourse, Gayndah Race Track | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 12 September 2005 |
| Reference no. | 602514 |
| Significant period |
c. 1855 (fabric) 1868 (historical) 1855-ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | track - horse racing |
 Location of Gayndah Racecourse in Queensland
Location of Gayndah Racecourse in Queensland
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Gayndah Racecourse is a heritage-listed racecourse at Fisher Avenue, Gayndah, North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built c. 1855. It is also known as Gayndah Race Track. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 September 2005.
The Gayndah Racecourse was established in the mid 1850s to replace a track established nearby in 1852. The first Queensland Derby race was held there in 1868 and the course is still in regular use for horse racing.
Europeans in search of grazing land for sheep first explored the Burnett in the early 1840s and the town of Gayndah was founded in 1849 to serve pastoral stations in the district. The site of the town was chosen and named by Maurice O'Connell, then Land Commissioner for the area. Gayndah developed as an administrative centre, having a court house and police station in the 1850s, soon followed a school, post office and bank. It was at one time considered to be a contender for the capital of Queensland when Separation from New South Wales was contemplated. By the late 19th century, cattle had replaced sheep on the surrounding pastoral properties and citrus orchards had been successfully established. From the turn of the century, dairying also played a part in the providing an economic basis for the development of the area.
In 1852, the year that Gayndah was officially gazetted as a town, a public meeting was held at the Burnett Arms in Gayndah to organise the setting up of a track for horse racing. £100 was collected and a suitable area at the edge of town selected. The winning post was set up midway between two hotels, the Burnett Arms and the Corinth Arms, which were about two and a half miles apart. The first race was held on 30 June 1852. It was a three-day event with racing on the first and third days for prizes in excess of £100. This track was used for a few years before the current and more level site nearby replaced it, probably in 1855 or 1856.
A meeting was held at the Royal Hotel, Gayndah in July 1858 to mount a petition to Sir William Denison, Governor of New South Wales (the separation of Queensland did not occur until 1859), to grant the Crown Land on which the track was situated for use as a racecourse on the grounds that the town had not been granted a recreation reserve and there was no other course closer than Ipswich, 230 miles away. There were 65 signatories to the petition, but it did not have an easy passage.
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