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Rene Shadbolt

René Shadbolt led the only New Zealand contingent to the Spanish Civil War. She and fellow nurse, Isobel Dodds, cared for wounded soldiers, particularly those from the International Brigades, from July 1937 to November 1938.

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Today in History

4 November

1930 Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup

Ridden by Jimmy Pike, the New Zealand-bred (but Australian-owned) wonder-horse beat Second Wind by two lengths to claim one of his greatest victories.

The Melbourne Cup is the pinnacle of thoroughbred racing in Australasia. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious ‘two-mile’ handicap in the world. Having finished third in 1929, Phar Lap started as the shortest price favourite in the history of the race at odds of 8-11 ($1.87). Amazingly, he won on all four days of the Flemington Spring Carnival. He followed up his 1930 victory with an 8th placing in 1931, carrying a crushing 68.5 kg.

Other horses have won multiple Melbourne Cups but few have eclipsed Phar Lap in Cup folklore. Standing at an impressive 17 hands, he combined stamina with speed. ‘Big Red’, as he was known, has been the centre of a trans-Tasman tug-of-war as far as bragging rights are concerned. Born in 1926 at Alexander Roberts' Seadown Stud, near Timaru, he raced in Australia, where he became the darling of the crowds during the Great Depression. Between the autumn of 1930 and April 1932 Phar Lap won 33 out of 35 races.

The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861. Martini Henry became the first New Zealand-bred horse to win the race in 1883. As of 2008, 41 New Zealand-bred horses have claimed victory in the great race. Other notable Kiwi winners include Carbine, who carried a whopping 66.5kg in beating 38 opponents in 1890. This feat remains a record for both the weight carried by the winner and the number in the field. The dramatic last-to-first win by Kiwi in 1983 and the victory by the gigantic mare Empire Rose in 1988 have helped to ensure that 'the race that stops a nation’ remains just as significant in New Zealand as it is in Australia.