Congratulations go out to Murray Goodwin and Grace O’Dwyer for their wins at Stawell. Greg Tangey submitted this thought-provoking look at the clash of professional and amateur athletics and administrators who seemed more obsessed with power and control than the good of their sports
The Stawell Gift: Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot – the glory days of the Stawell Gift
April 8, 2015 by 2 Comments
Stawell Gift: I won it for Dad
April 7, 2015 by 6 Comments
Chris Bracher, a regular visitor to the Stawell Gift, did not attend this year. He was a little underwhelmed generally – until 15 year old Grace O’Dwyer (from the famous O’Dwyer family) won the women’s Gift. Read why it was such a heartfelt moment for Chris.
Athletics: Stawell Gift Audio
April 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Australia’s richest race is now equally as profitable for female athletes, as it is for the men. As if the athletics gods sought to mark this step-forward in sporting equality, the youngest athlete in the field won. 16-year-old Victorian, Grace O’Dwyer, ran through the famous gates first to take home $40k. Queenslander Murray Goodwin won the men’s event in 12.10 seconds. With 134-years of history, the race is daring you to listen without goose-bumps.
The Cokum Gift: a local sporting institution
April 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Well, you learn something every day. Clearly, the Cokum Gift has not had the publicity it deserves. What a classis! A 200+ sprint around a dam, this is no event for the gentle souls of Olympic Park, or even Stawell. [We need a runner from the Almanac stable – Ed]
The Gift of Stawell
April 4, 2015 by 17 Comments
The on and off-track action at Stawell is well and truly underway for another Easter. In this unforgettable and moving memoir, Tess Pryor remembers Easter and Stawell Gifts past and her dad, George. Beautiful.
The Stawell Gift
April 2, 2013 by 7 Comments
Luke Reynolds advises all Knackers to put the Stawell Gift on their bucket list.
The Other Third
November 19, 2012 by 7 Comments
It was the usual horrible slice off the tee. I heard and felt the “whick!” as the club made contact with the little white misery ball. A good golf shot is more of a “whack!” sound. To be honest I’m just happy to get past the Ladies’ tee when leaving the first, but my head [Read more]
Rain, Hail and Winning
April 11, 2012 by 21 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell I’m here again, sitting in my deck chair in the shade of a gnarly old gum tree. The twisted and tortured limbs make it look a bit crotchety. My view is across the Lake Fyans road and the Stawell racecourse to the sleepy Grampians on the horizon. I’m staring across the [Read more]
Stawell Dreaming
April 19, 2011 by 13 Comments
Something is stirring. It might be because the leaves are fading to nothing in the trees, it might be the chill that greets me each morning as I open the front door and toss the tea leaves onto the camellias, or it might be something from within; something that won’t go away. About now the [Read more]
Stawell: The Gift that keeps on giving
April 7, 2010 by 11 Comments
by Damian O’Donnell A boy, perhaps sixteen years old, works the pedals of his bicycle as he struggles with the blustery wind that is blowing across his right shoulder. It threatens on several occasions to blow him off the bitumen. The undulating road carves its way through the tough dry country of north western Victoria. [Read more]
Stawell Gift: The Call of Stawell
April 6, 2010 by 5 Comments
by Rod Oaten As it turned out I was very happy I didn’t go to the Fish Bowl behind Spencer Street railway station for the Don’s game against a team called Fremantle. I even had a free ticket but no one in their right mind would want to see a game against a corporate team [Read more]
Easter at Stawell
March 14, 2010 by 14 Comments
Some things just ARE. There is no preamble, no surge of anticipation. It’s a bit like sitting around the dinner table with your family. You just do it. You do it because that’s what happens at night when the day’s activities and tasks are mostly done. You sit, eat and talk. You also do it [Read more]
Stawell Gift: Why it’s madness to even consider shifting the Gift
July 17, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Damian O’Donnell The Victorian Premier, John Brumby, has finally come out and guaranteed that the Stawell Gift will stay in Stawell. Why it was the Premier who made this announcement is puzzling. I would have thought that the Sports Minister, James Merlino, would have been responsible. But this is just one puzzling thing in [Read more]
How D.C. McGillivray bought the farm
April 26, 2009 by 1 Comment
by Pamela Sherpa Running was an integral part of life when my grandfather D.C (David Crump) McGillivray was a boy. Chores were done morning and afternoon and running to and from school was the norm. Not surprisingly, like many of his time, D.C. discovered his athletic talents and developed into a decent all-round sportsman. He relished competition and adhered to the philosophy [Read more]
Recent Comments