On a frosty Willawarrin morning in July, 1932 Stanley Brabazon Davis saddled up his horse for the long ride to Grafton. Like hundreds of other North Coast residents, Brab as he was generally known, was headed for the official opening of the new Grafton Bridge.
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He had just been paid for his collection of possum skins sold to a buyer for a Sydney hat firm and was intending to buy a souvenir of the day for his mother, Mrs Dan Davis of Bellbrook.
Brab Davis was born in 1911, the second youngest of ten children born to Daniel and Eva Davis nee Cheers of Uralgurra and later Bellbrook. He was the grandson of Henry Davis, one of the early pioneers of the Upper Macleay, who first selected land at Moonebah then at Merriwa (later called Uralgurra) where he built a hotel. The small township of Uralgurra grew up around Davis' Merriwa Hotel with post office, store and various workshops only to fade away in the early 20th Century in favour of nearby Bellbrook.
A race course at Uralgurra however did survive and picnic races were held into the 1920's to benefit such causes as the Repatriation Fund for soldiers (during World War 1) and the Macleay District Hospital. Set in a horseshoe bend of the Macleay River and surrounded by tree-clad hills, the course was one of the most picturesque in the state.
With his father Dan taking an interest in racing and horse breeding, it was only natural that Brab would become a jockey and he rode many of his father's horses to victory, wearing his colours of black jacket with gold horseshoe and gold cap. In August 1928 at one of the most successful race meetings ever on the Upper Macleay, Brab rode the winners of four events including the Uralgurra Handicap on Yvonne.
The opening of the Grafton Bridge, spanning the largest of the northern rivers, was such a significant event that it was opened by the Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs in one of the longest vice-regal visits to the Clarence in its history.
The Bridge was a unique structure in Australia being a two deck structure with the lower deck carrying rail traffic. The Bridge completed the last gap in the interstate unified-gauge railway line linking Sydney and Brisbane & taking over an hour off the journey. One span could be lifted to allow ships to pass.
The souvenir chosen by Brab Davis for his mother at Grafton that day was an authentic looking boomerang decorated with a coloured scene of the new Bridge and the township of Grafton with Australian native animal motifs at either end. It is inscribed "Official Opening of the Clarence River bridge by his excellency The Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs Tuesday July 19th 1932." The boomerang is a unique memento of an important event in North Coast and Australian history.
Stanley Brabazon Davis retired to South West Rocks and passed away in 2003 aged 92 years.