Phar Lap

Phar Lap is one of Australia’s best-loved icons.

The story of the gangly foal who became one of the world’s greatest racehorses has captured the hearts of Australians for generations. Bobby, as he was affectionately known, gave hope and joy to many in the grim years of the Depression, winning an incredible 37 of his 51 races. His untimely death brought the nation to a standstill.

Today, Phar Lap continues to attract new generations of visitors to his home at Melbourne Museum. This anniversary edition of Phar Lap: A True Legend marks the occasion of Big Red’s 100th birthday, bringing together memorabilia, letters and a wealth of photographs to celebrate this great horse.

About the Author

Born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, Michael Reason moved to Melbourne after studying History at the University of Tasmania. After a stint working in the financial sector, he happily gained a customer service position at the new Scienceworks Museum at Spotswood. Whilst there, he undertook a Graduate Diploma of Museum Studies at Deakin University, which helped him move in Collection Management work in Science and Technology and Social History Collections. Highlights included working with the 80,000 large format negatives of the Laurie Richards collection, which documented commercial life in Melbourne from the 1950s to the 1970s.

In the 2000s, Michael was able to move across to the Curatorial team; first as a generalist curator and then establishing his own area, which he was able to christen `Leisure and Social Spaces’. His areas of particular interest include post 1900 fashion, film and television production and distribution, festivals and events (such as Moomba, Olympic Games and Melbourne Cup), Australian toys and games and local jewellery design. Michael is also curatorially responsible for the museum’s iconic Phar Lap and related exhibition.