Our Dad's Story
by Jenny Donoghue
Kenneth George Oakes was the first-born son and second child born on the 23rd May 1901 to Mother, Clara (Neels) Father, William (Willum) John Oakes at Marengo, (Murringo) New South Wales. He had three brothers Alva Cosmos (Casey), Stan and Ron and six sisters; Dorothy, Mabel, Ella, Phyliss, Madge and Mary (Toppy).
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| Kenneth George Oakes as a young man |
He attended Murringo Public School for his entire schooling. He passed his Qualifying Certificate exam in 1915. He was very proud to have been taught by Mr Ernest O’Reilly whose son Bill (Famous Cricketer - Bill 'Tiger' O' Reilly), was a classmate and friend.
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| Ned, Ken & Eric |
1917 - He began work as the telegram boy at Young Post Office. In 1918 The Young Witness (Tuesday, September, 1918) reported he had passed exams and he was going on for further study with the GPO. Later in Sydney he attended night school to attain a higher school certificate plus various courses pertaining to his career in the Post office. Ken eventually completed his postal career as Postmaster at one of the highest graded Post Offices in their system.
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| GPO Sydney Radio Exhibition, 1934 (typical of the type used by Ken in his profession) |
1918 is the first mention I have found of his sprinting abilities. He came second in the 75-yard dash at The Boorowa Hibernian Society annual picnic/sports day. It catered for all sorts of activities from Irish Jigs, Hornpipe and Highland dancing to Tug of war as well as other varied races. Most of these races were handicapped. Dad ran off 10 yards and the winner off 7 yards. Competitors included people from other nearby towns including Junee, Harden, Galong, and Young. (Freeman’s Journal, Thursday April 18, 1918)
1920. Ken won the 100 yards race at Boorowa on St Patrick’s Day and came second in the high jump. (The Burrowa News, Friday, April 2, 1920)
He had now moved to Sydney to work as a telegraphist at the GPO. He lived at a boarding house at 27 Moore Park Road, Moore Park. At the same house were two girls from New Zealand, Florrie and Eileen. He eventually married Eileen Mary Deuchar on the 9th April, 1930. It was an 8-year courtship with long separations so that he could continue running.
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| Ken and Eileen were married at the Melbourne Albert Park Catholic Church, 1930 |
In Sydney Ken joined an Athletic club probably the South Sydney running club. It is noted in The Arrow, Friday, February 23, 1923, that he is listed to represent that club in the 120 yards and the 220 yards with another club member R.R. White, in a challenge match with the Botany and Western Suburbs running clubs.
When he was home on holidays Ken would, it seems always fill in for Marengo. In 1922 Ken played football for the Marengo Football team. He kicked two conversion goals and scored a try in their win against Boorowa. (The Young Witness, Saturday August 2, 1922). Family legend has it he also played for Young as a winger one time in a Maher Cup match. I believe he also played football as a winger with a South Sydney team.
1922. In November he annexed the 100 yards handicap for members of the NSW, AAA from the Australasian Sprint champion Edwin William (Slip) Carr in the smart time of 10 seconds. (The Young Witness Tuesday, November 28, 1922). Incidentally, in the 1924 Olympics, Carr ran 10.7 in his 100m semi final, a brilliant time.
In 1922 he also won the 220-yard Championship for the SSAAC (South Sydney Amateur Athletics Club). The silver cup was presented to him by F. Cook.
He now became a professional runner. Ken, in his later years expressed regret for the decision to turn professional and miss out on a chance to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics in 1924. Ken had also felt, that it would have been so difficult for him to have found the necessary money to get to the Olympics as government funding grants were non-existent at that point of time.
As a point of interest Edwin William (Slip) Carr was the sprinter who represented Australia in Paris. Carr came second in his heat to the eventual winner, Harold Abrahams from Great Britain, in the equal time of 11 seconds. In the Quarter-Finals, Carr came second to Jackson Stolz of the US (who placed second in the final) with a run of 10.9 seconds. In the Semi-Finals Carr, placed fourth though it was in the same time 10.7 seconds, as the second and third place getters. The world record of 10.4 seconds, at this time was held by Charles Paddock of the USA. It was set in 1921. The Olympic Record held by Donald Lippencott also of the USA was 10.6 seconds. It was set in 1912. Abrahams equalled this record three times at this Olympics.
1923 - At the West Wyalong Sports Day, he won the Opening 75 yards Handicap and the 120 yards West Wyalong Gift. Competitors came from surrounding towns such as Leeton, Harden, Marrar and Borree Creek and of course West Wyalong. (The Sydney Sun Sunday January 28, 1923)
It would seem there were more money-making avenues open to him in the professional field. In an article from The Maitland Daily Mercury, Tuesday, February 5,1924, a challenge had been issued by Tom Sampey of Maitland to representatives of Ken Oakes, the speedy Sydney runner. They accepted that sprint challenge.
One of Ken’s representatives was probably his second cousin and another Marengo area (Bendick Murrell) person Horace (Horrie) Harcombe. Horrie and Ken had come to Sydney together and Horrie was his manager/trainer although he also worked as a butcher. In later years Horrie was a well-respected on course bookie at NSW Greyhound Racing events.
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| Horrie Harcombe, Walton Hunt (Amateur Champion) & Ken Oakes |
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| Ken Oakes wearing his winning sash for the State 100 yard Championships, 1924 |
1924 was a big year as reported by The Burrowa News, Friday, April 18, 1924, and The Young Witness, Monday April 14, 1924. Ken won the State 100 yards championships defeating many well-known sprinters including a well-known International Rugby League footballer Harold Holder. This St Patrick’s Day Sports at Liverpool was a joint cycling and athletic event. It was called The Professional Pedestrian Championships of NSW so says Tom Fitzpatrick in an article entitled Back Pedalling on District Cycling, in The Biz (Fairfield, NSW, 1928-1972) Thursday, November 15, 1951. Tom organized the cycling and Bernie Fitzpatrick the athletic part.
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| Trophy case holding Ken's running shoes and winning sash |
We have the cup for his 100 yard championship 2nd April 1926. This trophy was donated by George A Bond & Co Ltd. On the back of this photo written by Ken to Eileen is the message, 'A fair performance caused by a great inspiration 2/4/26'.
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| Ken in the centre |
Once Ken began the professional racing circuit, he then stationed himself for six months at the Sydney GPO and then the next 6 months he worked out of the Melbourne GPO always as a telegraphist using Morse Code to write and send telegrams. He was an active participant in their annual Electric Sparks Fraternity Races held in Sydney at Rushcutters Bay Oval where he was often the winner.
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| Ken winning another Sparks race |
In 1926 at the Boorowa St Patrick’s Day sports day it is reported Ken wins the Hop Step and Jump and the High Jump (The Boorawa News, March 19, 1926.)
Ken came from a very extended family, many of who were athletically talented including Australian champion boxer Billy Grimes.
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| 1926 Melbourne. From the left, Jack Lynch, Trainer of Billy Grimes, (Australian Boxing Champion born in Young), 2nd cousin to both, Ken and Horrie (Michael and MaryAnn Casey were their common great grandparents. Their grandmothers were sisters.) |
1927 - Professionally, Ken competed at the 120 yards Narrandera Gift at Easter 1927 where he is listed as the virtual scratch man on 4 yards (Sporting Globe, Melbourne, Vic, Wednesday April 6, 1927). The prize money as stated in The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral Agricultural and Mining Advocate Thursday April 14, 1927 was £130.
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| Ken and a couple of friendly competitors |
In 1928 he was third in the Wangaratta Gift 130 yards. That was won by a policeman from Bowen, North Queensland, George F. Bowen. (The Sun, February 5, 1928)
1928. Ken also competed at the Stall Gift at Stawell, Victoria.
The Stawell gift organisers reported the following: Entered as K.G Oakes – 61 Kerford Road, Albert Park.
He entered the Stawell Gift 130 yards, the Sprint 75 yards and the Stewards Purse 220 yards.
He finished 3rd in the Gift heat off 7 ¼ yards.
He finished 3rd in the Sprint heat off 5 ¼ yards.
He finished 3rd in the Stewards Purse heat off 10 ½ yards.
Apparently, the eventual winner of the Gift, Lynch Cooper, from the small country town in South Western Victoria had defeated Ken in his heat and so stopped him progressing to the semi-finals and of course the finals. Cooper won the race off a handicap of 8 yards in the time of 11.9375 seconds
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| Nearly 1,000 entries were received for the Stawell Easter Gift in 1928 |
1928 - Ken is listed in The Illawarra Mercury, Friday, 30 November 1928 as one of the greatest professional racers to be running at Ball Paddock Woonona on the South Coast of NSW. The other back markers were Parker, W.P Twomey, (the winner of the 1924 Stawell Gift) and Powning whilst Dad’s friend E.E. Goode is also featured because of his showing at the previous year’s World Championships in Melbourne at the Motordrome.
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| Probably the greatest field of professional runners ever gathered on the South Coast at Ball's Paddock, Woonona, 1928. |
Dad was a consummate competitor and had that necessary winner killer instinct. He was always a keen competitive sportsman. His mantra was firmly if you didn’t win it wasn’t worth competing. This was obvious to me even as a child when he was playing club tennis, golf or bowls. (It had a negative effect on me and resulted in me not wishing to participate seriously in any sport.) Sport was fun only for me. But, not for Ken. He wanted to win. He also believed you needed that little bit of tin (luck). He passed on his knowledge of sprinting by coaching his children for various school races. As well, my brother Bill remembers that, he coached the athletic team at his High School in Maitland. Much to the joy of the brothers.
His granddaughter, Kathryn Periac, a former ACT champion hurdler and former Head Coach of Australia’s Paralympic team firmly believes her love of Athletics was instigated because of the coaching and support she received as a youngster and an adult from Ken. I would never have been an athlete without his guidance and support. If I wasn’t an athlete I would never have gone on to coach or lead National Teams.
Ken also took very seriously the health of the body and the mind. He read widely on all topics pertaining to this including training regimes and the psychology of sports, health foods and the importance of Vitamins. Way before it became the accepted everyday topic it is today, he was very conscious of being healthy and fit.
He continued being a serious-minded sportsman throughout his life playing championship tennis, golf and bowls at club and district levels. Preparation before an event was always important. That meant resting the day before even if that day was an important day for someone else in the family like my Graduation Day. The District Bowls pairs championships the next day took precedence. He did win it too.
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| Ken in action at Lawn Bowls |
Great story. Thanks
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