By Christine Leonard

For 180 years horses played a role in my Wall ancestors’ lives, starting with my great-great-grandfather,  who as an 18-year-old groomsman, was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1835. William Wall’s son,  Randolph (my great-grandfather’s brother), settled with his wife Margaret near Clermont in 1908. They raised seven sons, losing two in accidents associated with horses, Douglas and Rupert.  

In 1919, 13-year-old Douglas was rounding up brumbies. Deep cracks often zigzag across the pancake dry trodden earth. Douglas’ horse caught its hoof in one such crack causing them to tumble. The local paper ran a story ‘A Sad Week In Clermont’. An extract reads:  

Rupert, 31 years of age and an experienced rider in the district races, was leading some horses just  broken-in through a rail-yard. This extract described the incident:  

Despite the family’s loss, Wall descendants continued in the tradition of riding and competing on horses.