Plans for fitting honour for First Nations jockey Frank Reys

By Jordan Gerrans

There is a renewed push for a statue to be erected in Far North Queensland to honour the extraordinary life and contribution of trailblazing First Nations jockey Frank Reys.

The late Reys was born-and-raised around the Cairns area and was a son to a Djirrbal mother and Filipino father.

As Racing Queensland commences its new Racing For Reconciliation series, the history-making career of Reys is a fitting way to kick-off the new project.

The revered Reys holds the title of being the only First Nations jockey to lift the famous Melbourne Cup, doing so aboard Gala Supreme in 1973.

The 2023 edition of the Melbourne Cup, which was won by Queensland winter carnival hero Without A Fight, marked half a century since Reys saluted in the race that stops a nation.

As Reys grabbed his greatest achievement in the saddle in Victoria, that is where much of his immediate family has remained following his death in 1984 at age 53 following a cancer battle.

He still has many extended family members living in FNQ, including a brother and sister as well as his nephew Lawrence.

Lawrence calls Aloomba home – which is just south of Cairns - and is entrenched in the racing industry after preparing his own team of gallopers for a decade or so.

To this day, Lawrence says his surname is regularly recognised by people in the area due to his famous uncle’s deeds in the saddle.

“For up here, it was a big thing,” Lawrence said.

“Back in those days, Cairns was a little township and everybody knew everybody whereas now it is big and diverse.

“All the people in Cairns, they looked up to Frank. Our family’s name is regarded as high up in Cairns because of Frank.

“I hope there would be another Melbourne Cup winner from country Queensland one day but it would be very hard to do.”

In his earliest days as an apprentice jockey, Frank rode at tracks such as Gordonvale and Cairns.

He was apprenticed to local trainer Alfred Baker, whose family are still involved in the caper to this day with Ralph Baker preparing a small team at Gordonvale.

As Frank’s reputation in the saddle developed, he moved on to bigger racing jurisdictions and competed in Brisbane and Sydney before making his way to Victoria.

While Frank's life is headlined by his Melbourne Cup triumph, he consistently rode winners across the country throughout his career. 

Cannon Park in Cairns is where Frank cut his teeth as a hoop and the Cairns Jockey Club is advancing plans to build a statue in his honour at their facility.

CJC General Manager Cameron Riches – who is also the former president of the Gordonvale Turf Club - has discussed the plans with his club’s committee as well as the Cairns Regional Council. 

“We are in conversations with the local council at the minute as they are looking to honour the life of Frank Reys and his achievements,” Riches said.

“We are pushing for a statue to be built at Cannon Park in his honour.

“He deserves a statue. He is a legend of the north.

“He is like royalty with what he achieved, much like what Glen Boss and Damien Oliver have done in recent years.”

It was aboard Gala Supreme for trainer Ray Hutchins that Frank wrote his name into the record books and created history for First Nations people of Australia.

All these years on, Frank’s achievements are annually celebrated by First Nations communities when the Melbourne Cup rolls around.

But, back in 1973 and throughout his career in the racing industry, it was not widely known that Frank was a Djirrbal man.

Frank’s mother, Annie Hunter, was a member of the Stolen Generations and displaced from her family.

During the peak of his riding career, Frank was more so known of his Filipino heritage and did not speak publicly about his mother’s side of the family.

It has been reported that Frank did not disclose his Aboriginality due to the trauma from his mother’s upbringing.

It has also been reported he felt culturally unsafe to do so with Frank living in a different Australia compared to the world a First Nations jockey would face today.

Despite not speaking about his mother’s family group during his Melbourne Cup heyday, the Reys clan say that Frank was proud of his First Nations upbringing.

“It was pretty hard for him to start off with,” Lawrence said.

“It was monumental what he achieved and do what he did.”

Frank’s youngest daughter Shelley Reys is regarded as a fierce leader in the reconciliation movement. 

Former hoop Arthur Lister shared a jockey’s room with Frank in his early days in Brisbane and regularly rode track work with him side-by-side at Deagon.

The now-retired Lister is best known for winning the Doomben Cup on Winfreux 1966 as well as being a triple Brisbane premiership-winner.

Lister watched on with pride as his mate Frank rode Gala Supreme to victory in the Herbert Power Stakes in the spring of 1973 before finishing second in the Caulfield Cup.

It was then on to Flemington and the 3200 metre Cup.

“He knew the horse well and rode him most of the time, he would ride him work every morning,” Lister said.

Frank created history as the only First Nations rider to win the Melbourne Cup.

But, he also wrote his name into the record books for a few other reasons on that occasion.

Gala Supreme won from barrier 24 – the widest on offer from the starting positions – and is the last horse to do so.

Frank was 41 years of age on the first Tuesday in November of that year – making him the oldest jockey to be competing in the race.

“He achieved a lot, really,” Lawrence said.

“Being a kid from Cairns – which was considered nowhere at the time – to go to the big smoke in Brisbane and Melbourne, he broke into the big-time.

“He achieved what he wanted to achieve; he rode a lot of good horses.

“Winning the Melbourne Cup, that was just the cherry on top.”

At his FNQ home, Lawrence boasts an extensive scrap book of news articles and memorabilia in regard to his famous uncle’s career.

Lawrence recalls that before Frank’s sad passing, he loved getting back to Cairns and doing a spot of fishing and often spoke about his pride about children in Victoria.

He plans to keep the scrap book in the Reys family for generations to come, passing it on the younger members of his family later in his life.

Frank not only led the way for the Reys family but for all First Nations people, Lawrence believes.

“He sets the goals coming through for kids coming through today,” Lawrence said.

“Frank tried his hardest to set a standard for everybody.

“Frank broke the pathway for me to get into training and others to get into the industry. He broke the ice for a whole lot of us.”