A MORBID CONNECTION

As we have seen, the legend of Archer has grown since his two Melbourne Cup wins. It is hard to imagine how popular the horse was in Australian folklore, and with fame brings strange bedfellows. Two particular coincidences struck me while researching the career of the champion. Archer quite remarkably is the surname of two men hanged in Australia. George William Martin Archer was hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol in Sydney in 1893, while Alfred Archer was executed in Melbourne in 1898. There was a little more than just a sharing of their surname with the great horse that make both stories remarkable.

George Archer had been born at Cootamundra, NSW, in 1865. When 3 years old the boy and his mother removed to Adelong, and he attended the Adelong public school until 9 years of age. He became skilled at handling horses, and at only 12 came under the notice of well-known jockey and trainer, William “Billy” Yeomans. Yeomans had ridden wonderful horses like Newminster, First King, Wheatear and Kingsborough. When he retired he brought a property at Young with his good friend and rival, the great Tom Hales. Archer at the time was known as George Fallon, and under that name he developed into a quality jockey. His first public mount was at Albury in 1878 when he rode Nimblefoot who had won the 1870 Melbourne Cup. Not long after, Fallon moved to the stable of Mr CE McEvoy for whom he won good races at the Tasmanian Jockey Club’s meeting aboard Emerald and Waterford. He