CHAPTER XVI 



LIFE IN BRISBANE 



Gambling on Cricket — Visiting Companies — Nellie Stewart — Starting 

 the Eva — The Lost Two Hundred Pounds — My Contributions — 

 Running Short 



From the bush I went to Sydney, and with the money 

 I had won there over Fennelly's tip started for the New 

 England district and then went on to Queensland. It 

 was in Brisbane that I first met Nat Gould, and I have 

 seen him only once since. I explained the pari-mutuel, 

 or Totalisator, to him and introduced him to the sports. 

 He was on the Telegraph in the Queensland capital, 

 but I lost sight of him soon after through leaving the 

 city. It was quite a nice racecourse at Eagle Farm, 

 and, when one or two big touring teams of cricketers 

 came, the wicket used to be pitched in the middle of 

 the racecourse; there was no other place available 

 where gate-money could be charged. I met nearly all 

 the big Australians from time to time, and also various 

 English teams. The professionals used to have a rare 

 good time. W. Barnes was specially popular. The 

 test matches were the medium for enormous bets, and 

 one race-horse owner, Mr A. F. Smart, whose colours 

 were brown jacket and crimson cap, was credited with 

 putting as much as five or six thousand pounds on a 

 game. I've seen a man in a bar in Melbourne lay 

 six hundred to four hundred pounds twice on a team ; 

 and yet he would not put more than twenty or thirty 

 pounds on any horse race. Round at the Victoria 

 Club there was big betting too. When some of the 



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