How ‘Poitrel’ brought a touch of glamour to Taree

Poitrel was a chestnut stallion, a racehorse, best known as the 1920 winner of the Melbourne Cup. Foaled in 1914 at the Arrowfield Stud in NSW, he failed to find a buyer in the yearling sales and so remained in the ownership of the Moses brothers.¹

Harry James Robinson was born at Glenthorne, near Taree, in 1870.² As a young man he found his niche in life – working with horses, specifically training racehorses. In 1920 he was responsible for training both the winner of the Melbourne Cup, ‘Poitrel’, and his stable-mate, second placed ‘Erasmus’, thus achieving a quinella.³

Harry was now a man of considerable means. He had already purchased ‘Winton’ a farm on the Taree Estate in 1918 and now determined to pursue a grander scheme.⁴ He purchased a site on the corner of Albert and Manning Streets, Taree and erected the ‘Taree Theatre’ which was opened to great excitement in October of 1921 and was reputedly one of the most modern cinemas in the State.⁵ (It was re-named the ‘Boomerang’ in 1924).⁶ At the same time he built a fine brick home for his family on the corner of Victoria and Stevenson Streets, Taree (since demolished).⁷

However, in 1923 Harry sold his new house ‘Neridah’ and returned to Sydney. He died in Balgowlah in 1944.⁸ ‘Poitrel’ died in Queensland in 1932.⁹

Author: Penny Teerman