Dereel Spokes Newsletter

An interesting discussion is unfolding on the Dereel History Group’s Facebook Page. Once, horse racing was held in Dereel with the track being around the perimeter of the Dereel Swamp. Racing results can be found in historic newspapers.

A photo purporting to be the grandstand at the Dereel race track is one of the artefacts currently under investigation by the Dereel History Group. People have been walking around the swamp, in the process running into snakes and lots of water, trying to work out where this grandstand was located.  The more research the group does, the less likely it is that a Grandstand ever existed.

On a closer examination, the photograph reveals carefully cultivated turf, and a grandstand much larger than would have been likely for a town the size of Dereel. Perhaps it has been mislabeled?

If you would like the full story, read through the comments and documents on the Dereel History Group Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1762380420699750/
or come to a meeting. The History Group meet the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at the Dereel Community Centre from 1pm to 3pm and the fourth Saturday of the month at the Community Centre from 2pm to 4pm.

Thank you to Julie Avery-Donaghy for permission to use the photograph.