13 In July 1915, with camps overcrowded and morale high, Flemington Racecourse opened its doors to the AIF, welcoming soldiers into its grandstand at night, while racing continued by day. The Maribyrnong Stand, they called it. It has long gone, but when built in 1886 it was spacious, ‘erected in the most substantial way, the indestructible red gum entering largely into its composition’. In other words, it was in timber, with seating for 2,500 racegoers. It became redundant by 1924 when a two-tier concrete stand was built in front of it for VRC members, and this in turn has given way to the present-day Club Stand. Why was it ‘The Maribyrnong Stand’? This new grandstand offered a superior view of races down the Straight Six and, of these, the Maribyrnong Plate was one of the biggest. The historic Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate is still run during the Melbourne Cup Carnival as a 1000-metre sprint for two-yearolds. In the 1880s, the Plate was as eagerly anticipated as today’s autumn Blue Diamond or Golden Slipper. It was a huge betting race. Leading stables put their new crop to the test. The Maribyrnong Stand found itself put to a completely unexpected use in 1915, early in the First World War. Sheltered from rain, unless a tempest was blowing from the south, and protected to some extent from wind, it was an open-air stand. In that cold winter, the Maribyrnong Stand became sleeping quarters with rugs and palliasses for hundreds of young army recruits who had just enlisted to serve with the Australian Infantry Force overseas. The war had begun a year earlier, and with it came a first wave of volunteers. They needed to be accommodated at training camps not too far from the city centre. A farm at Broadmeadows was hastily selected, and served its ABOVE: Recruits assemble at ‘Flemington Camp’ in September 1915. (Photo by Fraser & Vallance for Punch) OPPOSITE: Image of the Maribyrnong Stand taken in 1893 by A. Purnell. In 1921, the stand was dismantled and relocated to the Werribee racecourse where it stood until it was destroyed by fire in 1978. (VRC Collection)
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