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| Death of Charles John LEWIS 1867-1895
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Medallion inscribed 'Chs Lewis 1895'.
Photo provided by Anne Johnson The Argus 19 Aug 1895
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FATAL STEEPLECHASE ACCIDENT
A WELL-KNOWN JOCKEY KILLED.
The race meeting of the Victorian Club at Caulfield on Saturday unfortunately did not pass off without a most deplorable accident, the result of which was the death of the well-known jockey, Charles Lewis. The unfortunate occurence took place in connection with the Steeplechase, the fourth event on the programme.
Lewis had the mount on a horse names Circassian King, owned by M. Carmody, a Caulfield trainer. All went well in the race until the third obstacle, a post-and-rail fence situated at the turn into the straight, was reached. Here Tayforth and Circassian King came down. Tayforth's rider escaped with a few bruises, but Lewis pitched on his head, and, according to a medical examination subsequently made, lacerated his brain. He was conveyed in an unconscious condition to the casualty-room as quickly as possible, but from the first Mr. Joske, who attended him, held out not the slightest hope, and about three-quarters of an hour afterwards Lewis breathed his last, never having regained consciousness.
Circassian King was in private a good jumper, and he had been ridden in work and 'schooled' over fences by Lewis for some time. From all that can be gleaned Circassian King's downfall was brought about by Moondah (who is a horse given to 'hanging in') accidentally swerving on to him as the jump was being taken. Tayforth's fall, it is believed, in no way contributed tot the accident. Circassian King suffered no injury from his fall, immediately rising and galloping up the straight, but the spectators, who were easily able to identify him by his numbered saddle-cloth, little thought at the time that his rider was injured beyond all possibility of recovery.
The injuries sustained by Lewis were very similar to those of T. Corrigan, who was killed on the same course some 13 months ago. The external marks of injury were scarcely noticeable, and in neither instance was there any reason to assume that the rider was kicked by his own or another horse while on the ground.
When the last race had been run, and the crowd had left the course, Lewis's body was removed to his mother's residence in Malvern, the unpleasant task of breaking the news to the mother having previously been performed by Lewis's brother jockey and friend, J.E. Brewer.
It is rather a remarkable circumstance that Lewis had not ridden in public in a steeplechase for six or seven years. His friends reasoned with him that he was foolish to risk accident in the most dangerous department of racing when he could get as much employment as he desired in flat races and over hurdles, but without avail. He could not be persuaded to give up the mount on Circassian King, whom, in the language of the turf, he regarded as a 'good thing' for the race.
Lewis could easily scale at 7st. 10lb., which is a very handy weight for a jockey of his experience, and, being a good rider, there was always a fair number of mounts available for him. He rode Hughie into third place in the Victorian Club Handicap earlier in the day, and was to have ridden the same horse in the concluding event, but by the time the race came on for declaration Lewis had breathed his last, and Hughie was withdrawn from the race.
Though he never rode the winners of any very important races, Lewis in his time had many winning mounts. Thirteen or fourteen years ago he was riding on the flat, over hurdles, and over fences in the New South Wales country districts with varying success, and he subsequently rode for some years in South Australia. In Victoria he was attached for a considerable time to Mr S.G. Cook's stable, and he also rode Division and other winners for J.E Brewer's stable, with which his brother R. Lewis is now associated. He had latterly done a little training, Decision being one of the winners trained by him.
Lewis's funeral will take place to-day, the time of starting being delayed until half-past 3 o'clock to allow of his father arriving from Walhalla.
[The Argus 19 Aug 1895]
The Australian Jockeys' Association unveiled Australia's first memorial for fallen jockeys at Caulfield Racecourse on 5 March 2005, as part of National Jockey Celebration Day. The memorial, named 'Fallen Jockeys', honours the 298 jockeys who have died in riding accidents during the last 157 years (1847 to 2004). Charles John LEWIS is among those commemorated.
Images and information provided by Travis Sellers, Editor of Cemetery Conversations : The Newsletter of the Friends of St Kilda Cemetery www.foskc.org/
Issue 20 November 2003 tells the story of Charles LEWIS in the article Daredevils of the Racetrack.
