The life of Cliffy Crack

Cliffy Crack, Don Simpson, Ralph Crack and Brian Roles celebrated Cliff’s 90th Birthday at Mole Creek Hotel.

Brian Roles

Louis Cliffy Crack well known identity around the district just celebrated his 90th birthday. Cliffy was born on 9-7-1932 on King Island and grew up with six brothers and one sister.

He attended school at Egg Lagoon School, it was about two miles to school which he walked, each day.

His father was share-farming milking cows on the Island. His dad said, ‘if they learn to ride the old horse, they could ride it to school’, which they did and tethered the horse at the school ground while they attended class.

Cliffys’ last teacher was well-known Northwest Coast Footballer and Administrator Noel Atkins.

Cliffy left King Island when he was just 16 and went to work on a Horse Stud at Woodend in Victoria, which was a big shock to Cliffy waking up in the morning to see a heavy frost on the ground, which was very rare on the Island, always a breeze.

Cliffy worked two months before moving down to Caulfield to become an Apprentice Jockey. He worked there about 12 months.

Life was very tough in those times, living in a little room at the stables. Cliffy recalled in those early days, having to take a horse on the float to race at Werribee as a strapper.

Cliffy’s horse had run and was unplaced, so the strapper in the stall next to him said, ‘we think our horse can win the last race’, so Cliffy went up to the tote and backed the horse, which won.

So Cliff stopped to collect his winnings, but there was a protest which took about 30 minutes to finalise, it was dismissed so Cliffy collected his winnings and back to the stalls to find his horse was gone.

The truck had picked up all the horses and gone, so Cliffy was stranded. A trainer who was still there gave Cliffy a ride back to the Caulfield area and guided Cliffy in the right direction to get back to his lodgings at his master’s stables.

Cliffy’s dad moved back to Tasmania and became the Horse Trainer from Mr Boyce Youl at Symons Plains, so Cliffy returned to Tasmania to help his dad.

Cliffy used to ride the horse, which he remembered, one morning a horse he was riding work spooked and bolted and Cliffy had one leg caught in the stirrup, but fortunately his boot came off and he fell clear to the ground.

Clilffy’s weight went up to 8 stones, too heavy to be a jockey, so he gave the game away and moved back to Launceston to Kings Meadows and got a job with Bender Cool Store in Elizabeth Street and helped out in the smallgoods factory making sausages, which helped him get a job at Meadow Mews Butchery which is where Toyota is at Kings Meadows.

Cliffy used to walk across the paddock where Coles is now.

He worked at the Butchery for 16 years. He also played football with Kings Meadows seconds. After leaving the butchery, Cliffy moved to George Town to work at Comalco in the 1960s.

He did a lot of double shifts and worked as a brick layer in the baking plant and lived in a caravan, and that’s where he met his wife Mavis who worked as the house maid and cook for the then Harbour master who guided all the shipping into the harbour.

After 5 years they married, they bought a small farm (160 acres) at Weetah, just out of Deloraine in 1975.

Cliffy milked a few cows and had a few pigs as a sideline. He had a slaughter house built on the property and for many years ran a business killing beef, sheep and pigs for many people around the district up until 1994 when they sold the business and farm and moved into Deloraine, where he still lives.

He joined the Veterans running group, but they are now called Masters, at the age of 70. Cliffy competed in 10 Burnie Tens during his running career, and ran in over 300 races. He won his 70-79 age group for the Burnie Ten in 2002 and again in 2004!

Cliffy was pretty good on the track at St. Leonards, he held the record for 5000 metres in a time of 22m 23s, in his age group, but this has since been broken by a younger person.

Cliffy was Deloraine’s John Landy and is known as the Peter Cundall of Deloraine, a master gardener. He has a large vegie garden that supplies a lot of locals.

He also enjoys watching and following sport. He has been a St. Kilda supporter all his life.

Cliffy joined the Deloraine Golden Oldies about six years ago, and enjoyed the company and companionship with the members, and never misses a meeting.

He is one of the fittest people for his age around here, Cliff walks six mornings a week about five to six kilometres.

Cliffy has his own man cave under his house, his wood heater burning away with about 10 ton of wood stacked out the front ready to go on.