The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest two-mile handicap in the world and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3:00 pm on the first Tuesday of November and is known locally as "the race that stops the nation".
Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian war drama film directed by Peter Weir and produced by Patricia Lovell and Robert Stigwood, starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee. The film revolves around several young men from Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during World War I. They are sent to the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire, where they take part in the Gallipoli campaign. During the course of the film, the young men slowly lose their innocence about the purpose of war. The climax of the film occurs on the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli, depicting the futile attack at the Battle of the Nek on 7 August 1915. It modifies events for dramatic purpose and contains a number of significant historical inaccuracies.
Colac is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac.
Margaret Pomeranz is an Australian film critic, writer, producer, and television personality.
David James Stratton is an English-Australian film critic and historian. He has also worked as a journalist, interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years, until his retirement in December 2023.
Somersault is a 2004 Australian romantic drama film written and directed by Cate Shortland in her feature directorial debut. It was released on 16 September 2004 and screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It also swept the field at the 2004 Australian Film Institute Awards, winning every single feature film award.
Northerly was an Australian racehorse who is considered arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersley, won nine Group One (G1) races, including the Australian Cup twice, and the Cox Plate, regarded as the Weight for Age championship of Australasia, also on two occasions.
Harvie Krumpet is a 2003 Australian adult stop motion animated tragicomedy short film written, directed and animated by Adam Elliot, and narrated by Geoffrey Rush. It tells the life story of Harvie Krumpet, a Polish-Australian man whose life is plagued by bad luck but who nevertheless remains optimistic.
Candy is a 2006 Australian romantic drama film, adapted from Luke Davies's 1998 novel Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction. Candy was directed by filmmaker Neil Armfield and stars Heath Ledger, Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush.
The Japan Cup is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters run under weight for age conditions with a maximum of 18 horses on turf (grass). With a purse of ¥1,085 million, the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.
Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Galilee (1963−1990) was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most successful racehorses in Australia. Galilee was the first and is still the only horse to win the Caulfield, Melbourne and Sydney Cups in one season.
Elliot Perlman is an Australian author and barrister. He has written four novels, one short story collection and a book for children.
Mieke Buchan is an Australian television and radio presenter, writer and producer, born in Brisbane (Australia). She has covered major events including: The Olympics, the US Open Tennis, 5 Super Bowls, Formula One, the Red Bull Air Race World Championship and the Oscars. She has worked for American and Australian television networks, including FOX Sport America, ESPN, SBS and Encore Movie Networks.
Nigel Westlake is an Australian composer, musician and conductor. As a composer for the screen, his film credits include the feature films Ali's Wedding, Paper Planes, Miss Potter, Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, Children of the Revolution and The Nugget. He also composed the theme for SBS World News.
Phar Lap is a 1983 Australian biographical drama film about the racehorse Phar Lap. The film stars Tom Burlinson and was written by David Williamson.
The Cup is a non-fiction book written by American author Eric O'Keefe. First published in Australia in 2009, its subject is the 2002 running of the Melbourne Cup, which was won by the American-bred gelding Media Puzzle, who was ridden by champion Australian jockey Damien Oliver and prepared by the Irish trainer Dermot Weld. The Cup was based on a 2003 article that O’Keefe wrote for Nicklaus magazine titled "The Race That Stopped a Nation." O’Keefe and Australian director Simon Wincer co-authored the screenplay for the movie version of the story, which premiered in 2011 starring Brendan Gleeson.
Blue Fire Lady is a 1977 Australian film directed by Ross Dimsey and starring Cathryn Harrison and Mark Holden. It was a rare children's film from producer Antony I. Ginnane who was better known for his horror and sex films.
Christina Collard is an Australian actress television presenter writer and model. She has starred in the film Dracula: The Impaler, has had a recurring characters in the HBO/Cinemax series The Girl's Guide to Depravity, TBS series The Detour as well as Kevin Hart's sketch comedy show. She has appeared in dozens of commercials both nationally and globally.
