Samuel Burges was present at the 1852 meeting at which the Western Australian Turf Club was formed and he was one of the eight founders who convened to pen the first set of racing rules for the organisation.
Samuel Burges was present at the 1852 meeting at which the Western Australian Turf Club was formed and he was one of the eight founders who convened to pen the first set of racing rules for the organisation.
Born in Ireland in 1810, Burges migrated to Western Australia with his brothers, Lockier and William, arriving aboard the Warrior in 1830. Burges and his siblings settled on 300 acres of virgin land at Upper Swan before taking up 5,600 acres at York at a site they named Tipperary in honour of the town of their birth. Burges was not only associated with the WATC but also what was then known as the York Jockey Club. Burges died in 1885 less than two weeks after the early passing of his namesake eldest son from tetanus.