BAMOS 2021 / 2022 Summer
16 Article
The weather on the day : 1930 Melbourne Cup
Dick Whitaker
One of the iconic events in Australian sporting history — the 1930 Melbourne Cup — was won by the legendary Phar Lap . This was an immensely popular win , coming as it did in the depths of the great Depression that ravaged Australia at the time .
The date was Tuesday 4th November 1930 and the existing photographs of the day show sunshine , a crowd in hats and coats , no umbrellas and no sign of windy conditions .
However , a closer look at the meteorology surrounding the event shows that the benign weather was preceded by highly turbulent conditions , with strong winds , rain and volatile temperatures right across the previous day . With just a small change in the timings this famous Cup day could have been a very different occasion .
The synoptic chart on 3rd November shows a strong cold front near Adelaide with the close packed isobars a feature over southeastern parts of South Australia and western Victoria .
The accompanying Bureau ' Notes on the Chart ' were instructive :
“ The rapid development of a deep atmospheric depression in the eastern Bight was the outstanding feature of Monday morning ’ s weather . As shown by the isobaric chart the foremost half of this depression was receiving a strong flow of northerly winds from the inland areas of eastern Australia . During the day the centre of the depression moved to the eastern entrance to Bass Strait and also deepened considerably , this intensification of the disturbance being attended by northerly winds of almost gale force at many places in Victoria . Dust storms were plentiful inland and in Melbourne the dust was much in evidence , first in the coppery hue of the sky during the afternoon and later in fierce dust squalls after 7 pm , the wind reaching 44 miles an hour . Shortly after a light fall of “ red ” rain occurred in the city . At 9 pm the wind changed to a cool westerly , temperatures fell 10 degrees almost at once and the showers recommenced ”.— The Argus , 3 November 1930 , p 13 .
The Bureau records show that the maximum temperature in Melbourne on Monday 3rd November was 31.3oC and the next day , Melbourne Cup day , was only 17.7oC . Rainfall for the 24 hours at 9am on Cup Day was 3.6 mm and over the next 24 hours 2.5 mm was recorded .
From the photographic evidence it looks as though the weather had cleared for the Cup — but the timing appeared to be close .
For the record there were two horses with weather-related names in the 1930 Melbourne Cup . Phar Lap is Thai for ' sky flash ' or lightning , and the horse that was runner up was named Second Wind .
Top : The 1930 Melbourne Cup . The image clearly shows shadows created by individuals in the crowd , indicating sunshine at race time . Image : The Argus ,
27 July 1931 ( State Library of Victoria ).
Middle : The Bureau of Meteorology synoptic chart for 9 am 3 November as it appeared in The Argus the next day , 3 November 1930 , p 13 .
Bottom : Phar Lap soon after the race — sunny conditions still in evidence . Image : The Australasian ,
Saturday 8 November 1930 , P 28 .