Tom Broughton and Father Christmas
Waler Data Base @ Facebook. Image: Examiner, 21st December 1946
Tom Broughton drove Father Christmas around Hobart and outlying areas from 1919 until the late 1950’s.
He was brought up with horses, his family had the first coach service in Hobart – Tom inherited that first coach, built in England in 1852 – he used it to take Father Christmas about each year. The family also had well known horse drawn cabs, their vehicles mostly landaus; the business usually having over 60 horses in work. And ran livery stables.
It was a busy month leading up to Christmas. George Rometch, an old coach driver, did some runs for him so Tom often had two vehicles on the road (Father Christmas magically in each).
The coach had four footmen, needed to hand out gifts to children. He made sure they visited each hospital with children, the mental asylum at New Norfolk (33k from Hobart), Wingfield House in Hobart where children with polio stayed, the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institute, Talire School for Retarded Children, St Joseph’s Orphanage, all public schools, the city Christmas parade and more.
The children at Wingfield House are given a ride and gifts.
Up to five trips a day were done 25th November – 24th December. Many children were also given rides in a little vehicle drawn by five Shetland ponies. A quest for Christmas gifts saw many donations come in – as well, Tom and his children took their team of performing ponies and Jester the trick horse to events all over the state, being paid to appear – in this way he raised over 500 pounds annually for buying presents for children at Christmas. He also did clowning at night for carnivals and the Military Gymkhana, clowning with ponies and Jester. He had a troupe of performing ponies, dogs and goats, they performed at many shows; as well he won pony classes at Hobart Royal and did a working sheep dog display there with an Alsatian! As well, Tom raised money for the Retarded Children’s Welfare Association, usually raising over 80 pounds for them.
He did all this no matter what. He’d gone bankrupt in 1924 but still did his Christmas run, and took a job driving for the Defence Force to get by as motors took over from horse drawn cabs, and livery was no longer wanted.
His Christmas coach was always drawn by six white horses – a famous sight in the city at Christmas, Tom in his iconic top hat driving. For many years a white Arab named Vixen was one of the lead horses. As cabs went over to motors, by the late 1940’s it became more difficult to find 6 white horses each Christmas but nothing daunted Tom, he’d get racehorses, hacks, anything and with his magic touch had them pulling a coach in a day or two – most had never been in harness before.
Thomas Augustus Broughton had served in WW1 for four years, in Egypt, Flanders and France. He was with the 3rd Light Horse; after a bout of malaria he was transferred to the 1st Division Artillery as a gunner; sent to France.
In Armistice celebrations he was the coachman who drove the Prince of Wales at Mettet in Belgium. He drove the Prince in a GS wagon drawn by eight mules. Tom gained great respect for mules during the war. As part of these celebrations there were various mule races. Tom got a mule of 17 hands and won the high jump, clearing 5 feet 8 inches, He won five hurdle races on 5 different mules!
Inspired by his coachman, the future King also entered a mule race – the same race his coachman Tom rode in. Who won? Can’t find out and doesn’t matter, they had fun. Tom came home from the war in 1919, and soon after, was cheering up children for Christmas with his coach and horses and presents. He’d lost two good horsemen mates in the war, who’d joined up with him.
Great to see horse drawn tours at Christmas are happening now, continuing a fine tradition of horses and their wonderful drivers bringing joy.
