Lennie Gwyther

Lennie Gwyther (18 April 1922 – 18 June 1992) was an Australian figure of significance due to his 1932 solo horseback journey, as a nine-year-old boy, from Leongatha, Victoria, to Sydney, New South Wales. Riding his horse, Ginger Mick, Gwyther undertook a journey to watch the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Early life Charles James Leonard "Lennie" Gwyther was born in Leongatha, on 18 April 1922 to parents Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther and Clara Amelia Gwyther (née Simon).

On his second birthday, Lennie's grandfather gave him a chestnut pony named Ginger Mick who shared his birthday. Ginger Mick was named after Lenny's father's favourite character from C.J Dennis' book The Moods of Ginger Mick.

When Lennie was nine, his father broke his leg while working on the farm. While his father was in hospital, Lennie took over the responsibilities on the farm.

Offered a reward for this work, Lennie asked to attend the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. That was largely because of his interest with the engineering and construction of the bridge. His mother, Clara (Clare) Gwyther, was unsure of this arrangement but, due to the fulfilment of his duties, communication with those in Sydney, and the map Lennie and Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther created, she allowed Lennie to go. Other instances include being "attacked by vagabonds" and being met with a bushfire.

As he arrived in Martin Place, accompanied by 25 police, Gwyther was met by 10,000 cheering citizens. The Secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society, Colonel Somerville, also greeted him. As he passed through Urana, he attended a children's ball as well as a reception organised by the local shire president. He also spent a couple of days in Widgiewa with councillor Otway McLaurin Falkiner. He also delivered a return letter from Sydney's Lord Mayor to the president of the Woorayl Shire Council. In Leongatha, Victoria, Gwyther Siding Road was named after him.

On 10 June, after his tenth birthday, Lennie Gwyther returned home and resumed with his family commitments on the Leongatha 'Flers' farm. in the Pacific.

He worked as an engineer with General Motors' Holden at Fishermans Bend, Victoria and lived in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton.

In later life, Lennie's passion for fishing and sailing was reflected in the fact that he built a yacht, with the intention of sailing to Tasmania and then to New Zealand. His granddaughter commented in 2015 that "he had a lathe in the shed and he was always turning wood or making tools or tables. There wasn't really anything he couldn't do. I'm sure he would have attempted sailing around the world, that's how adventurous he was."

Lennie Gwyther died of cancer in 1992, at the age of 70. In 2016, this book won Children's Book Council of Australia's (CBCA's) Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.

Peter Lalor's book The Bridge: An Epic Story of an Australian Icon - the Sydney Harbour Bridge (2006) also commemorates Lennie Gwyther in chapter 11. The illustrator of the pictures is Marion Wilcocks.

Corinne Fenton's To The Bridge (illustrated by Andrew McLean) is a children's book which tells the story of Lennie's ride.

Radio

In February 2018, on the ABC radio program "Conversations", Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, with guest Peter Lalor, spoke about Lennie Gwyther and his journey in the "depression-era Australia".

On 17 April 2018, the ABC program "History Listen", produced by Lyn Gallacher, included a "Lennie the Legend" episode, featuring Lennie's family members, Julie Campbell and Beryl Ferrier, author Stephanie Owen Reeder, and music teachers Roz Girvan from Clifton Hill and Jess Stein from Leongatha Primary School.

Commemorative statue

A statue to commemorate Lennie and Ginger Mick's journey was unveiled in Leongatha in 2017.

Funded through a Federal Government community grant and community fundraising,

The statue was designed in-house and manufactured at Arrow Bronze of Dandenong, Victoria.