Sir (Thomas) Chester Manifold (13 May 1897 – 6 January 1979) was prominent member of the Victorian Racing community as a successful racehorse owner and breeder. He also spent 6 years as an Victorian politician. He was born in Camperdown to

James Chester Manifold James Chester Manifold (10 February 1867 – 30 October 1918) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. Early life Manifold was born in Camperdown, Victoria, attended Geelong Grammar School, and went to England with his family in 188 ...

and Lilian Eva Curle. Known by his middle name (Chester). He attended

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ty ...

and then studied economics at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, and was wounded at

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in 1917. On his return to Australia in 1920 he worked for a stock and station agency, and on 22 May 1923 married Gwenda Grimwade, with whom he had three daughters. He managed the family property at Camperdown from 1922 and was based in Lismore from 1923 until the war. From 1926 to 1941 he served on Hampden Shire Council and was president from 1938 to 1940. He was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

for Hampden in 1929 as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

; he was a minister without portfolio from 1932 to 1933 but retired in 1935. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in New Guinea as a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Horse racing

He was active in the racing community, particularly through the

Victoria Racing Club The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual "race that stops a nation", the Melbourne Cup, ...

. Against strong opposition from bookmakers and churches, he persuaded the Victorian government to set up the Victorian

Totalisator Agency Board The Totalisator Agency Board, universally shortened to TAB or T.A.B., is the name given to monopoly totalisator organisations in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They operate betting shops and online betting. They were originally governm ...

(TAB), replacing illegal off-course betting with a government monopoly which funded racing and other causes. He was first chairman of the Victorian TAB from 1961 to 1969. Chester was the owner of the famous jumper Crisp that came second in the English 1973 Grand National.

Homestead

His property, "Talindert", was a successful horse stud. The homestead with 15 bedrooms and 1700 acres of prime farming land hosted Princess Alexandra when she visited in 1959. It was a mixed farm which besides the horse stud ran beef, sheep and dairy cows. Talindert Primary School No. 3644 block was donated by the Manifolds.

Honours

He was knighted in 1953 and made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1965.

Death

Manifold died in Camperdown in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manifold, Chester 1897 births 1979 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Geelong Grammar School British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery soldiers Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees