When the Shepparton Gift was held once again on Saturday, it wasn’t just the return of an iconic running race for the first time in two decades.
It was something more than that – it was a chance to honour and recognise a true legend of the sport, something that his children said was well deserved.
The event was styled the George Nelson Shepparton Gift, named after the legendary sprinter George Nelson.
A Yorta Yorta man from Cummeragunga, Nelson won and placed in at least 30 different events in sprint and middle distance races.
Once he finished racing he transitioned into training, coaching Shepparton’s Noel Hussey when he won the Stawell Gift in 1964.
Nelson died in January this year, but two of his children, Robynne and George Nelson Jr, were at Shepparton Showgrounds on Saturday to experience the event named after their father.
“It has been a fantastic day. It has run smoothly, it is a beautiful ground,” Robynne said.
“I think Dad would have been really proud to see it. I think for sure he would have been here watching it now, I think he is here.
“We saw our dad put his blood, sweat and tears into running as a trainer, as a runner – long distance and sprinting – and he never really had any recognition for all the work he had done in the running world.
“Really, this is one of the first times he has been recognised. The biggest way is to have a race named after you, it is fabulous to see.”
The Nelson family was a key part of the event throughout the day, with Robynne greeting all the finalists in the men’s and women’s 120m finals before the race and also presenting the winners with their sash.
For George Jr, the recognition his father is now receiving is long overdue.
“I have been saying for a long time that the media has not acknowledged my father to the degree that he deserved,” he said.
“They have never given the accolades to Dad that he deserved. He won so many races.
“Even today, they haven’t included him in the Hall of Fame museum in Stawell. Yet there are others who haven’t done half the deeds that Dad did that are in the Hall of Fame.”
George Jr said he was pleased that his father’s achievements were finally getting the proper recognition.
“It is good to see that he is finally getting the acknowledgement that he deserves, especially being Aboriginal, especially coming from Cummeragunga and his background,” he said.
“He did it all on his own. He could have been sitting on the riverbank sucking on a flagon like most of the blokes were back in the ’50s and ’60s, but he went out and he had a go in a white man’s game.
“He was spiked when he was running, he was pushed, he was abused. But it didn’t faze him, he still kept going and I admire him for that.”
Speaking after the final race and looking back at the event, George Jr said his dad would have been proud of the day.
“He would have been red-faced and embarrassed, but deep down he would have been chuffed, because that is the way Dad was,” George Jr said.
“He was very humble. He would have been saying ‘I don’t deserve this’, but he did, he did deserve it.
“Because it was the inaugural event, it far exceeded what I thought they would be capable of doing in the first time for 23 years, I am pleasantly surprised. I think it has been fantastic.”
Robynne agreed.
“I think Dad would have been really proud to see it. I think for sure he would have been here watching it now, I think he is here,” she said.
Looking to the future, George Jr said he hoped the George Nelson Shepparton Gift could continue to grow as an event.
“I’d like to see more events and perhaps it can go out to two days eventually,” he said.
“I’d like to see it stick with Dad’s name attached to it because he deserves that. He would be really chuffed.”