Six Miles and 96 Years | John 'Jack' Davey going strong in Bendigo

It is often said that sport creates memories for a lifetime, and Bendigo’s John ‘Jack’ Davey is living proof of exactly that. At 96-years-old, his crystal-clear recollection of the 1950 British Empire Games is just one highlight of a life lived in athletics.

Cruising around the country streets in an early model Valiant yet also owning a mobile phone, the Kangaroo Flat local is a unique mix of the past and present. He takes the shortest of prompts to begin winding back the clock to Auckland for the 1950 British Empire Games:

“I still remember the six-mile track race as though it was yesterday! I took the lead with a mile to go, led for a couple of laps but they eventually caught me. There were only five seconds between my fourth place and the winner,” Davey says.

“My event was the first final. We weren’t allowed to march [in the opening ceremony] because we had events on the same day, but Marjorie Jackson equalled the world 100-yard sprint just before my six-mile run. It really inspired me.”

Jackson was just one of many Australian athletics legends who would cross paths with Davey, along with the likes of Shirley Strickland, Ron Clarke and an up-and-coming John Landy – who would write Davey a Christmas card every year.

So sharp is Davey that he recounts his performances to the second for the six-mile distance, which is now run over 10,000m.

“I ran 30:34 at the Games in Auckland which was a bit off my best of 29:59,” Davey says.

“The tracks these days make a big difference, we all ran on grass in Dunlop Volleys! We had track shoes but they were made for sprinters. The spikes were too long and all that type of stuff.

“I got special shoes made for the British Empire Games. Hope Sweeney made them for me in Melbourne, I got the train down and picked them up on my way through to Auckland.”

Born in Long Gully and a seven-time runner up in the Victorian Championships, Davey recalls battles with rivals including Les Perry and Geoff Warren, forced to resort to new methods to push himself at his Bendigo base.

“I didn’t have enough competition in Bendigo, except in the cross country handicaps where I would give them a five minute head start,” Davey says.

“I used to race the tram into Bendigo. It would stop to pick up the passengers, so we would arrive at about the same time. I wouldn’t say I beat it, but I could equal it!”

A builder by trade, the lanky distance runner credits his longevity to a life lived in “moderation”, inspired by the sport and still a regular at Bendigo Athletics, where the 5000m championships are named after him and he presents awards in his 1950 British Empire Games blazer.

“You just keep on improving slowly, and if you keep on working hard – you will get there. You control your own doings in this sport,” Davey says.

“I carried the Olympic torch into Bendigo in 1956 and handed it over to the mayor. In 2000, I carried the Olympic torch in Castlemaine.”

And while Davey is already celebrated as one of Bendigo’s finest products, he is up to date with the next wave coming through – headed by 2024 Paris Olympic marathoner Andrew Buchanan.

“We have Andy Buchanan and other young ones coming through, I’m very pleased to see it continuing! I actually presented him with a few awards when he was younger,” Davey says.

“It’s just as though it was yesterday that we were on the track at Eden Park in Auckland. I wouldn’t know the place now! We sat in scaffolding stands and there were 45,000 people there.”

Davey is due to turn 97 on May 1^st, 2025.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 10/11/2024