Navarre Minerals is proud to have sponsored and unveiled the Herb Hedemann Commemorative Plaque, recognising the past winners of the prestigious Stawell Gift running race over the Easter weekend.
The plaque was named after the legendary Herb Hedemann, a distance runner who won the Federation Mile and Grampians Stakes on the same day in both 1912 and 1913 and was regarded the World’s Mile (1600m) professional running champion from 1913-1924.
Stawell Athletic Club President Geoff McDermott is also Navarre’s Technical Director. Navarre shares a history and community with Stawell, being headquartered in the town.
The plaque was inaugurated at the 70th Herb Hedemann Mile Invitational at Central Park, Stawell. It was the first scheduled race broadcast on Channel 7’s coverage of the Powercor Stawell Gift Carnival.
The race was won by Echuca native Brady Threlfall off a handicap of 130m in a time of 4:0.215 among an 18-runner field.
Many of the distance runners described the plaque as “impressive.” It’s also the first time in over 140 years that a distance race has been recognised in stone.