At the grand old age of 33 Arwon, the 1978 Melbourne Cup winner, died and until only two years before, was a regular fixture in the traditional street parade preceding the race.  

Arwon, a New Zealand bred galloper, was part owned by Nowra local Jack Watson and it was he who gave the horse his name, Nowra spelt backwards.

In 1978, he beat Dandeleith and Karu by half a neck. He competed in two more Melbourne Cups, finishing ninth to Beldale Ball in 1980 and fifth to Just A Dash in 1981.

Trainer George Hanlon, described the horse as “a good mate” in an article printed in the South Coast Register on May 30, 2007.

“He was still eating well but his muscles had gone in his hindquarters and he was finding it hard to get up,” he said.

“It wasn’t fair to keep him going any longer.

“I will miss him.”

The horse raced and won in NZ as a two-year-old, where he raced as Flash Guy.

At the age of three, he was sold to a Canberra based syndicate, which included Watson.

Arwon had his first four starts for the syndicate in Canberra, where he was trained by John Morrissey. The following season, he won four races in Sydney and was sent to Hanlon, so he could be prepared for the cups races in the spring.

His Melbourne Cup campaign included a win at Geelong, before finishing second to Caulfield Cup winner Ming Dynasty in the Metropolitan Handicap at Randwick.

He then went on to win the Herbert Power Handicap at Caulfield, before being beaten by the narrowest of margins in the Caulfield Cup by Taksan.

Harry White was the fortunate jockey to steer Arwon to victory in the Melbourne Cup at his next start.

From 67-race starts, he retired with 16 wins, 13 seconds and five thirds and accumulated $339,527 in prizemoney.

After his racing career ended, Arwon joined the NSW mounted police. 

There, he won the hearts of all at the Police Academy with his alert personality and docile nature.

Former Nowra girl and policewoman Sally Mutch was granted a special request to be personally assigned to the famous horse. The 21-year-old had been in the Police Force for 18-months and described Arwon as “a magnificent horse, easy to handle and ride.”