A scrawny rabbit caught in a trap will feed a family for a week. Country roads are filled with broken men walking from one farmhouse to another seeking menial jobs and food.
On the outskirts of the South Gippsland town of Leongatha, an injured farmer lies in bed unable to walk – or work.
World War I hero Captain Leo Tennyson Gwyther is in hospital with a broken leg and the family farm is in danger of falling into ruins.
Up steps his son, nine-year-old Lennie.
With the help of his pony Ginger Mick, Lennie ploughs the farm’s 24 paddocks and keeps the place running until his father can get back on his feet.
Lennie has been obsessively following one of the biggest engineering feats of the era – the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
He wants to attend its opening.
With great reluctance, his parents agree he can go. It seems a just reward for the work that he has done.
A nine year old boy riding a pony from the deep south of Victoria to the biggest and roughest city in the nation.
Born in 1925 in the rural town of Leongatha, Victoria, Australia, Lennie Gwyther was no ordinary child.
During Lennie Gwyther's solo horseback journey from Leongatha to Sydney in 1932, the telegraph played a significant role, albeit indirectly. While the telegraph itself wasn't utilised by Lennie during his trip, it served as a vital means of communication for relaying information about his progress to the wider Australian population.
News of Lennie's audacious adventure spread rapidly through newspapers, which were one of the primary forms of mass communication at the time. Journalists and reporters from various media outlets tracked Lennie's journey closely, providing regular updates on his whereabouts, experiences, and encounters along the way.
It doesn’t take long before word begins to spread about a boy, his horse and their epic trek.
The entire populations of small country towns gather on their outskirts to welcome his arrival.
He survives bushfires, is attacked by a “vagabond” and endures rain and cold, biting winds.
When he reaches Canberra he is welcomed by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, who invites him into Parliament House for tea.
When he finally arrives in Sydney, more than 10,000 people line the streets to greet him.
After an epic journey spanning 33 days, Lennie Gwyther and Ginger Mick arrived triumphant in Sydney on March 8, 1932. Their arrival sparked scenes of jubilation and celebration, with crowds thronging the streets to welcome the young adventurer and his faithful steed.
He is besieged by autograph hunters.
He becomes a key part of the official parade at the bridge’s opening. He and Ginger Mick are invited to make a starring appearance at the Royal Show.
Even Donald Bradman, the biggest celebrity of the Depression era, requests a meeting and gives him a signed cricket bat.
A letter writer to The Sydney Morning Herald at the time gushes that “just such an example as provided by a child of nine summers, Lennie Gwyther was, and is, needed to raise the spirit of our people and to fire our youth and others to do things - not to talk only.
“The sturdy pioneer spirit is not dead … let it be remembered that this little lad, when his father was in hospital, cultivated the farm - a mere child.”
When Lennie leaves Sydney for home a month later, he has become one of the most famous figures in a country craving uplifting news.
Large crowds wave handkerchiefs. Women weep and shout “goodbye”.
According to The Sun newspaper, “Lennie, being a casual Australian, swung into the saddle and called ‘Toodle loo!’”.
He finally arrives home to a tumultuous reaction in Leongatha.
He returns to school and soon life for Lennie – and the country – returns to normal.
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