Statue of Lennie Gwyther and His Horse Ginger Mick in Leongatha, Australia

In nineteen thirty-two, a nine-year-old Australian boy named Lennie Gwyther and his pony, Ginger Mick—also nine—made a six-hundred-mile journey from Leongatha to Sydney to witness the opening of the world's largest single-span bridge. Lennie had earned the trip as a reward for running his family's farm while his father recovered from a serious accident. The adventure proved eventful: they dodged a rogue drifter, weathered heavy rain and fog, and fled a wildfire. As news of their journey spread through newspapers, they became minor celebrities. Atlas Obscura reports that Lennie had tea with Prime Minister Joseph Lyons when passing through Canberra, participated in the bridge's opening parade, received a signed cricket bat from cricket legend Donald Bradman, and rode an elephant at Taronga Zoo. When boy and pony returned home four months later, eight hundred townspeople gathered for a civic reception, and in twenty seventeen, Leongatha erected a statue commemorating their remarkable journey.

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