Phar Lap Assignment and his importance to Australia:

Taxidermy of Phar Lap’s Hide 

Phar Lap was a cheap, underrated, but very successful horse in the 1930’s with an outstanding track record of 37 wins out of 51 races. Phar Lap played a very important role during The Great Depression. Known as “the wonder horse”, Phar Lap lifted spirits due to his inspirational background going from an underdog to a champion and legend within no time. Australia needed a hero, and Phar Lap was a perfect model for Australia to look at to recover from such a terrible slump. He won the Melbourne Cup 3 times consecutively and this brought hope for the Australians. For his last race he traveled to the west coast of America and it is believed that he was poisoned, most likely by Americans, out of jealousy to end his winning streak. Phar Lap currently has an entire exhibit in the Melbourne Museum praising him for giving hope to the ones who struggled during this stressful time. Even though he lived a short life he left a huge impact on Australia.