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Australian Speedway Pre-War History 1920's -
1930's |
The Davies Park Story
How Speedway Came To Davies Park. |
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| The legendary
Davies Park Speedway. |
Even before the 1926-1927 motorcycle
racing season at the Royal National Association’s Brisbane Exhibition Grounds
had concluded, A. J. Hunting’s plans were well advanced to shift his operation
from this venue to another site for the following season. Only one month after
opening his venture at the Exhibition Grounds in October of 1926, Hunting had
become well aware that his business was suffering because of the large number of
people who were gaining admission on race nights without paying. These people
were either share holders of the company staging the racing at the site, had
special passes issued by the promotion, or were Royal National Association
members. Perusal of the R.N.A. figures relating to the November 13 meeting (just
the fifth of the season) bears witness to Hunting’s concerns. The R.N.A.
treasurer reported that the rent paid by the speedway promotion to the
Association for that evening was 204 pounds (15% of the gate takings). This
figure indicates that the total gate receipts were 1,360 pounds. On November 13,
the grandstand, which was packed, returned a gate of 260 pounds. Those paying
spectators who had already entered the ground and wished to access this covered
facility had to pay an additional fee to do so. An exercise of simple
subtraction shows that 1,100 pounds was taken at the outer turnstiles. This
figure equates to a paying attendance of about 11,000. The total attendance at
the ground that evening was in excess of 20,000. This means that about half of
those attending the November 13 racing witnessed the programme without paying
admission. Hunting couldn’t do anything about the speedway company’s
shareholders who entered without paying as that was their entitlement having
taken up shares in the company during the public float.
During November, Hunting unsuccessfully tried to have the right of free entry
for Royal National Association members on racing night rescinded. He was quite
aware that this problem concerning free admission to ground members would get
far worse come the New Year when existing memberships fell due for renewal and
prospective new members could apply. Becoming an R.N.A. member would prove
cost-effective for anyone planning to attend the motorcycle racing on a regular
basis. Current R.N.A. members received a gentleman’s ticket and a ladies’ ticket
for the princely sum of one pound ten shillings for those who had joined after
1920, and one pound one shilling for those who had joined prior to 1920. These
tickets entitled free admission to events staged at the R.N.A. grounds such as
Brisbane Rugby League fixtures, sports meetings, cricket matches, each day of
the Annual Show, and the speedway racing. National Speedway Ltd’s admission
prices for adults were 2 shillings ground admission and a further charge should
grandstand admission be desired. There was another problem as well; the speedway
company could not carry out any work on the track; all work had to be done by
the R.N.A. staff at the speedway company’s expense.
More than two months before the conclusion of the season’s racing at the
Exhibition Grounds, Hunting submitted an application to the Brisbane City
Council for a lease of the number one oval at Davies Park, South Brisbane, for
the purpose of building a quarter mile speedway. This matter was discussed by
the Council’s Parks Committee on March 4. The application was refused.
The final programme of National Speedway Ltd’s Exhibition Grounds season took
place on Saturday May 7, 1927. Less than two weeks later Hunting announced a
proposal to build a track on thirteen acres of ground in Newmarket Road,
Windsor, not far from the Exhibition Grounds.
This site was just a few minutes walk from the tram line, meaning access to
public transport would not be a major problem. Hunting announced that a new
company, Coliseum Ltd, would control the venture. Already 22½ % of the shares in
the company had been taken up. Plans for the site included the building of a
huge “coliseum” capable of accommodating upwards of 12,000 people seated in
covered stands. Also proposed was the installation of a switch back railway
running almost round the grounds. The proposed track was to be a quarter of a
mile in circumference, 72 feet wide on the bends, and 32 feet wide on the
straight.
One other interesting point Hunting made at this time was that he estimated
National Speedway Ltd had lost 15,496 pounds in gate receipts during its season
spent at the Exhibition Grounds due to R.N.A. members not having to pay
admission. Hunting also stated that, as National Speedway Ltd was bound by the
five years’ lease agreement with the R.N.A., his company would more than likely
continue staging racing at the Exhibition Grounds as well as at Windsor.
Some who have written about the racing staged in 1926-27 at the Brisbane
Exhibition Grounds have stated that the R.N.A. “threw” Hunting out of that venue
after just the one season. During the months following the conclusion of racing
at the Exhibition Grounds in early May of 1927, both Hunting and the R.N.A.
publicly stated that there was still a five year lease in operation between the
two parties for the use of the number one oval at the R.N.A. grounds for the
staging of motorcycle racing. The R.N.A. did NOT tell Hunting he had to leave;
it was in their interest that he stayed.
The same week that Hunting announced his intention to develop the Windsor site,
objections to the proposal began to be raised. The following is section of a
letter, written by a local resident, which appeared in a Brisbane newspaper: -
“...I would like to know why a council, which limits the hours that tennis
players may play at night, because of the annoyance caused to residents near by,
will permit a Speedway company to operate to all hours of the night within the
precincts of a closely-populated district...”
The application submitted by National Speedway Ltd to the council for permission
to conduct motorcycle racing on the Windsor site was discussed at a Council
meeting in early June. The application contained a request to have the
Exhibition Grounds licence transferred to the proposed Windsor location. The
Council’s licensing committee informed the speedway company that a transfer of
the licence would not be granted and that an application for a new licence
should be submitted. This application, should it be submitted, would be reviewed
after one month from submission date, a period which would provide an
opportunity for any objections to the proposal to be tabled. Should no
reasonable objection be received during that time, the council would issue the
licence. Hunting forwarded the appropriate new licence application.
The four-week waiting period had not even elapsed when the Parks Committee of
the Brisbane City Council received a second application from Hunting for a lease
of the number one Davies Park oval in South Brisbane for the purpose of
constructing a speedway. This application, just as had the previous one
submitted earlier in the year, was for a period of five years with an option for
renewal for a further five years. The company making this application was named
as Olympia Motor Speedway (Brisbane) Ltd., the parent company of National
Speedway Ltd, the applicant for the licence to conduct motorcycle racing at the
Windsor site. In its application for the Davies Park lease, Olympia Motor
Speedway (Brisbane) Ltd noted that it was prepared to undertake to spend at
least 3,000 pounds on the development project. This would include construction
of the track, laying on water, internal fencing, safety fencing, seating
accommodation, levelling and drainage of the ground, and the installation of
electric lighting. It was stated in the application that the company sought the
use of the oval for racing on week nights, for practice between the hours of 9
a.m. and 11 a.m., and on afternoons when the ground was not otherwise in use.
The proposed rental was 1,000 pounds per annum.
At the time the application from Olympia Motor Speedway (Brisbane) Ltd was
submitted, the lease for the Davies Park number one oval was already held by the
Queensland Rugby League. The Parks Committee received a letter from the Q.R.L.
stating that the organisation was prepared to agree to any variation of the
current lease provided a number of stipulations were agreed to, these being: -
1. The proposed Speedway does not trespass on the
necessities of football days as at present.
2. It results in the ground being improved in
accommodation and appointments.
3. The playing oval is maintained in good order.
4. Nothing is done that will eventually lead to the
ground being rendered less useful for football and cricket.
The speedway company agreed to abide by these stipulations.
A.J. Hunting had put a lot of time and thought into this second Davies Park
lease proposal. Fresh in his mind were the objections to the Windsor proposal
which had been raised with the Council. Along with this Davies Park lease
application, Hunting also submitted to the Council a petition signed by 212
householders who resided adjacent to Davies Park. The letter provided
confirmation that the signatories were in favour of the proposed speedway. Much
to Hunting’s delight the Parks Committee recommended the lease be granted,
subject to the speedway company agreeing to the following stipulations: -
(a) That the members of the syndicate be held
collectively and individually responsible for the payment of the rent for the
whole term of the lease.
(b) That at the expiry of the lease all
improvements carried out are to become the sole property of the Council.
(c) That the present lessee (the Queensland Rugby
League) be granted the use of the ground on Saturday afternoons free from any
charge by the syndicate during the unexpired period of the present lease.
(d) That all proposed improvements must be carried
out to the satisfaction of the Council’s Officers.
(e) That the ground be made available for cricket
during the cricketing season, free of any charge by the Company.
(f) Lease be granted, subject to application for
licence, and same being approved by the Licensing Committee.
Alderman A. Watson, chairman of the Parks Committee, said that the Davies Park
lease would provide Brisbane with a first-class cricket and football ground.
A meeting of the Council’s Licensing, Markets and Miscellaneous Committee on
June 21 recommended that during the duration of the proposed lease of Davies
Park for motor cycle speedway purposes no other application of a similar nature
with respect to any site on the south side of the river should be granted. The
motion was adopted by the Council. This resolution would not effect Hunting’s
Windsor proposal which was still before the Council as that site was on the
north side of the city. However, another future application by Hunting for a
licence to stage racing at another site would be scuppered by this Council
regulation.
Having been granted the Davies Park lease, Hunting now required a licence from
the Council to stage motorcycle racing on the site. At the Brisbane City Council
meeting on July 5 Olympia Motor Speedway (Brisbane) Ltd was granted the licence
to conduct motorcycle racing at Davies Park. The Licensing Committee stated that
they could see no reason why the licence should be withheld as Davies Park was
situated in an industrial area, and no reasonable objection could be raised as
the noise produced by “motor cycling speed contests” would not exceed the noise
that might be created by certain classes of industrial establishments.
At the City Council meeting the following week, Alderman Barstow, the councillor
for the area which included the Davies Park site, presented a petition signed by
230 residents who opposed the establishment of a speedway at Davies Park.
Just over a week after receiving final approval to stage motorcycle racing at
Davies Park, A. J. Hunting revealed his already well-formulated plans for the
opening of the new track. He had contracted some of the best small track riders
in New South Wales and Queensland to appear on his initial programmes. Billy
Lamont, Vic Huxley, Jock Hollis and American visitor Cecil Brown were some who
would be in Brisbane for the opening of the new venue in early August. Hunting
was still negotiating with another New South Wales rider who had thrilled the
Brisbane speedway fans when he had raced at the Exhibition Grounds the previous
season - Paddy Dean.
Construction of the track and the other facilities was soon underway. The annual
Brisbane Show was to be staged over the week commencing August 8. Hunting wanted
to have his track in operation by this date so he could take advantage of the
huge influx of out of town visitors to Brisbane during Show week.
One of the problems with the Exhibition Grounds track had been its width. It
hadn’t taken long for the Speedway management to realise that four starters in
the big money scratch races at that track were too many if riders’ safety was to
be considered. This would not be a problem at Davies Park; plans were for the
track to be a quarter mile in length (the same as the Exhibition Grounds), about
75 feet wide on the bends, and with a racing surface of decomposed granite. The
lighting of the Davies Park track would also be superior to that at the R.N.A.
ground. The following appeared in a press report some two weeks prior to the
track’s opening: -
“The management of the new speedway will be practically the same as that which
staged the carnivals at the Exhibition last year. This means that the
organisation will have the ‘Hunting’ touch about it. There can be no denying
that the Hunting brothers, A. J. and Frank, know the speedway game from A to Z,
and they have the knack of presenting the sport to the public the way the public
want it to be presented.....The track at Davies Park is of dirt, which provides
the most sensational racing, but cinders will be used should the dirt prove
unsatisfactory. The lighting of the track has been a subject of study, and Mr.
A. J. Hunting gives me to understand that it has been all but rendered perfect.
The visibility of the track and riders will be nearly 50 per cent better than it
was at the Exhibition track, because the lights will be suspended directly over
the track from a network of wires, which will stretch from poles outside the
track to poles on the inside. At the Exhibition track all of the lighting is
effected from the outer edge. The track is now completed, and training will be
indulged in later on in the week.”
The old stands which had served spectators at Davies Park for many years were in
a poor state of repair. Hunting carried out the necessary work to make these
stands safe for his speedway patrons. New stands were also erected to provide
additional spectator seating. To enable a track of a quarter-mile to be built,
Hunting had to move the existing outer oval fence in a couple of places to
increase the circumference of the oval. Almost 1,000 loads of soil were carted
to Davies Park during the laying of the track.
In order to keep faith with some of the riders who had been loyal during the
recently completed Exhibition Grounds season, the Speedway management decided to
provide them with jobs during the construction of the track and facilities at
Davies Park. During the work at the site some comical incidents occurred
involving these riders. Following is how two of the incidents were recalled in a
1935 edition of Speedway News: -
“Van (Praag) demanded and received employment. He, with other riders, was
employed at various jobs, including painting, and driving tractors. The first
spot of amusement cropped up in connection with the painting. The Painters’ and
Decorators’ Union got in touch with the management and demanded either that the
riders were discharged or paid full union rates. The boys received the full
rate, and have had decided leanings towards Trade Unionism ever since.
“The best story concerns the tractors. One morning the lads were interviewed by
the foreman who gave them instructions to remove a considerable number of
substantial posts. He went away for an hour or so and upon his return was amazed
to find the job completed. Then he looked at the tractors. Bent and battered
radiators told the whole story. The posts had been knocked down! The fact that
on some occasions the same post had been charged simultaneously by two tractors
travelling directly towards each other, did very little to improve the
machinery.”
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| A wonderful caricature of
A. J. Hunting |
The Davies Park track |
A.J. Hunting announced that
negotiations with Paddy Dean had been finalised for him to appear at a number of
meetings in Brisbane, commencing with opening night on August 6.
A Brisbane journalist, who had visited Davies Park on Monday August 1, wrote the
following: -
“Brisbane is at last to have a real speedway. Hitherto promoters of motor cycle
races have had to make-shift with tracks built for horse racing and the
Exhibition which, after the wheels had churned the surface, became most
unsuitable, the pot-holes severely punishing both men and machines. But Davies
Park Speedway will be opened on Saturday night, and, with the opening, Brisbane
will be introduced to real dirt track racing on a track specially built to hold
motor cycles at speed.
“A visit to Davies Park yesterday was a great surprise. Work has been in
progress only about a month, yet only the finishing touches remain to be put to
the different sections. The place has been transformed. It is practically
surrounded by stands, and above the ring hang the huge arc lights which, the
engineers claim, will illuminate the place brighter than daylight. Those lights
represent 125,000 candle power.
“Then there is the track itself. The green of the football ground is encircled
by a broad dun red ribbon of porphyry granite, 1,500 cubic yards of which were
brought 13 miles from Enoggera to make the surface of the track.........
although the track has the same lap distance as the Exhibition it is faster and
safer because it is wider. In the straights it is 30 feet wide, which is 50 per
cent more than at the Exhibition, and it broadens to 45 feet at the bends with
an18-inch banking. In the back straight, which is more of a steady swerve, the
track is banked a foot.... The K-wire cushion type of safety fence is used.
“Mention has been made of the stands. More have been built, and some of the old
ones have been altered to permit of the fitting of chairs and the giving of
space for spectators to walk between the rows.... There is seating accommodation
for more than 9,000.
“Mr. Hunting evidently is a man who forgets few things. All the weaknesses in
the system at the old Speedway have been strengthened; every step has been taken
to eliminate the disadvantages which attended meetings there. The pits for
instance are sensibly large, and he has had built a special casualty room for
the ambulance...”
On August 2nd, the Brisbane City Council announced that the application by
National Speedway Ltd for a permit to conduct motor cycle racing at the Windsor
site had been refused. Many objections to the granting of the licence had been
received by the Council from Progress Associations and residents of the area.
Hunting’s foresight in seeking an alternate site had paid dividends. As for the
petition which had been lodged by Alderman Barstow the previous month on behalf
of the 230 residents opposed to the granting of a licence to stage motorcycle
racing at Davies Park, the Council announced that, as the licence had already
been granted, no action could be taken.
On Wednesday evening, August 3, 1927, three nights prior to the opening meeting,
what was termed by the speedway promotion as a “dress rehearsal” was staged at
the Davies Park track. The spectators (their number estimated as being between
4,000 and 5,000) gained admission on that evening by donating a silver coin at
the turnstiles in aid of the Ambulance Brigade (145 pounds was raised).
Following the staging of the amateur cycling races, the motorcycle riders were
introduced in turn to the spectators present. Dean, Lamont and Brown had arrived
in Brisbane on the Wednesday morning and took part in the proceedings. The
following extract is from a newspaper report: -
“(Billy) Lamont made a marked impression on the crowd. Previously they had only
read of his broadsiding ability, but in the course of a few laps he thoroughly
satisfied the craving for thrills which characterises every speedway fan. His
‘stunting’ was noteworthy, and he was cheered to the echo as he returned to the
pits. (Paddy) Dean was the next to thrill the spectators. After coming to earth
in a spectacular skid in his first lap, he ‘got the hang’ of the track, and
lapped in sensational time. (Cecil) Brown also showed great skill, while of the
better-known riders, Jock Hollis and Huxley showed to advantage. The latter
greatly resembles Dean in riding style, and his display was full of gameness and
skill. Another very promising exhibition was given by Cyril Anderson, of
Toowoomba, who probably will make a name for himself on the new Speedway. Henry
Horstmann, who will appear on Saturday night in a light car race, lapped the
track in his Senechal car at dizzy speed, giving remarkable exhibitions of
skidding on the bends.”
All was in readiness for the Saturday August 6 opening of the new track.
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Thanks to Ross Garrigan for this report. |
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