Thebarton Oval.

The next appearance of motorcycles at the Thebarton Oval was on Wednesday evening January 24, 1923. This cycling carnival was staged by the Adelaide Amusement Company. Once again the Motor Cycle Club of South Australia organised the three motorcycle races which supported the programme of cycling. It is important to note that the track surface was now cinders. Therefore, motorcycles raced on cinders, and under electric lighting, at Thebarton Oval some eleven months before they raced for the first time at the Maitland Showground in New South Wales. Whenever both motorcycles and bicycles raced on a common loose surface at carnivals, the accepted practice was to roll the inside part of the track to facilitate the staging of the bicycle events.

Pleased with the attendance the previous week, the Adelaide Amusement Company staged another carnival at Thebarton Oval the following Wednesday evening. On this occasion there were eight motorcycle races on the programme. These were once again organised by the Motor Cycle Club of South Australia. Among those who raced were Jack Moyle, Charlie Moyle and Frank Duckett.

It was on this evening that Arthur Clarke, one of the motorcycle competitors, suffered horrific injuries when he lost control of his machine, which then crashed into the fence. Clarke was hurled from the motorcycle and impaled on the points of the fence pickets. Members of the Islington Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade were quickly on the scene, and it was immediately obvious that Clarke was badly injured. He was rushed to the Adelaide Hospital where he was admitted in a serious condition. It would be five years before motorcycles raced again at Thebarton Oval.

Clarke died in June 1936, having never fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the accident at Thebarton Oval. The Motor Cycle Club of South Australia did a sterling job staging a number of fund raising activities to assist with Clarke’s medical expenses during the 13½ years he required treatment.
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In February of 1927, Keith McKay travelled to Adelaide with the express purpose of finding a suitable venue at which to stage a speedway meeting. The following appeared in a souvenir publication issued at the time of the staging of the Australian Championship meetings at Wayville one year later. The comments refer to McKay’s February 1927 Adelaide visit: -

“A Sydney enthusiast, Mr. K. McKay, then visited Adelaide and approached the Motor Cycle Club for its support in the promotion of this class of sport in South Australia. Still having in mind the unfortunate happenings at the Thebarton Oval carnivals, the club decided to run a trial event on the Wayville Show Grounds before entering into any agreement with a body of promoters. Despite the fact that the riders selected to make the try out were all satisfied that the track was perfectly safe, many prominent riders held that such racing was highly dangerous and consequently would not make any attempt to master this new style of speeding.”

When it was proposed to stage motorcycle racing at the Wayville Showground in 1927, many motorcycling officials and riders still remembered what had happened to Clarke at Thebarton Oval. The fence surrounding the Wayville track was also a picket fence, and this was a major cause of concern. However, McKay did stage his meeting, which turned out to be the forerunner of many more at the venue.
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Motorcycle racing returned to Thebarton Oval in March of 1928. This sport was attracting good crowds at the Wayville Showground during the early months of that year. Riders including Vic Huxley, Dick Smythe and Sprouts Elder were thrilling the Wayville spectators. New tracks were opening in South Australia. The Burra Motor Sporting Club staged its first meeting on their new 1½-mile speedway track at Burra on Saturday February 25, and the first programme staged on the cinders surface of the Port Pirie Speedway track at Memorial Oval took place on Saturday evening March 17.

Only three meetings were held on the Thebarton Oval during the 1927/28 season, all staged on Thursday evenings during the month of March 1928 by the Thebarton Speedway Motor Club. The Motor Cycle Club of South Australia did not give its sanction to these meetings.

A long-awaited event took place in Adelaide on Saturday March 10, the first screenings of the much-heralded film “Ben Hur”. This epic had taken over three years to film, had a cast of around 150,000, and had cost one million pounds to make. The reason I mention this film is because the chariot racing scenes had enthralled those who went to see it. The opening Thebarton meeting was on Thursday March 15, five days after the film’s release. What attracted many in the huge crowd present at the first Thebarton meeting was the added attraction of chariot races on the programme. This was a promotional masterpiece from the Thebarton Club. The following is from my meeting report: -

“In addition to the cycling events, chariot racing took place. The chariots were each drawn by three horses, and were driven by experienced reinsmen…”

Three chariot races and a sidecar pursuit race supported the solo motorcycle events, which consisted of ten handicap races (each over four laps) and a three-lap flying start match race.

Another large attendance was guaranteed the following Thursday evening when chariot races were again programmed. The following comment about the motorcycle events comes from the meeting report: -

“In consequence of the sharp turns on a flat track the riders have not the best of opportunities for making fast times, but they got over the ground smartly.”

Also from the report: -

“The chariots, which are of the old Roman style, are each drawn by three horses, which gallop full speed around the arena.”

Reg Hay (Harley) and Fred Hore (Douglas) were two who raced in the motorcycle events. There were nine handicap races and a three-lap match race (in which Hay defeated Hore). The class of the speedway motorcyclists racing on these Thebarton programmes was nowhere near the standard of the riders appearing on Saturday evenings at Wayville. Colourful character Herb Durkin won the sidecar race. Four chariot races were also presented.

The final meeting staged the following Thursday evening didn’t attract a crowd as large as the first two programmes had done. Two sidecar races and three chariot races supported the twenty solo events. Hay and Hore once again appeared.

Thebarton is often mentioned in magazine articles and in books dealing with the subject of early Australian motorcycle racing. One would be forgiven for assuming quite a deal of racing had taken place at the venue during the early years of the sport in Australia. That is not the case. However the historical significance in the evolution of speedway in Australia of the 1921, 1922 and 1923 racing, particularly the racing on cinders in early 1923, should never be underestimated.

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