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The Adventures of Dick Case, “Dusty” Haigh, and Joe Abbott. |
| Christmas
1934. |
Having experienced a far from
settled 1934 English season at club level, Toowoomba’s Dick Case returned to
Australia hoping to enjoy a rest, catch up with his family and friends, and,
yes, to ride some speedway. Case’s English club mate “Dusty” Haigh was a member
of the English side which toured Australia during the 1934-35 season. “Dusty”
and his mate Joe Abbott (also a member of the touring party) might well have
wished that Dick Case had not been such an hospitable character.
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| The Jovial
Dick Case |
This story begins in Sydney in
December of 1934. Case, Abbott and Haigh were all booked to race at the Sydney
Showground on Saturday December 22nd where the feature event was the One Mile
Championship of New South Wales. Case, anxious to see his friends and family in
Toowoomba while he was in Australia, had made arrangements to pay them a
Christmas visit. Case asked Haigh and Abbott if they wanted to spend Christmas
in Toowoomba with him and his family. The pair jumped at the chance as they had
heard so much about the Australian bush and were keen to see some of the
outback.
On Sunday morning December 23rd, the three set out from Sydney aboard their
Rudge T.T. machines headed for Toowoomba. The English pair had to be back in
Sydney to race the following Saturday. At the time of writing this story, I
checked the distance by road from Sydney to Toowoomba and I found it is 885.60
kms (around 550 miles). The estimated driving time is 10 hours 48 minutes. 70
odd years ago, in 1934, the roads wouldn’t have been anywhere near the standard
they are today, and the distance traveled between the two points would have been
far greater.
Even though they had to continually stop to repair punctures (around 2 ½ hours
of lost time), the three reportedly covered about 450 miles on the first day.
Night fell when they were about 70 miles from Armidale. The lights on Case’s and
Haigh’s machines failed. Undaunted, the intrepid adventurers pressed on for
another 35 miles assisted by the lamp on Abbott’s cycle. They decided to camp
and continue at dawn.
What a night it turned out to be. They had no blankets or camping equipment.
Surely things couldn’t get any worse. They did!! A heavy storm, accompanied by
lightning, struck at around midnight. The three tore branches from trees and
hurriedly erected a makeshift shelter.
Good progress was made the following day until the mud flats outside Killarney
were reached. The bikes continually became bogged and, on occasions, the heavy
machines had to be carried from one track to another. Haigh’s machine became
hopelessly bogged about seven miles outside Killarney. Unable to free it, the
machine was abandoned, and the three set off on the remaining two bikes for the
township of Killarney. There they sought assistance to free the stranded
motorcycle.
The three weary travelers reached Toowoomba on Monday night – Christmas Eve. No
doubt there were some humorous stories related over a few beers during the
following days.
The two Englishmen (minus Case) set off on the Thursday for the return trip to
Sydney. The pair reported hitting potholes “as big as shell holes” on the return
journey. Broken wheel spokes and driving chain were the result.
Tiredness and aching bodies forced the pair to stop and camp the night near
Wyong. Mosquitoes, beetles and ants made sleeping almost impossible. Adding to
their discomfort was the fact they carried no food.
With barked shins, clothes in tatters, and their stomachs crying out for a
decent meal, the two reached Sydney at about 10 o’clock on the Friday morning.
They had completed the trip from Toowoomba to Sydney in 11 ½ hours riding time.
This equates to an average speed of around 60 m.p.h. They commented that the
roads they had encountered were, when rain effected, difficult enough to be used
in rough riding trials in England. Abbott had worn out a back tyre on the trip.
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| “Dusty” Haigh
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Joe Abbott |
Looking back on their six-day
“outback adventure”, the Englishmen made some interesting (and light-hearted)
comments.
Abbott said he had seen every animal imaginable, and that they were very lucky
to get back alive. His machine had careered off the road on several occasions.
At one stage they became lost and were 30 miles out of their route. In an aside
directed at his mate “Dusty”, he commented that the next time he went camping,
he swore it would be only with people who would share in keeping the night fire
going.
Haigh commented that he would remember the mud flats for the rest of his life.
He said he had wanted to see a bit of the Australian bush life, and he had seen
it. He added that he would not repeat the ride for 1,000 pounds.
Yes, Mr. Case surely made Christmas of 1934 a memorable occasion for two
visiting Englishmen.
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Both Herbert
“Dusty” Haigh and Joe Abbott lost their lives in speedway accidents in England:
Haigh on May 15, 1936 and Abbott on July 1, 1950.
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Thanks to Ross Garrigan for this report. |
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