speedway_pioneers

Australian Speedway

1928 - Part Two

The March 17th. 1928 meeting saw the final Wayville appearance that season of two visiting riders who had endeared themselves to the speedway patrons - Queensland's Dick Smythe and American Sprouts Elder. Elder had a booking to travel to England on the liner Ormonde which had already departed Sydney for Fremantle by the time he had fulfilled his final Wayville engagement. Elder made one last appearance on the track in Australia that 1927/28 season when he appeared at Claremont on Saturday March 24th. A crowd of motorcycle racing enthusiasts was on hand at the Perth railway station to greet the American when he arrived from Adelaide on the day prior to the meeting.
At Claremont (a track which impressed him), Elder defeated Charlie Datson in an International match race. Others who had success on that programme were Sig Schlam (who defeated Syd Parsons in a 3-lap match race) and Ron Johnson, who won a heat and semi-final of the scratch race (Parsons defeated him in the final). Schlam won the "A" Grade Handicap Final.

Elder had been joined by his friend Paddy Dean (who had travelled on the train with him from Adelaide) aboard the Ormonde prior to its departure for England. The vessel left Fremantle two days after the staging of the March 24 Claremont meeting. At that time Dean was still nursing the arm injury he sustained in his accident at Wayville on February 4th.
Geoff Meredith also travelled to England on this voyage. It has been incorrectly reported over the years that both he and Keith McKay arrived in England in October 1927 - that is not correct. In fact both riders feature prominently in the printed publicity I have for Sydney Showground meetings programmed during November 1927.

Sprouts Elder

Elder, who had raced with success in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, made some interesting comments during his press interviews on his arrival in Perth. He mentioned that his first involvement in motorcycle competition had been in hill-climbing events, but had turned his attention to track racing which he considered required more skill. He did add though that hill-climbing was more exciting. Elder made some observations concerning the differences between racing in Australia and America. He commented that most Americans would think the Australian riders crazy because of the large machines they rode on such small tracks. He also stated that the prizemoney on offer in the States was better than in Australia, but added that the Australian riders were "the best in the world."

Quizzed as to how he came to get his nick-name "Sprouts" (his Christian name was Lloyd), Elder said that when he was young he was only a little chap, but seemed to grow up overnight. People promptly called him "Sprouts", and the name stuck with him.

Dick Smythe, having also completed his final Wayville engagement that season on March 17th, headed back to Brisbane to appear at Davies Park on March 24th. During his three week stay in Adelaide, Smythe had won the prestigious Silver Gauntlet, and also equalled Paddy Dean's world record for one mile on a track up to one-third of a mile in length.

Queensland's Vic Huxley remained in Adelaide to appear at the March 24th. meeting where he was to attempt to better the one-mile world record held jointly by Dean and Smythe. Under threatening skies, 12,000 people still attended the Wayville Showground for this meeting - and what a memorable occurrence they witnessed. I'll quote from the Adelaide Advertiser:-

"Huxley was given a stirring welcome as he jumped on his 3 1/2 Douglas and did a circuit at top speed to ensure a good flying start. The first turn was rounded without slowing down, Huxley using his leg to steady the machine, and the lap was completed in 21 1/5 sec. The second lap was left behind in 21 seconds dead, and the third occupied one-fifth of a second more. The mile was therefore completed in 1 min. 3 2/5 sec., a reduction of 2 1/5 sec. on Dean's record. Long before the figure was announced, the crowd realised that the Queenslander had smashed the record, and hats went up in every direction. There was a roar for Huxley, who evaded hero-worship by slipping into the mechanic's yard."

Vic Huxley

The other event of particular interest on the programme was the contest for the Gold Sash. The eight riders competing were Huxley, Alby Taylor, Harry Butler, Reg West, Harry Mangham, Bud Morris, and two riders who had appeared at the very first Wayville meeting in February of the previous year - Frank Duckett and Dick Lock. The first of the semi-finals brought together Huxley and local hero Taylor. Even though Huxley won, Taylor registered a personal best time for one-mile at Wayville -
1 min. 6 2/5 seconds. Butler defeated Mangham in the other semi-final.
It was unthinkable that Butler could defeat Huxley in the final - particularly after the Queenslander drew the inside starting position. One can never discount mechanical problems in speedway - as Huxley was to find out. Butler won by 120 yards after Huxley encountered plug problems during the race.

This was Huxley's final engagement at Wayville and, during a short speech to the crowd on the night, he thanked them for the splendid time they'd given him during his visit. Huxley made one comment on his new record one-mile time - he thought he could better it. He left Adelaide the following day to return to Brisbane.

On the same evening that Elder appeared at Claremont and Huxley set the new record at Wayville, a huge crowd attended Davies Park in Brisbane to farewell Hunting's group of riders who were about to depart for England. As their bikes had already been despatched for shipping overseas, the group rode borrowed machinery that evening. When addressing the spectators, the riders' spokesman, Frank Pearce, thanked those present for attending.
The day had been a busy one for Pearce - at noon he had been afforded a farewell by his employer, the Brisbane Harley-Davidson distributors Morgan and Wacker, at which he was presented with an inscribed gold watch. During his farewell speech to Pearce, Mr. Henry Wacker told those assembled that Pearce had been a faithful servant of the company, was an expert mechanic, and a rider who always gave of his best when on the track.
During the week, a farewell function had been held in Brisbane at the Constitutional Club for the departing riders and officials.

On that March 24th evening, Jock Hollis relieved Frank Pearce of the Silver Sash, and Bruce McCallum won the main handicap final.
As Vic Huxley had decided to remain in Adelaide to race at Wayville, his Brisbane fans had expressed their disappointed at not having the opportunity to farewell him also. An announcement was made that evening at Davies Park to the effect that Huxley's father had confirmed that his son would return to Brisbane for the following Saturday night's meeting in order to make his own farewell appearance.
Hunting's England-bound riders (with the exception of Huxley, Billy Lamont and Cecil Brown) departed Brisbane on the Sydney mail train on Monday morning March 26th bound for Sydney, where they were booked on the liner Oronsay which sailed on March 28th. Following is how the Brisbane Courier Mail reported the group's departure -

"The team of Queensland speedway riders, who are going to England to ride under the management of International Speedways Ltd., left for Sydney by the mail train accompanied by the officials who will make the trip with them. A great crowd of well-wishers assembled at Central Station to say farewell to the boys, among them being the riders' parents, several of whom were visibly affected by the prospect of losing their sons for a lengthy period. As the train moved out the boys were given a rousing cheer, which they will probably remember through all their wanderings."

One point worth noting is that Hunting's riders and officials who sailed on the Oronsay travelled First Class.
Another big crowd turned up at Davies Park on March 31 for Huxley's farewell meeting.
Those attending showed their appreciation for Huxley's presence by cheering him for ten minutes when he made his first appearance on the track that evening. Three riders performed superbly during the racing on the night. Huxley won his heat and semi-final of the contest for the Silver Armlet, and also defeated visiting New South Welshman Tommy Benstead in a match race. Benstead won his Silver Armlet heat, and also the final. The performance of young Toowoomba lad Cyril Anderson caught everyone's attention - he won his heat, semi-final and final of the First Division Handicap, and also recorded victories in his heat and semi-final of the contest for the Silver Armlet.

During the course of the evening, Huxley was presented with the James Pike Aggregate Cup for scoring the most points in handicap races at the venue over the course of the season. It is a measure of Huxley's dominance in this form of racing that he achieved this feat even though he had spent eight weeks of the season in South Australia. Huxley finished one point clear of Hilary Buchanan.
Huxley departed Brisbane two days later, travelling to Perth by rail. He boarded the Oronsay at Fremantle prior to its departure for England.

Billy Lamont and American Cecil Brown didn't sail on the Oronsay with the rest of Hunting's riders - they had already departed for England travelling via the U.S.A. Lamont's final appearance at Davies Park was at the February 25th meeting where he also received a rousing send-off from the crowd. Although Lamont won a heat and semi-final of the handicap race that evening, the star of the night was Frank Pearce. He started in six events and won the lot, including the Silver Sash final defeating Dick Smythe and Hilary Buchanan.

An unusual incident occurred during Pearce's heat of the Silver Sash. Harold Stevens was a rider who seemed to attract more than his fair share of bad luck while on the racetrack. He was given an appropriate nick-name - "Hard Luck Harold".
Following is an account I have of what transpired during the third heat of the one-mile Silver Sash scratch race :-

"Pearce was the early leader, but Stevens caused great surprise by slipping through inside of his rival and taking the lead. For two laps Stevens led Pearce, the pair providing a great tussle until the former (Stevens) seemed to collapse on his machine, and dazedly steering off the track he fell in a pool of water, and was removed on a stretcher. This left Pearce to win easily. It was subsequently learned that Stevens had sustained a fractured leg."

What had happened during the race was that Stevens hit a bump in the track with such force that he fractured his leg - that was the reason he rode his bike onto the infield and collapsed.

Bert Spencer

One of the finest photos of a leg-trailing rider I have seen. The photo was taken in England during Bert's time at Norwich.

A 19 year old who was destined to make quite a name for himself in world speedway appeared in a support race at Davies Park that evening - Bert Spencer. This youngster, accompanied by Harold Stevens, Fred Hore and Boyd Pratt, also made the trip to England, arriving towards the latter stages of the 1928 season.
Spencer and Hore have a special place in the history of Exeter's famous County Ground.The week prior to the opening meeting staged on March 9th. 1929 on the newly-completed track, this pair put on a riding demonstration at the venue following the rugby match - they were the first to ride at the famous site.

Two meetings were staged at Claremont over the Easter weekend of 1928 - a night programme on Easter Saturday April 7th, and an afternoon meeting on the Easter Monday. It was over this weekend that the three riders who were about to accompany Johnnie Hoskins to England aboard the Oronsay (Sig Schlam, Charlie Datson and Ron Johnson) raced for the final time that season in Australia. It was Schlam who starred on the Saturday defeating noted big track rider Frank Brown in a match race, and also winning his heat, semi-final and final of the scratch race. Frank Brown, who hailed from Dubbo in New South Wales, had experienced success at both the Sydney Showground and Claremont.
At the Easter Monday meeting, Schlam was beaten by Charlie Datson in a thrilling match race - the winning margin was one length.

"Exhaust", the speedway correspondent for the West Australian newspaper, expressed his thoughts on Sig Schlam, Charlie Datson and Ron Johnson on the eve of their departure for England:-
"Schlam now rides at a great rate, but much more steadily than when the Speedway was opened."
"Datson rides like a machine. ..... although he has had more than his share of falls, seems to get into less trouble than any of the others...."
"Johnson is brilliant. He rides with probably less judgement than the others, but his dash to a great extent compensates for this."

A farewell function had been staged at the Amateur Sports Club in Perth on Wednesday April 4th by the Harley-Davidson Club to farewell Schlam, Datson and Johnson.

The Oronsay sailed from Fremantle on Tuesday April 10th.

Thanks to Barry Forsyth for encouraging me to write about Australia's speedway pioneers. He strongly believes that those who gave us the sport of speedway should never be forgotten.

Thanks to Ross Garrigan for this report.