speedway_pioneers

Breaking New Ground
The story of the history-making first tour of Australia by an England speedway team.
Early in the 1929 English season, speedway promoter James Baxter and Australian rider Frank Arthur arranged a speedway match at the West Ham track in London between teams representing England and Australia. This clash, which created immense public interest, resulted in an easy win for the Australian team. Further similar matches, which also proved very popular, were staged on various English tracks that season. Baxter and Arthur conceived the idea of sending an England team to Australia at the conclusion of the 1929 English season. For a number of reasons the trip didn’t take place. The following year in England, Speedway Test Matches, which were officially sanctioned by the country’s controlling body, commenced between Australia and England. Frank Arthur hadn’t given up on the idea of organising a tour of Australia by an England team. In this endeavour he found an ally in Johnnie Hoskins. Try as they might, the pair found the merits of financing such a business venture well nigh impossible to sell to the financial heads in England. Only one wealthy Londoner had agreed to provide some backing. It was during the 1932 English season that Hoskins pronounced, “That’s enough! The boys and I will put up the rest”. At the end of October 1932, the first England touring team to travel to Australia set sail aboard the P. & O. liner Bendigo. The controlling company, British-Australian Speedways, Ltd., ended up with five directors - J. S. (Johnnie) Hoskins, Frank Arthur, John G. (Jack) Ormston, John (Jack) Parker, and businessman C. Beardmore. The principals of the company planned the Australian tour around two separate competitions. The first would be a series of international matches between Australia and England. The second would be a number of World Championship meetings. Following is a letter the tour manager, Johnnie Hoskins, wrote and despatched to Australia prior to sailing from England. As is mentioned by Hoskins, he and Jack Parker, and not the English speedway authorities, chose the English riders. “The following team of English riders is coming with me on the Bendigo, leaving here on October 28: - Jack Parker will captain and manage the English team. He has captained nearly every test team here and is one of the best riders in the world. Jack Ormston, who visited Australia a few seasons ago and raced at Adelaide, and who is captain of our famous Wembley team, is next. Others are: George Greenwood, one of Wembley’s most brilliant riders and recent captain of the Leeds team; Harry Whitfield, winner of three 100 pound championships in one week, and member of the Wembley team since the commencement. He is making this a honeymoon trip. Phil Bishop, captain of the High Beech team, and one of the most reckless of all the riders. He has with him his teammate, Wally Lloyd, the smallest rider on the tracks, and extremely popular with all crowds. Gordon Byers, the youngest English rider to gain test match honours, is an absolutely fearless Yorkshire boy, and a big point scorer for Wembley. Bill Clibbett, captain of the Plymouth team and a dashing rider, is one of the most consistent riders of the team and a good trier. Norman Evans, of the Wembley team, visited New Zealand a couple of seasons ago, and is noted for his peculiar style of riding and his fast motors. “Little Ian Hoskins, the well known mascot of the Wembley team, is also coming with his miniature motor. Ian is now eight years old and made his debut at Wembley on his sixth birthday. He is almost as popular as the captain of the team. “These English lads have been chosen by Jack Parker and myself in preference to others with slightly more experience, as being riders who will give a good account of themselves in Australia. Seven of them are test match riders and, on their recent form, the others are qualified as among the best in the country. “Each rider will have two of the latest motors, a plentiful supply of spares, and special fuel. One or two are bringing a spare engine as well, so that there should be absolutely neck and neck racing all the way. “Among the Australian boys are such great internationals as Frank Arthur, who is to captain the Australian side (at least at Perth); Vic Huxley, probably the world’s greatest small-track rider; Lionel Van Praag, the dogged Sydney crack; Jack Chapman, the champion of Adelaide; Stan Catlett, the well-known West Australian; Dicky Smythe, of Brisbane; Steve Langton, the brilliant Toowoomba boy, who has made a great name this year; and Bluey Wilkinson, of Bathurst, than whom there is not a more popular rider on the speedways of England, France and Germany. Dicky Case and Max Grosskreutz may also come. In fact, every Australian and English rider of note, with only about four exceptions in the English side, will be in Australia this season.” In this communication, Hoskins didn’t mention one other member of the England touring party – “Chun” Moore. On a later occasion in Australia, Hoskins named the four English riders he alluded to in the last sentence of his letter as being Ginger Lees, Eric Langton, Tom Farndon and Colin Watson.

The three who had the arduous task of organising the tour in Australia. Tour Manager Johnnie Hoskins (left) and the two to whom he delegated some of the responsibility during the season - Frank Arthur (centre) and Jack Parker (on the right).
On the first Sunday the Bendigo was at sea, the ever-observant Johnnie Hoskins became aware that there wasn’t a Chaplain on board the ship. He noticed that the Sunday Service consisted of just an impromptu gathering of about a dozen worshippers in the ship’s lounge. A week’s planning by Hoskins resulted in a more formal arrangement the following Sunday. Here is how Jack Parker remembered the second Sunday at sea: - “ ‘Roarin John’ read the lesson and led the hymn-singing. Before long he had the lounge packed to overflowing, and although I am perfectly certain he was quite sincere in his actions, I am also convinced that the beams of satisfaction with which he gazed around had something to do with the thought that once again he had drawn a record crowd.” Before the Bendigo arrived at Fremantle in Western Australia, the Auto Cycle Council of Australia received a cable from the Auto Cycle Union in London concerning the upcoming visit to Australia by the English riders. The November 10 missive from the London authorities strictly forbade the staging in Australia that season of official Test matches which involved an England team comprised of riders from Hoskins’ party. Not only were the Australian authorities forbidden from using the term “official Test matches” but they were also forbidden from using the term “test match”. Hoskins said that he and the other members of the touring group became aware of this stance taken by the Auto Cycle Union just a few hours prior to the Bendigo’s departure from London. The Bendigo docked at Fremantle on November 28th at 5.40 a.m. Mr. Wal Murphy, secretary of the Auto Cycle Council of Australia, had made the trip to Western Australia from his home in Adelaide to head the welcoming party which was on hand to meet the overseas visitors. Local motorcyclists and speedway fans were also present. Never short of a word for the Press, Hoskins expressed his disappointment at the stance taken by the English authorities in respect to the staging of official Test matches in Australia that season. Hoskins was a master at getting the Press on side. Section of the information he released about Jack Parker: - “He has designed racing engines and frames, and raced his own designs. At the age of 20 he was on the experimental staff of one of the largest motorcycle-manufacturing firms in the world, and had 20 men under him. He left a 500 pounds a year position to take up speedway racing.” The feature event of the first meeting of the tour at Claremont on December 3 was a 100 pounds World Championship contest. Hoskins had secured a deal with the company which had the promotion rights at Claremont that season, Westralian Speedways, Ltd, for use of the track. The format devised for the world championship event was somewhat unusual in that, during the 15 heats, English riders met only their fellow countrymen, as did the Australians. Fields of English riders and Australian riders contested alternate heats. The final was to be a match race between Australia’s highest point scorer in the heats and England’s highest scorer. The winner was to receive 75 pounds from the purse and the runner-up 25 pounds. English riders were to contest 8 of the heats and the Australians 7. The Australian riders competing were Frank Arthur, Lionel Van Praag, Bluey Wilkinson, Stan Catlett, Steve Langton, Max Grosskreutz, Jack Chapman, Dick Smythe and Syd Parsons. An added attraction on the night was a programmed match race between Jack Parker and Frank Arthur. The purse of 25 pounds went to the winner. An additional 25 pounds was on offer for the winning rider should his overall race speed exceed 60 miles per hour. Not a lot had changed at the Claremont venue since Johnnie Hoskins had last been in control there during the 1927-28 season. The fence surrounding the site was still in a poor state. In order to prevent people from climbing over it during the 1927/28 season, Hoskins had employed ex-prize-fighters to patrol the grounds to deal with anyone who tried to gain admission without paying. Jack Parker told the following story of the method Hoskins adopted in 1932 to deal with those who tried to enter without paying: - “It (the Claremont track) is big – about 2½ laps to the mile – and the fence happened to be in rather a dilapidated condition. In order to prevent the crowd from climbing over at will it was necessary to employ ten husky stockmen on horseback. As a local youth got halfway over, our stockmen would gallop up and, being artists with their long whips, would belabour the culprits very neatly and pass on for more victims.” Johnnie Hoskins outdid himself with the presentation of the December 3 programme. Just as he had done when he previously promoted at the venue, he had all the riders wearing variously coloured jackets. The following is from my meeting report: - “ Nineteen riders in coloured leather jackets careering round the Claremont track at great speed formed an unforgettable spectacle on Saturday night as the international riders brought from England by Mr. John S. Hoskins, managing director of British-Australian Speedways, Ltd., made their debut to a crowd of fully 12,000 people. “Led by little Ian Hoskins, mounted on a miniature dirt track machine, the English and Australian riders circled the track in formation, the two captains carrying silken flags. Then pandemonium broke loose. Spirits pent up by weeks of travel were unleashed in an orgy of speed. The noise rose in a crescendo to a deafening roar. Riding their machines like furies the men flashed round and round the track at break-neck speed. Two pushers off caught with a stubborn machine in the path of the oncoming riders stood petrified as, whizzing past, the machines brushed their clothes. Un-dreamed of riding skill was shown in that mad stampede. It was a glimpse of the Valhalla of dirt track riders. The astounding spectacle suddenly ended. There was a breath-taking silence and then came a full-throated roar of appreciation from the crowd.” The size of the Claremont circuit proved to be a challenge for most of the English riders. They were more accustomed to riding on the smaller tracks in England. Englishman Harry Whitfield’s Australian debut performance was outstanding. The fastest time registered during the first six qualifying heats was 75 seconds to the credit of local rider Syd Parsons who was aboard a Jack Chapman machine. Whitfield recorded 74.80 seconds in the seventh heat, the fastest time of the evening. More from the meeting report: - “The sheer artistry, skill and perfect understanding between the riders made dare-devil riding of the highest quality look actually easy. The crowd was breathless with suspense sometimes when the machines actually touched as they swept past on the turns, yet there was not the slightest suspicion of their getting out of control.” When the eight heats involving the English riders had been completed, Harry Whitfield and Bill Clibbett remained unbeaten on 9 points. Whitfield had needed to win his final heat to tie with Clibbett who had already completed his qualifying races. The format used meant the pair hadn’t met during the heats. Jack Ormston recorded 8 points, having been defeated by Clibbett. The tenth qualifying heat featured the clash of two Australian stars, Wilkinson and Grosskreutz. From my meeting report: - “Some of the cleverest riding of the night was seen in the tenth heat. Wilkinson and Grosskreutz elbowed each other for a complete lap while travelling at a terrific speed. Finally Wilkinson flashed over the line a length ahead.” Grosskreutz was the Australian to progress to the final of the West Australian round of the World Championship. He finished on 8 points, having dropped his only point to Wilkinson in that dramatic heat 10 clash. The final was programmed to be a race between the winner of the English rider section and the top scoring Australian rider. As Whitfield and Clibbett had each scored maximum points, both joined Grosskreutz for the final. The winner of the West Australian round would gain a place in the World Championship Final to be staged later in the season at Sydney. Following is how the running of the Claremont final was reported: - “It provided almost the most exciting riding of the night, Whitfield and Grosskreutz fighting side by side until they passed ‘fowlhouse’ corner for the third time when the Australian skidded out and Whitfield, who rode straight into the turns in the manner of the late Sig Schlam, went ahead to win comfortably.” The report on the match race clash between Jack Parker and Frank Arthur : - “Two of the world’s most foremost dirt track exponents were seen in action when Jack Parker, the English captain, and Frank Arthur, captain of the Australian team, met in a special match race. Arthur had the inside running and for two laps he skimmed round the edge of the grass with the Englishman right on his back wheel. At ‘fowlhouse’ corner on the final lap Parker passed the Australian with a brilliant turn and, taking the lead, continued to win by a few yards in 50 secs. (56 m.p.h.).” Riders’ points: England: - Harry Whitfield 9, Bill Clibbett 9, Jack Ormston 8, George Greenwood 6, Norman Evans 5, Gordon Byers 3, Jack Parker 2, Phil Bishop 2, Wally Lloyd 2, Chun Moore 0. Australia: - Max Grosskreutz 8, Bluey Wilkinson 7, Frank Arthur 5, Lionel Van Praag 5, Jack Chapman 4, Syd Parsons 3, Dick Smythe 3, Stan Catlett 1, Steve Langton 1. Result of Final: Whitfield, Clibbett, Grosskreutz. Time of 76.60 seconds. One of the machines brought to Australia by Lionel Van Praag was creating a deal of interest. It was equipped with two spark plugs to the single cylinder. Van Praag was looking forward to testing it out on the larger Australian circuits. The machine was said to possess terrific acceleration, a feature not suited to the smaller English tracks. What was to prove to be a long and arduous season for organizer Johnnie Hoskins was underway.

The 1937 cigarette cards featuring three of those who appeared at Claremont. From the left: Bill Clibbett, Lionel Van Praag and George Greenwood.
The riders spent the following week preparing their machines for the first of the international matches set down for decision at Claremont on Saturday, December 10. The Show Society had placed one of the large pavilions at the ground at the riders’ disposal. Jack Parker made the following comment during the week, “We were rather afraid of these big tracks until we had our first ride, but we are now confident, and all the visitors will ride the track without buttoning once.” When the Australian team for the first international was announced, it became obvious that the Englishmen would have to perform to the best of their ability to defeat the home side. Frank Arthur, Australia’s captain, would be partnered by South Australian Jack Chapman. Two of the other Australian pairings were announced in the local press as follows: - “Another strong Australian pair should be Lionel Van Praag and Max Grosskreutz. Van Praag will race his ‘two-plug’ machine, which should be exceptionally fast. The brilliant Dick Smythe is partnered with Bluey Wilkinson, and the partnership should be a good one for Australia.” Dick Smythe announced he would be riding one of Van Praag’s machines on the night. Australia’s final pairing was Syd Parsons (once again to ride a Jack Chapman machine) and Stan Catlett. Charlie Datson and Steve Langton were named as reserves. England’s team was announced in the press as follows: - “Jack Parker, who will be using a higher gear for greater speed, has Phil Bishop as a partner….. One of the most famous team pairs of the past three seasons in England consists of George Greenwood and Harry Whitfield. Their understanding of each other’s tactics is, according to Mr. J. Hoskins, uncanny, and this pair is looked upon as the one to be most feared on Saturday night. “Jack Ormston, who captained the victorious Wembley team in England last year, and who rode so well on Saturday night, has been given as his team mate Gordon Byers ….. Bill Clibbett, the 6 foot 1 inch captain of the Plymouth team, who finished second in the championship final last week, has an excellent team mate in Norman Evans.” Wally Lloyd and Chun Moore were named as the team’s reserves. Moore, who was still suffering the after effects of a crash on the first night, did not ride in the match. The first international of the series, conducted over 16 heats, was won by Australia 54-41. From the meeting report: - “Consistency, excellent co-operation, and skilful riding on the part of its three leading pairs, enabled the Australian team of dirt track riders to win the first of a series of five tests against the Englishmen at the Claremont Speedway on Saturday night.” The highest scorers on the night were Harry Whitfield and Frank Arthur, each scoring 11 points from their four rides. For Australia, the Max Grosskreutz/Lionel Van Praag pairing returned 17 of a possible 20 points, while the Frank Arthur/Jack Chapman duo scored 16. The star pairing for England was the Harry Whitfield/George Greenwood combination with 14 points. Scorers: Australia: - F. Arthur 11, M. Grosskreutz 9+2, L. Van Praag 8+1, A. Wilkinson 7+2, R. Smythe 6, J. Chapman 5+2, S. Parsons 3+1, S. Catlett 2, C. Datson 2, S. Langton 1+1. England: - H. Whitfield 11+1, G. Byers 8, W. Clibbett 7, J. Parker 6, P. Bishop 4+1, G. Greenwood 3, N. Evans 2+1, J. Ormston 0, W. Lloyd 0. During his two appearances at Claremont, Harry Whitfield started on 8 occasions for 7 wins and a second placing. The second placing was to his team mate Greenwood in the International match. The following appeared in a Perth newspaper report on the second meeting: - “…he (Whitfield) is just finding his true form, for at the two meetings at Claremont he has distinguished himself. At the first meeting he won the championship, and on Saturday night he was England’s outstanding rider; indeed, he rode with skill and determination equal to any display given on the track.” Cold weather on the second Saturday evening of their Claremont stay resulted in a very disappointing attendance for the tours’ investors. Jack Parker commented, “ … although we were not much out of pocket, we didn’t make any money out of our stay at Perth.” The touring party sailed from Fremantle for Adelaide on Tuesday December 13 aboard the S.S. Oronsay.
Thanks to Ross Garrigan for the above story