Thank you Max for these great colour shots of a bygone era and thank you to one of Australia's great motor sport photographers, Byron Gunther, who has given his permission to post some photos from his personal collection..
Dick Cobden in his 1350cc MG TC Special - Bathurst 1950. The car was built up from a new 1948 MG TC chassis, Gordon Stewart carried out chassis and engine modifications, Bob Baker in Victoria built the body work. Cobden drove the car back to Sydney on the open road after the body work was completed.
Bud Luke and his 1926 Type 37 Bugatti through Murray's at The Mountain - 1951.
Bill Buckle, creator of the Buckle Sports and the Goggo Dart, runs the Light 15 Citroen into Murray's at Bathurst - 1951.
Peter Chambers in the # 22 Ken Wylie 1948 built Austin A40 based open wheeler in the Bathurst Pits. The Fiat - Simca #20 of J.Plummer in the backgound, the white & red # 31 is the Bill Dutton Alta 1100 Special.
Australian motor racing great, Frank Kleinig and his Hudson Terraplane Special - Bathurst 1951.
Race, Rally, Trials and even water skiing, Bill MacLachlan and his Mackellar Bugatti - flat head Ford V8 Special.- Bathurst Pits - 1950.
This car started out as a type 37A Grand Prix Bugatti with a 1946cc engine and was imported into Australia in 1929 by Bill Thompson.
A COLLECTION OF BYRON GUNTHER ORIGINALS.
The old Penrith - NSW - 1 mile Speedway circuit - circa 1938- 39,
Allen 'Errol' Flynn, in the # 10 J.A.P. 880 engined dirt track midget, leads Hope Bartlett in the 746cc 120 bhp blown MG Q past a huge crowd of spectators near the Start / Finish line.
Dick Bland in the famous Dixon Riley # 2. A factory built racing car in 1933-34 for Freddie Diixon, it won at Brooklands in 1935 and was also driven by Reg Parnell in the U.K. John Snow, Hope Bartlett and Alec Mildren all raced the Dixon Riley here in Australia.
Doug Whiteford heads the bellowing French racing blue Talbot Lago 26C GP #1 up the mountain and into The Cutting at Mt Panorama - 1952. This car being the ex Ecurie France / Louis Chiron car which was placed 1st in the Grand Prix De France at Rheims in 1949. Brought to Australia in 1950 by Tom Hawkes, and raced by Hawkes and Doug Whiteford initially. A 4,482 cc engine developing 240 bhp at 4,000 rpm.
Reg Hunt in his rather crude looking 1949 built Hunt 500cc rear engined special. Car was powered by a 4 stud J.A.P Speedway engine. 40 bhp at 6,000rpm.
Frank Kleinig in this Hudson Terraplane Special # 2 negotiates Murray's Corner - Bathurst.The original of this car was built up from an MG Magna chassis and a straight eight 1.5 lt. supercharged Miller engine. Kleinig raced it successfully with this original configuration at Penrith Speedway .
Bill MacLachlan in the Bugatti - Ford V8 pulls a big slide.
Bud Luke in the Bugatti Type 37.
Bill MacLachlan ( aka MacLac) in the Bugatti - Ford Special
Quarry Bend - 1952. The Bugatti engine was replaced with a Ford V8 flat head after a blow up in about 1937. This car also ran at Penrtith Speedway with the V8.
Lex Davison in the supercharged SSK 38/250 7lt Mercedes - Benz
( 250 bhp @ 3,300 rpm ) leads Alf Barrett in the supercharged Tipo 8C 2.3ltr Monza Alfa Romeo. Bathurst 1947.
Lex Davison in the 2.9lt.GP Alfa Romeo in the Cutting.
Alf Barrett ( and passenger ! ) in the Tipo 8C 2.3lt GP Alfa Romeo, brought into Australia in 1938 by Barrett .
John Sherwood in the # 18 MG NE exits Murray's. Sherwood later went on to be Australia's greatest Speedway promoter in Sydney.
The race within the race - Bathurst 1947 - Alf Barrett Alfa leads Frank Kleinig Hudson out of Hell Corner.
Ray Mitchell - Ford V8 - Jeep Special - Hell Corner - 1947. The car, hastily built in 1947 for a Nowra air strip race meeting, he later entered it at Mt Panorama, Bathurst and took out 4th place in the 1947 Australian Grand Prix.
Mt Panorama - Bathurst - 1950 - Hell Corner - lap 1 - # 48 R.Ward MGTC leads Tom Sulman - Sulman Singer # 47 and Ron Edgerton in the # 37 MGTC, then G. Stewart in an MG Magna # 46.
Tommy Sulman built the #47 Singer Special in England for use as a dirt track midget and imported the car into Australia on his return in1947.
Foley's Hill - Hillclimb near Pittwater - Sydney.
1949 - Ted Ansell in his Type A Prince Henry Vauxhall, because of it's chassis number of A.210 it was known as 'Fifty Bob' ( 2 pounds ten shillings in pre decimal currecy was fifty shillings - a shilling was known as a 'bob') - Foley's Hill - NSW - Hillclimb. Originaly built in 1912 for Boyd Edkins, it was imported in 1920.
Thank you to Max, Byron and John Medley whose Bathurst book was used for some references.
Motor Manual - Australian Motor Racing - Books 1 & 2 ( 1950 -52 ) also used for references.
or onto to Page 30 - The Gordon Graham Collection -
