The Australian National Motor Racing Museum is located at Murray's Corner, just set off the bottom of the famous and infamous Con Rod Straight at Mt Panorama, Bathurst, NSW, Australia. On show in the Museum are not only road racing machines but a lot of different sections of our motor racing past including Speedway and Off Road. The Museum is open to the Public, has motor racing movies on show in it's theatre, a huge range of motor racing memorabilia for sale and some wonderful exhibits in the main halls. The former manager of the Museum, Mr Rod Harvey, was suitably impressed with this website and kindly offered to share some of the images belonging to the Museum with us on 'Aussie Road Racing .......Thanks Rod.
NMRM Visitors.
This was it ! The car to beat in touring car racing in the late 1950's. The fabulous streamlined 48 series Holden of Leo Geoghegan, the black # 1. It was originally raced by Leo's father Tom, at Mt Druitt, against the likes of Jack Myers, Dick Shaw etc. and passed down to Leo as he came of age. Tom Geoghegan had a taxi business in Liverpool and the word was that #1 was an ex Liverpool Taxi ! . Lots of body roll and no or limited seat belts for the driver ! Boy . ! does this pic stir the Methanol in the veins !
Leo Geoghegan negotiates Murray's Corner, Bathurst in Holden # 1..Easter 1958.
The days of the magnificent
Big Sports Cars..
David McKay in the later model DB3S Aston Martin #71 leads Doug Whiteford in the Maserati 300S # 7 and Ron Phillips in the blue Cooper Jaguar # 12, into Hell Corner after the start of the Sports Car race.....October meeting 1958.
Only a few seconds from the start of the racing car feature.. for the big movers of the day.
The race was the Craven A International.
October 1960 and a crowd of 50,000 was on hand to welcome our World champion ..
Jack Brabham,
on pole.
Were Coopers ever the race car of the day ?
The Orange Gnoo Blas circuit
1954...
and Bill Murray in the Alfa Alvis leads Jack Brabham in the Redex Cooper Bristol through the turn as they approach the Bloomfield Mental Hospital.
The Hospital was situated in the middle of the race circuit, which of course was a Public road on non race days.
The one and only Jack Myers, striped teeshirt and all !, in his WM Cooper #3.
The orange racer was powered by a highly modified grey Holden engine using a Merv Waggott twin cam cross flow cylinder head.
It ran 6 x 1 3/4" SU carburettors, specially modified by the late Bill Bressington. As mentioned on a previous page, the great Stirling Moss did some hot laps on the Parramatta Cumberland Oval Speedway dirt track in this car.
It looks like JB is looking for traffic before entering the track at Bathurst, October 1960, in the Cooper # 1.
Aussie motor cycle legend,
Ron Toombs on his 7R AJS # 63
..acknowledges the crowd of fans at Sydney's Oran Park Raceway .....the year 1965
Winton Raceway, Victoria
in the 1960s
Ron Robinson # 12, 7R AJS leads
#8 Allan Osborne on a Manx Norton with Ron Toombs on the 7R # 63.
Jim McKeown in the dark blue Neptune Racing Cortina # 3 negotiates a turn at the Catalina Circuit, Katoomba,NSW.
The very famous Geoghegan Bros,
Leo, left, and Ian ( Big Pete ) representing their sponsor, a well known Sydney tailor, at the drivers meeting for the Great Race in 1965.
Both Leo and Ian drove the 500 mile race in these suits with ties!
The incredibly talented Frank Matich, car designer, builder and driver in his Matich sports car, McPhillamy Park, Bathurst, Easter 1969.
Leo Geoghegan in the Lotus 39 at McPhillamy Park, Easter 1969.
Thank you again to the NMRM Bathurst for these great photos and please visit the Museum website by clicking on the link below.
Credits must go to:
Bernard Rubens, John Playford, Terry Wright and Ron Toomb's brother Bob for these great photos.
Thank you gentlemen.
On to Page 24 - The Don Hislop Collection.
It's well worth making the effort to go to Mt Panorama and visit this fabulous museum housing our heritage in Australian Motor Sport.
Hall 2 is now to display, Speedway and motor cycles. Vintage midgets of the VSA of NSW have been on show here.
Motor cycles in Hall # 2.
The Mayor of Bathurst, Paul Toole, speaking at the opening of Hall # 3, The Peter Brock Wing - on October 2nd 2007. The wing will house the Bathurst Touring cars.
The bronze bust of Peter Brock is unveiled by the then Mayor of Bathurst. L to R ; Rod Harvey( former Museum Manager), Lewis Brock, a life like cut out of Peter Brock !!, the Mayor of Bathurst, Paul Toole.
