Racing in Australia, with the emphasis on Velocette…photos from bygone times...

Looking at the statistics for the viewing of this blog…there of course are a great many out on the internet not from Australia where I live who wouldn’t be exposed to photos of Australian racing, in particular Velocette years ago.
Australia was a big market for Veloce Ltd up perhaps until the late 1950s and so racing machines from the factory frequently were sent to Sydney and Melbourne for the use of ace locals to promote the image of Velocette….very successfully I might add.
So in following blogs I’ll run a series of photos, not in any particular order

and encompassing road racing, scrambling, short circuit ( a local form of grass track is the best description ) and individuals with descriptions etc.
For those interested in the racing history of Velocette, a perhaps new source of material for your own use or for publication in the future… please acknowledge the source should you capture an image and feel free to do so.

The first photo is at the Bathurst, NSW, April 1949, Junior Aust.GP, third lap with Jack Ahearn#31 (Velo) leading Sid Willis #15 ( Velo), Lloyd Hirst(Velo) partly obscured and Dave Jenkins(Velo) out of the main straight. Willis finished 2nd.

The second photo is of 17 year old Ron Teasdale at the Blacktown circuit near Sydney in October 1940...on a borrowed machine, note the rib front tyre, likely a bike ridden to the meeting and stripped of some road equiptment to race...Ron won the Junior non expert event.

The third is at the Sydney Sportsground Speedway, March 1950 with Ray Cuddiky and Al Adlam on an iron MSS engined, banked speedway outfit.

The final photo is of Don Bain, astride a specially stripped mk.5 KTT attempting an Australian land speed record on Maddens Plain, south of Sydney, unsure when , but again likely in the late 1930s.

Left click on images to enlarge, where possible.