primotipo…

Jack Phillips and Ted Parsons looking happy with themselves aboard their Ford V8 Special having won the Interstate Grand Prix at Wirlinga, Albury on 19 March 1938.

The Ford V8 found its way into all kinds of Australian specials both pre and post war, this was one of the most beautifully built and successful of them all. See here for a piece on this race; https://primotipo.com/2019/01/11/interstate-grand-prix-wirlinga-albury-1938/

These two mates were business partners in a motor dealership in Wangaratta which distributed Ford and other brands. I wonder if one of the admiring, capped kids is Jack’s son Ron Phillips who was a star in an Austin Healey 100S and Cooper T38 Jaguar in the mid-fifties to early sixties?

It’s pretty boring writing about familiar stuff, the journey of discovery is far more engaging. I think a lot about racing in the context of the times, how people lived, what they did with their leisure hours but it’s not necessarily easy to find the right photographs.

Not so this time, John J ‘Jack’ Dallinger ran a photography business, which still exists in Albury. Along the way, he and his staff recorded the daily lives of the citizens of the border city and surrounds, I’ve chosen some images of typical life justaposed with racing shots. All of the photographs were taken by Dallinger and his team in Albury in the thirties, unless attributed otherwise.

 

 

Motorcycle racing blazed the trail for cars in just about every sphere of competition in Australia, speedways included.

This is Aub Boyton aboard a Douglas, perhaps a 500cc DT5 or DT6- Douglas being one of the most popular and successful speedway bikes of the era.

 

 

Jim Boughton, Morgan at Wirlinga in 1938.

A year later this car had morphed into a single-seater in time for the Australian Grand Prix at Lobethal the following January, he failed to finish the race won by Allan Tomlinson’s MG TA Spl s/c. Better still, the Morgan remains extant.

 

Out and about in an Austin 7, this one is fitted with a James Flood built two seater sports body.

Of all steel and ash construction, the machine used a factory supplied radiator cowling forward of which was a fairing covering dummy dumb irons onto which was painted the registration number. The running gear comprised a production Austin chassis and mechanicals with a raked steering column.

Large flowing wings kept the elements from the occupants. ‘As was fashionable with many Australian models of this period, fixed split front windscreens were mounted on the scuttle with no provision of any weather protection’, many thanks to Tony Johns on this little Austin.

Keen spectators taking a look at competitors in the Wirlinga paddock prior to the 1938 Interstate Grand Prix.

Car #3 is Tim Joshua’s Frazer Nash, not too far from being restored, alongside is former Maroubra ace Hope Bartlett’s MG Q Type and then car #6, the winning Ford V8 Spl of Phillips/Parsons.

 

Billycart race in Pemberton Street, Albury 1940s.

Too much roll stiffness? is that right front taking some air. I wonder if either of these two young tyros progressed to motorised competition?

I’m sure one of you will be able to help with the Dodge Ute model year, 1930s, i’m also intrigued to know the address of Albury Motors Pty. Ltd.

The CA Williamson Chrysler ahead of G Winton, AC and L Evans Vauxhall, Wirlinga 1938.

 

 

Golden Arrow on display in Albury, a bit on the machine here; https://primotipo.com/2019/06/04/wot-the-bloody-ell-is-that/

Bill Boddy, in MotorSport, wrote that after an exhibition tour of Australia the car returned to England, that line is written in such a way which implies the car made the trip here after setting the Land Speed Record at Daytona at 231.446 mph on 13 March 1929. So, its later in 1929, the machine was owned by the Wakefield Company, clearly a lot of Castrol lubricants were sold here at the time.

Sir Henry Segrave was later killed aboard ‘Miss England II’ on 13 June 1930 after raising the Water Speed Record to 98.76 mph at Lake Windemere.

Tony John’s sent in a snippet from the April Fools Day edition of the 1931 ‘Bulletin’. “Drag” wrote ‘It is not often that one finds a car that has travelled 43,000 miles without an overhaul, and a racing car at that…the late Segrave’s Golden Arrow…left England on February 6 for the Buenos Aires exhibition after having made a tour of the Dominions. All its journeying has been done on board a ship, with the result that it has covered, by this means, over 1,000 times the distance it has done under its own power.’

 

Credits…

John J Dallinger, Tony Johns Collection, Terdich Collection-VSCC scanned by Graham Miller and shared by his son David via Tony Johns

Etcetera…

After upload our friend Tony Johns got in touch with these photos, ‘Having read your post i now understand the origin of these two photos in the Arthur Terdich Collection (winner of 1929 AGP @ Phillip Island). I was not aware the Golden Arrow ever came to Australia’ nor was I.

Some quick work on Trove reveals the car did a comprehensive tour of Australia in April-May 1930 taking in the west, and eastern seaboard, with over 70,000 people reported as seeing the car in Sydney’s showgrounds.

23.9 litre Napier Lion VIIA W-12 engine produced 930bhp @ 3,400rpm. Designed by John Samuel Irving and built at Kenelm Lee Guinness’ Robinhood Engineering Works Ltd, at Putney Vale, in 1928. First run in January 1929, LSR of 231.362mph at Daytona on March 11, 1929.

Terdich was a Melburnian so the above photograph was probably taken at the Royal Exhibition Buildings in the first week of May, ‘Motorclassica’ is held there these days, car shows continue at the marvellous old venue.

Checkout the rare, period cockpit shot of Bluebird below, it is not clear if Bluebird was touring at the same time as Golden Arrow.

‘Not sure that a current F1 driver would have time to read all the instruments’ Tony wryly observes. There are ten gauges to take in whilst travelling over 200mph- tach, petrol, blower (pressure or temps?) , one obscured, a clock!, then to the left are a car club and St Christopher badges?, then an adjustable knob on the chassis rail itself. On the right are axle temp, water, another temp gauge with another two at the bottom, plus Malcolm Campbell Ltd and Blue Bird brass plates.

Tailpiece: Albury Sports Ground 1930s…

Finito…