Albert Valentine ‘Archie’ or ‘Bert’ Turner and A ‘Ossie’ O’Connor, Itala, before the start of their record breaking circa-560 miles Sydney-Melbourne run on Sunday February 24, 1924. Corner of Macquarie and Bridge Streets.
Regarded in-the-day as one of Australia’s best drivers, Turner and O’Connor left the Sydney GPO at 5.15am and arrived at the Melbourne equivalent at 5.49pm. The 12 hours 34 minutes journey equated to an average of 47mph, and knocked 25 minutes off the existing record held by Norman ‘Wizard’ Smith’s Essex.
It was the third occasion within 15-months Turner had taken the record, in tit-for-tat fashion with his competitors, on the two previous runs in 1923 he drove a Delage C02.
The Turner Itala is variously described in contemporary newspaper reports as a 17.9hp or 15hp Floria (sic), it’s perhaps a 2.8-litre, four cylinder 55bhp @ 3200rpm engined Type 51 Sport with a Targa Florio style body, built by James Flood in Melbourne. Details of the car from a marque expert appreciated, inclusive of present whereabouts.
Turner was then the New South Wales agent for Itala and Bugatti operating from large premises in Castlereagh Street. He promoted both marques via competition, a medium at which he rather shone.
The Sydney Sunday Times reported that “The average speed of 47mph, fast as it sounds (the main road, between Sydney and Melbourne then was little more than an unmade goat-track), included all stops for supplies and refreshments, the running time average was about 50mph.”
“During the journey the exhaust pipe broke, blowing stupefying exhaust gases into the faces of driver and passenger. Mr O’Connor was rendered well-nigh unconscious by the fumes and arrived in Melbourne much the worse for the experience.”
“Mr Turner’s throat was so sore from the same cause, that he could hardly speak audibly. At one stage of the trip he was compelled to drive for several hundred miles on the hand throttle alone.”
“Speeds in excess of his latest accomplishment are unlikely, in view of the present state of the roads, which he states precludes the reasonable possibility of a higher average being maintained. Mr Turner has many successes to his name, but his latest ranks among the highest,” the Sunday Times concluded in the wonderful narrative style of the day.
Turner had plenty of success on Italas in all kinds of events, including a win in the first RACV 1000 Miles Alpine Trial/Victorian Reliability Contest – aka The Alpine Rally – in 1921. This caused much consternation among the Victorian blue-blazer-clad RACV mob as he was the only New South Wales driver in the tough event contested over the difficult Alpine terrain of north-eastern Victoria. He was second in 1922 aboard the same Itala Co Australia owned car (entered by a Mr A Hoette), his arch-rival Wizard Smith triumphed that year on an Essex.
By 1924, Itala (Itala Fabbrica Automobili), founded by Matteo Ceirano and five partners at Via Guastalla, Turin in 1903, was in receivership. Ex-Fiat general manager Giulio Cappa was appointed by the Italian Government’s Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale. This entity took control of insolvent Italian businesses deemed too-large-to-fail from 1933 to 2000, Alfa Romeo is a case in point. After his rein, an interesting story in itself, the company was bought by truck maker Officine Metallurgiche di Tortona (OM) in 1929, and the remains sold to Fiat in 1935.
Poor Turner died from injuries sustained contesting an inconsequential hill-climb in North Curl Curl, quite close to his Darley Road, Manly, home. He interrupted a tennis game to run his (later 1927 Australian Grand Prix winning) Bugatti Type 30 #4087 on May 15, 1926 and died in Manly Cottage Hospital later that day. I’ve a feature article 95% complete on that car and its in period-piloti, Messrs Turner, Geoff Meredith and Jack Clements, I really must finish it.
Turner was quite a driver…
Credits…
Angela Wootton Family Collection, Colin Blundell Collection, Bibliotheque nationale de France, melbournecircle.net, Sydney Sunday Times March 2 1924, James Flood Book of Early Motoring via the Chris Nicholes Collection, various newspapers via Trove, John Medley, Ray Bell, manlylocalstudies.blogspot.com, Pedr Davis Collection via the Murdoch Family Collection-Neill Murdoch
Etcetera…
The hillclimb in which Turner died – above, immediately prior to the fatal run – was a circa 700 yard straight run up (now) Harbord Road from about the corner of Abbott Road, North Curl Curl. The finish line was on or about the corner of Harbord Road and Brighton Street, North Manly, with Turner’s crash site on that corner or “the vicinity of ” 151 Harbord Road, Freshwater. It was on this corner, or this property, on, or just after the finish line, where AVT came to grief.
Tailpiece…
Turner’s Itala racing a Farman bi-plane, probably piloted by Major Harry Shaw – a prominent racer himself – at Aspendale circa 1921, it was a dead-heat apparently. Exact date appreciated.
Finito…
primotipo... 
FYI: Turner Delage pre-run photo (C Blundell collection) is looking south west at corner of Macquarie St & Bridge St Sydney with Chief Secretary’s Building (right) and Astor apartments under construction (centre left) in background. RoyalAutomobile Club is a street block further to the right.
Gold,
Thanks Bruce, have altered the text accordingly.
Mark
Mark, yet another good story, suggest the pilot of the Farman was none other the Major Harry Shaw. He was still involved with car plane match races at Aspendale in 1928 when the car in that race was the big Ballot driven by Harold Cooper. This time the plane won by a small margin. On the ground Major Shaw was a successful Austin 7 agent and raced a rare Gordon England Brooklands model Austin.
Thanks Tony,
I remembered him but not his name!, now added.
Mark
I am no marque expert however; the Itala brochure I have (issued by Floods, Melbourne), and which looks to be the same one reprinted in Floods’ Second Book of Motoring, makes note of the Alpine wins, the Sydney-Melb speed record as well as the fastest time amongst all cars for the Sydney Cycle & motor Club Hill Climb also held in 1924. The specs for the Model 51 Sport Chassis show it to have 4 wheel brakes in 1924/5 whilst the less powerful chassis (model 50 & 56) had to make do with two wheel brakes only. An interesting note from the brochure is that in 1912 an Itala was successful in the Hill Climbing Test on the New Country Road, Tasmania. Thanks for another great article.
Thanks Scott,
So perhaps it started as a T50 and had the later front axle ‘assy added later??
Mark
Morning Mark, It does make that a possibility I would say. Scott.
Many years ago the remains of an Italia (no body) rolling chassis was taken from my uncle’s farm on Rawdon Island (Wauchope). Often wonder who stole it and how they knew about it.
I’ve heard a few stories along those lines about various cars Ian.
Word soon gets around, even in small rural communities, I guess by the mid-1960s interest in the better-stuff, whatever its state, was on the rise. Hopefully we will get some clarity about what model and spec AVT’s special car was.
Mark
That was an admirable effort when you remember that 45 MPH was the average speed demanded not to lose points between stages in an Australian rally in the late sixties and seventies.
John,
I’ve never seen any photos of the ‘Hume Highway’ early on, and unmade. It would be interesting to see just how bad it was.
Mark