The Australian Land Speed Record session held at Woodside on the Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland on September 4, 1938 was the first held in Victoria.
The Light Car Club of Australia promoted it, while the Yarram branch of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) ran the event which used you-beaut electrical timing apparatus accurate to one-hundredth of a second approved by the Australian Automobile Association.
The drawcard was Peter Whitehead and his ERA B-Type R10B. The photograph above shows him warming the engine and transmission of the car at Woodside, collar, tie and all.
He was in Australia on behalf of the family firm W&J Whitehead of West Yorkshire, and doing a spot of motor racing, hillclimbing…and record breaking here at Woodside and in Canberra. All of this lot is covered in this epic: https://primotipo.com/2015/04/16/peter-whitehead-in-australia-era-r10b-1938/
Other drivers granted permission to have a crack were the following: Class C 3-5-litres: RND Miller, Vauxhall 30-98 and AH Oliver, Lagonda Class D 1.5-2-litres: JN Derham, Vauxhall Class F 1-1.5-litres: JP ‘Jim’ Leech, Frazer Nash TT Replica and Class H 500-750cc: DM George MG J4 supercharged.
The stretch of beach chosen was four miles long and 60 feet wide, the existing outright record was held by three-times Australian Grand Prix winner Bill Thompson on a supercharged 1.5-litre Bugatti T37A.
The 156 mile trip from Melbourne was quite a journey for the time. It’s amusing now to look at how much of the newspaper (the what?) coverage in the week before the event was devoted just to getting there, the three suggested routes were explored by the papers in some detail inclusive of maps. Different to the Google maps exercise on ‘yer iPhone today…
Poor Jim Leech ran off the road on the way to the event in his Frazer Nash, but 6,000 others came from far and wide to see the spectacle before the fickle finger of weather fate ruined the day.
A strong south-easterly wind prevented the usual fall of the tide, ‘after the English driver Peter Whitehead had covered a flying-mile at an average of 118.8mph in his special 1500cc E.R.A. car the waves washed over the track and prevented any further serious attempts,’ recorded the Melbourne’s The Argus.
As Peter’s speed was set on one run, rather than the required each-way average of two, Thompson’s one-mile record of 112.5mph set in Canberra on May 11, 1935 still stood; Bugatti T37A.
An estimated 2,000 cars conveyed the punters into the sand hummocks along the picturesque track many hours before the events were scheduled to begin.
‘Trials were impossible owing to the tide. With only a few yards of wet sand between the flags and the waves on the four mile course. Whitehead pluckily started up so as not to disappoint the crowd. He was obstructed by water on his first run, however, and although he averaged 118.8mph in his next run, his car plunged through the lip of a wave, tearing away apparatus for cooling the brakes, ripping off the oil filler cap, and partially flooding the crankcase with salt water.’
‘He maintained control, but it was evident that he had no chance of putting the record up to 135mph which was his hope.’
The AAA, LCCA and RACV reps then met and decided to allow some attempts by other drivers while Whiethead and his crew effected repairs to R10B.
W Barker, holder of the flying-mile motorcycle record (118.42mph) and five miles record (116.42mph) took out his 998cc Zenith but he also clouted a wave and was unable to continue.
Next up was Big Bertha. F Oliver’s Lagonda provided a spectacular display sending up showers of spray in attempting to set Class C records but the conditions ensured his times were slow.
‘With waves lapping the tent containing the electric timing apparatus and washing completely over the finishing point, GM ‘Tim’ Joshua examined the track in his Frazer Nash and decided it was useless to make a run. Officials prevented any further attempts and there was a rush to get cars off the beach before the tide rose farther. The crowd had to lend willing hands to help several vehicles out of difficulties.’
‘Afterwards, the director of the trials, Mr JW Williamson, expressed supreme disappoint with the result. The crowd, who had enjoyed the outing in brilliant sunshine, took it in good part.’
‘It was the first attempt made in Victoria to set such records. Normally the beach would be almost ideal for the purpose, and further attempts will probably be made there shortly.’ The Argus concluded…
Not so, as it transpired.
Etcetera…
The Car was ‘the official organ of the Light Car Club of Australia’, so this is the way the organiser saw the day.
Kenneth Maxwell was a member of Whitehead’s ’38 Touring Party and wrote this letter to the editor of The Car about the equipe’s experiences early in the trip, published in the June-July issue.
The Car was the Light Car Club’s magazine, the trip to run-in the ERA between Albury and Melbourne sounds interesting!
The Fraser Nash TT Rep and Single Seater, MG J3 and the ERA are still alive and well, all but the latter remain in Australia.
Coincidentally, both the J3 and TT Rep were brought to Australia and first raced by George Martin, the Melbourne based Cunard White Star Line representative who died on the way home from the 1938 AGP at Bathurst. He and his wife crashed the BMW 328 in which George had finished 15th near Wagga Wagga.
The shot above shows the Frazer Nash TT and ex-Brabham Cooper T23 Chev aka RedeX Special, at the Davey Milne home in April. The FN requires recommissioning but the Cooper is a runner, ask the neighbours!
Credits…
The Argus September 5, 1938, Martin Gallagher Collection, Davey Milne Archive, Leon Sims Collection, Tony Johns Collection
Finito…
primotipo... 