Lou Molina, Molina Monza Holden leads Don H Swanton, Lotus 11 Climax and Alan Jack, Cooper T39 Bobtail Climax at Albert Park during the Victorian Tourist Trophy on 23 November, 1958…
It’s the first lap I suspect, with the lead bunch in front of Lou’s superb MM Holden s/c. The race was contested on the first Sunday of a double-header meeting, the feature race a week later was the Melbourne Grand Prix, won by Stirling Moss from Jack Brabham in similar 2.1 and 2.2-litre Cooper T45 Climaxes. Swanton’s car (a series 2, chassis # 303) was an ex-Team Lotus Peter Ashdown machine that Don bought in January 1958 and raced throughout the UK before being shipped home in time for this Albert Park meeting.
The TT had a good field of depth and breadth and was run over 100 miles/32 laps of the demanding Albert Park track; they raced anti-clockwise then, the opposite to the direction of today.
Unfortunately the political winds of change were blowing in Victoria. Some powerful voices on the conservative side of politics, aided and abetted by the editor of The Herald, one of the local fish ‘n chip wrappers, were against the use of the park for motor racing. And so it was that Albert Park was closed for racing, other than speedboats, until the modern era when the conservative side of politics, in the form of then Premier Jeff Kennett swung the pendulum back the other way and nicked the F1 GP from the South Australian conservative government; there is no love lost between thieves after all! All you needed to know about Albert Park politics but were too scared to ask; https://primotipo.com/2020/05/12/albert-park-lake-boats-and-politics/
Back to the Tourist Trophy, triple Australian Grand Prix winner – including a win at the ‘Park in 1953 – Doug Whiteford was the classiest, most experienced driver in the field and won the race in 65m47.2sec aboard an ex-works Maserati 300S (chassis 3055) he acquired from Officine Alfieri Maserati at the end of the 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy/Australian Grand Prix carnival that November-December: Stirling Moss won both these races aboard 300S and 250F respectively.
Bill Pitt put on a great show, leading the race for the first 12 laps in the Queensland Jaguar distributors, Westco Motors’ Jaguar D-Type (#XKD526) before Whiteford passed him on lap 13. Pitt, on his third trip to Albert Park, then hung onto Whitehead but nudged the hay bales on lap 26, pushing a rear ‘guard onto a wheel in the process. The ensuing pitstop cost 40 seconds and any chance of a race-win, third place was the result.
Ron Phillips placed second in the booming Cooper T38 Jaguar raced by Peter and Graham Whitehead throughout Europe, including Le Mans, in 1955. It was sold to Stan Jones by Peter Whitehead towards the end of his 1956 Australasian Ferrari 500/625 3-litre tour. But Stan wasn’t a fan of it, CJ/1/55 then passed through less competent hands until Phillips got hold of it. He got the best out of it too, a win in the Australian Tourist Trophy at Lowood in 1959 was his best result. Ron proved his intent and pace early in his time with the car that Albert Park weekend, sharing the fastest lap of the race with Whiteford: 2m01.2sec and 98mph.
Derek Jolly, a member of the family who owned Penfolds Wines, was fourth in an ex-works Lotus 15 Climax FPF 2-litre that had raced at Le Mans in 1958 (below). Derek first raced the car in the 1958 Australian Tourist Trophy that October at Bathurst, there he finished second to David McKay’s Aston Martin DB3S, the Lotus was at that stage fitted with a 1.5-litre Climax. See here for a long feature on Derek and various of his cars including his ‘two’ Lotus 15s; https://primotipo.com/2017/11/09/dereks-deccas-and-lotus-15s/
Bob Jane in Australia’s other ex-works 300S (#3059) was a rather second-hand fifth, and Eddie Perkins’ – Larry’s dad – Porsche 356 was sixth. ‘Jano’ became a very handy racing driver, particularly in touring cars – ATCC and Bathurst wins duly noted – but he was wayward when he first bought the Maser, the quickest thing he had raced to that point. So much so that Reg Hunt famously moved his boat out of harms way by mooring it further out into Albert Park Lake. See here; https://primotipo.com/2015/05/15/bob-jane-maserati-300s-albert-park-1958/
Jim Goldfinch’ ex-Ron Phillips Austin Healey 100S chassis #3906 from the ex-Derek Jolly Decca Climax Spl of Gavin Sandford-Morgan. A good run in the race with the 100S was thwarted by a black flag due to the exhaust system wriggling away from its mounts. There is a great website about this car chockers with photographs if you’ve not tripped over it; https://austinhealey100s.com.au/AHS-3906-1955-1
Other Healey 100S were raced by John Roxburgh in the ex-Whiteford car (chassis 3907), and of great historical significance, later Australian sportscar and open-wheeler international, Paul Hawkins in Italo-Australian businessman Terry Valmorbida’s car.
The ‘rootin-‘tootin, rough-as-guts Reverend’s son is shown above in the Valmorbida (chassis 3909) Healey 100S #77 in front of a gaggle of cars comprising later Cooper S ace Peter Manton’s Austin Healey Sprite, the Goldfinch 100S and Jon Leighton’s Lotus 11 Willment-Ford. More on Hawkins here; https://primotipo.com/2020/09/25/hawkeye/
Etcetera…
The Goldfinch 100S in the ‘Albert Park paddock 500 miles from home’ in Adelaide as Jim noted; Army barracks in the background.
Alan Jack in the ex-Bill Patterson Cooper Climax goes inside the James Goldfinch Austin Healey 100S. More on many of the cars in this feature on the 1960 Australian Tourist Trophy here; https://primotipo.com/2018/05/17/1960-australian-tourist-trophy/
Donald Swanton…
Don Swanton was born on March 3, 1930, grew up in Highton Grove, Balwyn and attended Camberwell Grammar School, which was over his back-fence.
His first car was an Amilcar Roadster, his first job allowed the purchase of a Singer 9 which he ‘climbed, and raced at Fishermans Bend. He sold a Cooper to fund a move to the UK in 1955 and soon landed a job at SU in Edgbaston where he worked in the experimental department.
He purchased the Lotus 11 and changed jobs many times in the UK to learn and advance his career then returned to Australia in late-1958, racing the Lotus successfully until he sold it to Tom Corcoran in early 1960.
Swanton married Lorraine in 1967, had a son and daughter, and had a diverse career in Melbourne and Sydney, finally moving into the McKenzie Aged Care Residence in Templestowe in 2020.
Credits…
Chris Charge Collection, Edward Steet, Allan Quinn, Ron Hope, ‘Glory Days : Albert Park 1953-58’ Barry Green, Don Swanton Collection, David Syers, Stephen Dalton
Tailpiece…
Let’s finish with a splash of colour, this group is lining up for one of the sportscar supports, the shot was taken by Austin Distributors salesman, David Syers. #72 is the Monaro Motors owned Peter Manton driven Austin Healey Sprite. “It had only been in the country for two months and Manton had already turfed out the A-Series for a 1100 Coventry Climax and new nose,” quipped Stephen Dalton.
#74 is the JR Phillips Healey. Brian Sampson’s #97 Morris Spl is at left, #90 the Austin Distributors/Brotherton Sprite, then the #73 Esquire Motors/Rod Murphy Sprite, the silver coloured Franz Bird MG Milano with aeroscreen, the #78 Calvert owned, Eddie Perkins driven Porsche 356. In the distance is the red Frank Elkins Triumph TR2.
Finito…
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