Penny Penglaze was not your average up-market Point Piper society-chick at all it seems, media-savvy as she clearly was…
In the immediate pre-war period she parlayed some fast laps in a Speedway Midget into a 1939 Pix article and photoshoot – the contents of which are shown here – married a soldier during 1942 and then made a bit of a hero of herself in Greece in 1946.
Penglaze was a dab hand at golf, swimming and hockey – a North Coast Women’s Hockey Association rep no less – ‘and while at Tarree High School was considered one of the athletes in the district,’ The Sun puffed, ‘Frank Arthur, one of the best judges of speedier ability, said that after gaining experience, Miss Penglaze would not be disgraced in a race against men.’
Quite how she got into speedway goes unrecorded but she was quick and competent enough to set the women’s lap record at the Sydney Sports Ground in November 1939, getting down from 22.4 sec to 21 3/5 sec at a time British-Australian Ace Bill Reynolds went around in 17 9/10 sec.
When she was scheduled to race at the Olympia Speedway in Melbourne in January 1940 ‘she caused a problem for the speedway management which opposed women racing with men, fearing an outcry if there was an accident,’ The Sun reported.
Commonsense prevailed (sic), ‘After reviewing the case they decided to allow her to attempt a 1-lap record and if her performance is encouraging she will be matched in a special race with a suitable driver.’
Whether Penny actually had a run on that January 20, 1940 weekend is unclear.
The Launceston Examiner piled on-board, reporting that ‘Today women are competing in sports which, only a few years ago, belonged solely to men. Quite frequently women successfully compete against men. In England women speed drivers have quite recently won several events against men drivers.’
By late November 1939 Miss Edna Ray and Miss Louise Dare were trying to knock our Penny off her Sydney Sports Ground perch.
The Sun Sydney ran the following article in the Women’s Sport section of its Sunday November 12, 1939 issue. ‘Penny Goes Fast’.
‘According to Miss Annabella Penglaze ‘Penny’ to you and me, to fly through the air with the greatest of ease is more of a thrill in a speedcar than on a trapeze.
Penny belies her name. She’s just a pocket edition two-by-two. But can she handle a car! Having only practised once on the Sports Ground track, she broke the women’s spreedcar one lap record, and is only three seconds behind the men’s best time.
Only 19 years old she has a craze for speed. Her fastest to date is 102 m.ph and that was done on a quiet road where “speedcops” were not. She has treated herself to a couple of joy rides in a plane. and wouldn’t hesitate to take up flying if finances permitted
The intricacies of Morse code are well under way-just in case she may join up with something some-day.
W. A. Reed. one of the speedear judges is most enthusiastic about Miss “Penny.” “She is a fine driver.” he said, “and I hope more women speedsters will come to light. And Mr. Reed should know. He’s one of the who’s who in speedcars.
In the meantime Miss “Penny” is letting flats, playing a little golf at Woollahra, doing a little swimming and thinking out ways and means of going a little faster with everything especially the speedcar.’
Proving the inherent danger of being a novice speedway racer, the Daily Telegraph reported in its February 13, 1949 issue:
Woman Race Driver In 50 m.p.h. Crash
MELBOURNE. Monday. – Mrs. Bill Reynolds, wife of the world champion midget car driver, crashed her husband’s car into the safety fence at Olympic Park at 50 miles an hour today, but was not injured.
The car skidded after taking a bend, turned over three times, and crashed into the safety fence. The car chassis was buckled, and the rear wheels torn off.
Mrs. Reynolds, who was practising for an attempt on Miss Penny Penglaze’s (N.S.W.) speed record, was strapped in the seat.
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were married at the Olympic Speedway last Saturday night before 16,000 people.’
By July 1942 young Penny was married to Raymond Cowan at St Marks Darling Point, he was the son of Mr & Mrs WG Cowman of Beecroft, she, the eldest daughter of Mr Alex Penglaze, of Wolseley Road, Point Piper.
After the end of World War 2 Penglaze was one of a team of Red Cross workers carrying out rehabilitation work in Greece in 1946.
The youngest member of the Red Cross unit, was, for five weeks the station master, stoker, guard, engine driver, and despatch clerk until a weekly service was organised between Salonika and Florina. For these exploits she was award the bronze decoration of the Greek Red Cross.
I wonder what became of Penny Penglaze after that, she was certainly an impressive high-achieving type of person, any clues folks?
Credits…
State Library of New South Wales – ACP Magazines photographer Alec Iverson, The (Sydney) Sun November 3, 12 1939, Launceston Examiner January 24, 1940, The Muswellbrook Chronicle May 28, 1946
Tailpiece…
Quite why you would get your gear off for an article on your prowess behind the wheel is beyond me – and it’s a long time since I saw a copy of Pix in the local barber-shop in the 1960s – but a little bit of research shows that Pix got all the sheilas they featured to show us their bumpy-bits.
Yeah right, there’s more.
And again, different times folks!
Etcetera…
See the fantastic State Library of New South Wales story about the place of Pix in recording Australian life for 30 years from 1938-1968 here:
https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/magazine-newsreel
Finito…
primotipo... 