The Australian Jubilee Grand Prix in Narrogin is an event with an interesting history. It was first held in 1951 using a circuit of town roads. To mark the 50th anniversary of this event, it is intended to bring back some of the original cars and drivers from that event and re-stage 'round the houses' racing in the town. Reproduced here is an extract from the original event programme, as produced by the W.A. Sporting Car Club (Inc.) and the Narrogin Combined Sports Club, detailing the history of the event.......
Today the running of the Commonwealth Jubilee Australian Grand Prix at Narrogin in March, is the first time a Grand Prix event has been held in W.A. Grand Prix motor racing is to ordinary races as a test match is to club cricket. If it were not for unsettled conditions throughout the world, this year's Grand Prix would have seen drivers from many nations. As it was, the W.A. Sporting Car Club received enquiries from Prince Birabongse of Siam, Baron de Graffenried of Switzerland and L. Biondetti of Italy, in addition to the actual entry of the English driver, Colin Murray, with his 6 C.L. Maserati.
The French were the pioneers of road racing, the first Grand Prix being
held in France in 1906. To honour the drivers of the fearsome monsters of
those days
which used up incredible numbers of tyres yet achieved speeds up to 90 m.p.h.,
it is now traditional practice to use the French rule of the road. Therefore
overtaking
drivers will pass on the left-hand side of the road. Another tradition of
Grand Prix racing is, that whatever happens, the race shall go on. Safety
precautions however, were excellent at lost year's Great Southern "50"
at Narrogin, which was won by Arthur Collett driving an M.G. This year it
is hoped that the spectators will co-operate in keeping the circuit clear
for the safety of both themselves and the drivers.
The first Australia Grand Prix was run at Cowes. Phillip Island, in 1928
on rough, metal surfaced and very dusty roads. The race was won by Captain
(now
Colonel) Arthur Waite (who was then the Australian representative of the Austin
Motor Company), driving an Austin 7. The car was sent to Australia specially
for
the race and its success prompted the company to use the design as a basis
for its production of sports cars.
For the next seven years the race was run at Phillip Island, and this period was remarkable for the fine performance of Australia's greatest driver, W. B. (Wild Bill) Thompson, who won the Grand Prix three times in four years and gained the fastest time in the two subsequent years.
In 1937 no actual Australian Grand Prix was run, as the Phillip Island course
was considered too rough for a major race. Its place was taken by the Centenary
Grand Prix at Victor Harbour, run over a distance of 250 miles, and won by
L. Murphy, of Victoria, in a M.G.
In 1938 the race was run in New South Wales on the Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst. For the first time since the inception of the race a well-known English driver competed with a British-built racing car and he ran through the field from scratch to gain an easy victory. The driver was P. N. Whitehead and the car a 1.5 litre E.R.A. Whitehead is today one of the foremost drivers on European circuits, driving on Italian Ferrari.
In 1939, South Australia staged its first Australian Grand Prix at Lobethal, with the temperature over the century and tyre trouble putting paid to the efforts of the faster cars. A. G. Tomlinson, Western Australia's leading driver of that time, won an interesting race with his supercharged M.G.
An arrangement was then made which allotted the Grand Prix to each State in rotation, but the war stopped further racing in the year that it was W.A.'s turn. The next race for the title did not take place until 1947, when it was again held at Bathurst, in New South Wales. W. B. Murray was the winner with on M.G.
The following year the race returned to Victoria and was held at Point Cook Aerodrome under very hot weather conditions which took a heavy toll of both drivers and cars. L. F. Pratt, driving a B.M.W., had a trouble-free run and scored an easy victory.
Queensland conducted the event for the first time in 1949. It was held on a gravel-surfaced airfield at Leyburn in September. Although Leybourn is 140 miles from Brisbane, 40,000 people witnessed the race which was won by John Crouch, driving a Delahaye
Commencing with the 1949 Grand Prix, it was decided that the winner of the Grand Prix should be the driver making the fastest time instead of the driver winning on handicap. This means that the Grand Prix is virtually a scratch race, although, as o whole, the event is run as a handicap. One of the rules is that the winner of the Grand Prix and the winner on handicap shall receive equal prize money.
1950 saw South Australia's turn for the race and at Nuriootpa D. Whiteford scored a decisive victory over a large field with his reliable Ford V8 Special. W.A. followers of motor sport look forward to seeing Whiteford who is recognized as Australia's ace driver, in action today with the 160 m.p.h. Logo Talbot, entered by T. V. Hawkes.
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