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Researched and submitted by Rod Webb Start of Speedway - Australia (For more information on Australian Speedway History on the top right corner, click on “how it all began”) It is accepted around the world that Speedway started at Maitland Showground, New South Wales on Dec 15th 1923. But from all over the world there is evidence that motorcycles were raced around ovals on dirt well before this date. Johnny Hoskins promoted Maitland and was the first to really grasp the potential and hold regular motor cycle speedway events at which the riders rode for prize money. The sport then took off all over the world. South Australia - The Early Years South Australia was no different, from the 1900s onwards there was motorcycle racing around ovals and on horse racing tracks and beaches. A lot of these tracks were big tracks up to a mile in length. These were well organised and were called “sporting carnivals”. As early as 1914 at the Jubilee Oval (now part of the Adelaide University grounds) there was a race between four unknown riders around the dirt track on the outside of the oval during such a “Sporting Carnival”. Such events were common all over the State. Probably the meeting held at Thebarton Oval 1923 before Maitland could have been deemed “Speedway”. But for various reasons it was not successful. This was an obstacle that had to be over come before racing started at Speedway Royale. (Wayville Show Grounds) Smithfield SA 1926 was the first club owned and promoted track in the world. Up until then speedway had been held at showgrounds ovals & horse & dog tracks. Speedway Royale (Wayville Show Grounds) really put speedway on the map in SA. The track bought interstate and overseas riders and drew very large crowds. The big advantage of Speedway Royale was good spectator facilities and most riders said the track was one of the best and safest in the world. Speedway Royale was a true Speedway in that it was 400 yards approx in length and a true loose heavy dirt surface. (My how things have changed!) Early Speedway Tracks Around 1926-29, tracks sprung up all over the State, some did not last long and a lot of these tracks were large in length up to a mile long, but about the1930s the defined 400 yard speedway track evolved. Some purists would call these early tracks "Long Tracks" and not "Speedway", but I think they were important in the evolution of “Speedway”. Australian Titles held at the longer tracks to this day are not recognised.
Hopefully this list and details about the tracks will grow. As you can imagine locating and documenting details of these tracks is very difficult and information can not be guaranteed to be correct. If you know anything about any of them, or know of more tracks, please contact the Webmaster.
Email: Webmaster@Speedway in SA |
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