Home-spun hero
If there were to be a Hall of Fame for racing motorcycles, a sort of two-wheeled Valhalla, you would likely find inhabitants such as Dick Mann’s Daytona-winning Honda CR750, or Mike Hailwood’s victorious NCR Ducati from the 1978 Isle of Man TT, or even Jeff Smith’s titanium-frame works BSA scrambler. The machine that is arguably one of Australia’s most famous racing motorcycles has no such thoroughbred pedigree. It started life as a Gold Star BSA and underwent a transformation that left not one of its original components still fitted, but in the ensuing decade or so what emerged as the Henderson Matchless carved a unique place in the history of Australian road racing. In fact, the Henderson Matchless is not one, but two separate machines – the products of evolution and experimentation that went on for more than a decade. The development of the machine paralleled the careers of two men who are now synonymous with the sport: Tony Henderson and Ron Toombs. Tony began his association with motorcycle racing as a keen clubman in the late ‘fifties and abandoned any on-track aspirations soon after to pursue his true calling as a gifted tuner, or to use the modern parlance, development race engineer.