Ted Goddard
One of the true legends of Australian motorcycling, TED GODDARD, died suddenly on December 30 while visiting family in Melbourne. Ted was born in 1936 in Griffith, NSW and worked on farms in the district, where he developed some very innovative equipment such as the Orange Tractor Spray with moving spray heads which is still in wide use today. He would regularly commute between properties across the Hay Plains, then just a clay and gravel road, on his 350cc Jawa. He gained a reputation as a man who could fix anything – a skill that would take him to locations around the world in the food processing industry. During this time he also co-owned the Honda dealership in Griffith, and began a keen interest in the relatively new sport of Enduros. At the age of 40, he took part in his first International Six Day Enduro in Austria, winning a silver medal. He competed in four ISDE events winning two silver and one bronze medal, but more importantly took on the management of the Australian teams, setting standards that have seen those teams rise to the very top of the “Olympics of Motorcycling”. In 1983 he started manufacturing hand guards for enduro bikes, calling the product Barkbusters. That business was developed into a world leader and Ted eventually sold it to Matt Philpott. After retiring from off-road riding, Ted drove his own Toyota Land Cruiser to sixth outright in the 1986 Wynns Safari – his first car event. Continuing his knack in the workshop, he invented the Tensor Sensor which allowed farmers to tighten fence wire correctly, and a spinner which eliminated wire tangling. Ted continued to ride road bikes up to the age of 68 when he suffered a nasty fall, but continued to live a busy life in his home workshop at his property at Wilton, NSW. In 1959, Ted married Ann, a nurse from Coolac, and they had three boys; Andrew, Michael and Peter. Sadly, Ann passed away in May 2018 from a brain bleed, a devastating blow to the family but particularly to Ted. In 2014, he received a Legend of Motorcycling award from Motorcycling Australia in recognition of his contribution to the sport. His sons all followed their father into motorcycle sport. Michael was twice winner of the Wynn’s Safari, Andrew also an accomplished enduro rider, and Peter, former Grand Prix rider and 1997 Endurance World Champion is now president of Motorcycling Australia.