The first Greeves
Studying the photo of John Burrows ( OBA 98 Letters from Michael Anderson), I am nearly sure this is a 59-250. On 4th August 1959, my brother Len travelled from Bairnsdale to Melbourne to pick up a crate from the docks, containing two Greeves – the first 250s to arrive in Australia. One was to be dropped off to John Burrows at Jimmy Guilfoyle’s shop in Deepdene where John was employed. After opening the crate I chose the bike with a frame number ending in 36 (#593236), as 1936 was the year I was born. If the bike shown in the photo is still around it should be easy to identify it as the frame number should be 1 or 2 higher. I found and restored my bike in the late 1980s and it is now on display in the Maffra Shed Motor Museum. It could be the last one in existence.
Regarding the photo: Both John and I competed in the Victorian Championships at Craigieburn, four days after taking delivery. We both experienced slight seizures in the 250 race. Fortunately Neville Doyle was at the meeting and helped us to remove the head and barrel, clean the bore and piston and reassemble. John did the same and decided to give his bike a test on the practice track at the back of the pits, and I would not be surprised if this photo was taken on that run, as it has fresh mud on it from the earlier race. John has no helmet and his jacket is undone, and I can clearly remember John being warned at the start of the next race by the official for riding without proper safety attire. Ron Shand Lindenow, Victoria