BROOKSFIELD DRAGWAY

FOUNDING MEMBERS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S BROOKSFIELD DRAGWAY TEAR UP MEMORY LANE ON THE 54TH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS OPENING

South Australia’s drag racing pioneers gather to remember the glory days

I’M STANDING beside a hot and dusty wheat field. The air is thick with flies, yet all I can hear is the buzz of rambunctious retirees. This energetic crew are the pioneers of South Australian drag racing, and they’ve gathered to remember this Middle Beach paddock’s heyday over five decades ago, back when it was the Brooksfield Dragway. The story begins in the early 60s, when a group of speedhungry youth, frustrated by uneventful single-lane sprints, decided that change was required. “A bunch of us met up at Sid Eckert Motors after the sprints and agreed that we needed to get a drag strip happening,” says ex-eckert mechanic Graham Flavel.

Fellow racer Trevor Edmond ran the Golden Fleece servo directly in front of Eckert’s, and he knew Dennis Ryan from the Golden Fleece in Virginia. Dennis, in turn, knew the Brooks family, owners of the vast Buckland Park station, and he convinced them to lease out some land for the cause.

Money was needed to secure the land, so the Crusaders Hot Rod Club was quickly formed to get things rolling. A CAMS licence was obtained and a couple of fundraising drag meets were conducted on a hired bitumen strip at Gawler Belt. Two meets did the trick; the lease was soon signed and the hard yakka began.

These days it’s hard to fathom the work that was required to build the strip and amenities in a rural location with fairly basic tooling. It took many hands, a few practical contacts and a shipload of passion to make it a reality.

Finally, on 31 October 1965, the Brooksfield Dragway opened to great fanfare. Local TV personality Lionel Williams kicked off proceedings, while out in the paddock a decent array of home

A BUNCH OF US MET UP AFTER THE SPRINTS AND AGREED THAT WE NEEDED TO GET A DRAG STRIP HAPPENING

built drag cars and local Rowley Park Speedway rides were showcased. The word quickly spread of this exciting fledgling motorsport, helped along by strong ties to Rowley Park and a weekly radio show.

Brooksfield Dragway was unlike anything else on offer and became the place to be in the mid-60s. Crusaders committee member Laurie O’connell remembers: “We had 70 to 100 entries per monthly meet, and 5000 spectators. The whole length of one side of the track was four people deep and they were all standing behind a single strand of wire. If anyone came unstuck it would’ve been bad.”

While the strip wouldn’t pass as a decent car park these days, it was all the crew could muster for their vintage speed creations. “The original track was an eighth-mile cold mix [stone sprayed with bitumen], with waste oil spread on the over-run area,” Dennis Ryan explains. “But the startline broke down, so hot-mix pads were laid to overcome the problem.”

Keeping the monthly meetings running like clockwork were Geoff Mee as the meeting director, time-keeper Laurie O’connell, promoter Dennis Ryan, Trevor and Dennis Edmond as promoters and managers, plus a bunch of local drag racing and hot rod clubs. In order to coordinate the interested clubs, the SA Hot Rod Association (SAHRA) was formed.

“Trevor just about lived at the place,” Dennis Ryan says. “Nothing was too much trouble for any of them. Everyone pulled their weight and had fun at the same time.”

WE HAD 70 TO 100 ENTRIES PER MONTHLY MEET, AND 5000 SPECTATORS. THE WHOLE LENGTH OF ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK WAS FOUR PEOPLE DEEP

Brooksfield’s pinnacle event tied in with the Hot Rod Show and NWS9’S telethon fundraiser in September 1967. Drawcards – including Dave Gale’s splendid gold FED, ‘The Baron’ – were towed from Melbourne by the SA crew, then detailed and displayed at the rod show before being taken to the track for the drivers’ meet-up and race. “The telethon was to be direct-telecast and the spectator cars were banked up to Two Wells waiting to get in the gate,” Dennis says.

Unfortunately, the day saw the worst accident of the era, with Dave Gale having a serious roll-over in the deep end, thankfully surviving the incident.

Eighteen months later, on Saturday 15 March 1969, the dusty strip had its final meet before closing forever due to the lease expiring. Trevor Edmond had always been keen to get the strip up and running so that it could be taken over commercially, and initially managed to interest Queensland businessman Keith Williams before Williams decided to build Adelaide International Raceway. But eventually Trevor conceded that Brooksfield had burned fast and bright, and served its purpose.

“So that’s pretty much it as far as the beginning of drag racing in SA is concerned,” Trevor says. “A lot of hard work, a few laughs, lots of noise, plenty of arguments, good mates and understanding wives – all before the sport began to race on liability insurance, endless regulations, sponsorship and cubic money. It was back when, for too short a time, the enthusiastic amateur with not much more than a welder could have a serious go.”

IT WAS BACK WHEN THE ENTHUSIASTIC AMATEUR WITH NOT MUCH MORE THAN A WELDER COULD HAVE A SERIOUS GO

STORY CARLY DALE PHOTOS TROY BARKER, TREVOR EDMOND, KEITH BURGAN, RUSSELL PARKER ARCHIVES, KEVIN JOHNS

KYM White has a long emotional conne with Adelaide’s first ction drag strip.rip. “My eldestdest brotbrothherer Trevor raced at Brooksfield,ksfield, andand comecome hhomeome frofromm priprimary I’di’d him mary sschoolchool aandnd hehelp lp work on hhisis car,” he said. “Today was awesome,me, more tha n I expected,”expected,” he added,dd reffeerrririnngg toto thethe reu ed, n ion tu t u rn out. “T h he e re now been suggestion haveh a ve s ofof a yearlyyearly event.” 3 2 1

1: “I remember from when it was just a flat paddock through to that first pass and the first comp run, side-byside,” said Crusaders member Rex Brown. Rex raced a D-class dragster powered by a 50s six-cylinder Zephyr motor with a four-speed Hillman gearbox and a Holden diff 2: SA Rod & Custom member Kevin Johns raced this hot grey motor-powered, heavily customised FB Holden in the D/MS bracket at Brooky. John two-doored the 60s Holden, sectioned it 6in and shortened it by 12in. It was also his daily driver 3: Beside Rex Brown’s rail is one of the early timing systems. John Bragg rigged up an actual traffic light to set the cars off and incorporated a ‘FOUL’ read-out if someone red-lit. Human interpretation – or imagination – was required on many runs, so no doubt there was a collective sigh of relief when proven timing gear with a Christmas tree took over 4: Nowadays the dragway is back to working farmland, but the site has been markered with a carved rock by local vintage racing enthusiast Kym White ( Smhotrod ’14). Kym was instrumental in coordinating this reunion, and helps keep the spirit of early drag racing alive with replica, tribute and survivor SA race cars that do the nostalgia drags 5: All of Brooksfield’s fence posts were made of felled trees from Crusader members Rob and Doug Possingham’s parents’ property. “I had some contacts in the Electricity Trust of South Australia, and their large truck-mounted holeboring machines dug the pole holes and long-drop toilets,” Dennis Ryan recalled WARRENWARREN Pa rrkerker waswas oonlynly 1144 when the trackk first openedopened, yet he was in the thick of it thathanksnks to brothers Rrussellussell aandnd Terry being heavily involved – as was his daddad Mumurrayrray Parker, who was a well-wellknownknown Rowley Paparkrk Speedwaspeedwayy raracer.cer. Warrenwarren went on to becombecome a mechamecha nic at Sid Eckerteckert Motors and was soon racingracing his own F J Holden down thethe Brooksfield strip. through I““I RACED at thethe first meeting Fordford tto the last in a Pontiapontiac-powered o withwith 10 Prefect, sharing the drivingng nell, who my father,”father,” said Laurieurie O’connell,o’con ers. The was president of thethe Crusaders.crusad sidevalvesidevalve Prefect ran a 246ci Pontiac gearbox six-cylinder with a Pontiacpontiac andand Dodge diff, with the driver Theythey laterlater steering from the rearrear seat. converted it to a wheelstander. “IT WAS jujustst hhard,ard, physicaphysicall workwork,, but also thethe cou n cil rules were a lot more libe ral ba ck the n,” Rob Possingh a m said of th e ti me. Rob still has his original Crucrusaderssaders Hot Rod Clu b jacket – and proudly still fitsfits iintonto it! 4 5

BESIDE tribute Pulsator owner Dean Walding iin ththe photoht bbelow is the car’s original owner/ racer Graham F lavel (also pictured left). “I remember one day my boss wasn’t around, so I borrowed the trade plate and took Pulsator for a run around down Payneham Road – with Rob Possingham squatting in the passenger footwell,” Graham said. “Brooksfield was the first drag strip in SA and it was pretty special to me, as I helped build the place.” 2 1

1: Successful Super Street racer Michael Jennings pilots the replica of the Exterminator FJ sedan, which he owns with Graham Elliott. Mark II has a few upgrades: “It runs a small supercharger on a 202ci Holden motor and Trimatic – the old grey motor wouldn’t last with me driving,” Michael laughed 2: “After the fourth meeting, Tony Prentice and I discussed building a car,” said Graham Elliott from the Pacemakers Drag Team. “In eight weeks, we’d built the Exterminator FJ Holden. It ran the original FJ motor, trans and diff, and the car left its mark in the E/MS class, winning most of its races. After Brooksfield, the car had history interstate, including winning Mr Junior Holden Eliminator in 1968” 3: Six-banger dragsters proved to be the quickest rides across the eighth-mile. Crusaders members Zeke Agars (in the John H Ellers rail) and Serge De Luca both ran in the low sevens with their 186ci-powered rails, which were lighter and revvier than the V8s of that time 4: Brooksfield’s Adelaide Plains location and lack of traction proved to be almost deadly for Victorian Dave Gale in 1967. A dust storm had whipped up that morning and heavy crosswinds pelted the rough and narrow track. Gale’s dragster lost it in the deep end and he had to be pried from the wreckage “THE ststarterarter heldheld a hockeyhock ey stickstick at the cacars’rs’ front tyres; then at the finish lineline were twotwo guys with hanndd titimersmers and wawalkie-lkie- tatalkies,”lkies,” formerformer Crusaders memembermbe r Dedennisnnis Bouboundyndy remeemmbered. “If we each reareadd different tim es, we’dwe’d the jujust split difference; it wawass aagricultural.”g ricultural.” Dennis went onon to hold 113mph113mph records in both the Blown Gagass Coupe XO/ BVGC and Production Coupe/ Sedan XXO/PROPRO at classeclassess Lakelake Gairdnerirdner in his ‘Greygrey Popower’wer’ F J Holdeholden.n. KEITH Buburganrgan is Brooksfbrooksfield ield Dragway’sdragway’s best-known pepersonarsonality, havinghaving writtenritte n and photographedphotographed for magazines as such as Rod Sportssports, , aswewellll He paintingpainting aandnd raracingcing cacars.rs. and laterlater became a fafabricatorbricator chassis buildeilder,r, before movimoving ng John to Amamerica,erica, where hhee ran Forceforce’s’s workshopshop for a yyear.ear. ANOANOTT HHERER of tthehe foundifoundinng Crusaderscrusaders memmbers,bers, Jeff Nation, wa s a ke y volunteervolunteer stationedioned i n t he titimingming caracara vavan,n, carryicarryi n g onon wellwell into ththee AIR days. It wasn’t an easy job, given th e sporadicradic n atureature of thth e titi ming syste m. Ofteoftenn they had to m a k e u p a timetime based on wh at the car had prevpreviouslyiously run.

1: Trevor and Dennis ‘Den’ Edmond were not only pivotal in the creation of Brooksfield Dragway, but they also built one of Adelaide’s first dedicated race cars. The gutted Ford 10 Prefect sat atop their homebuilt tube-frame, powered by a 272-cube Ford truck flathead, ’box and rear axle. “That’s the car in its black phase after my sister Carol had a go at the paintjob!” Trevor said 2: When the track was extended from nine-chain to eighth-mile, Crusaders member Russell Parker was given the job of testing. “The over-run was a bit soft from rain and I was overenthusiastic, so my FED rolled in the breaking area,” he recalled. “No damage was done; the only sign was a ring of mud around my helmet. But when the guys push-started me back down the track they were blasted with mud from the exhaust” 3: “Brooksfield wouldn’t have happened without all of the hot rodders who helped, so to be fair we created the SA Hot Rod Association to get the clubs in,” Trevor Edmond said. “It wasn’t a popular idea amongst some of the Crusaders, but we had to share the load” 4: This OG crew are part of our racing, hot rodding and now street machining legacy. They conjured up speed parts in tiny back sheds to consistently break speed and time barriers. Entire race cars were manufactured from peering at grainy photos printed in American magazines, with the details nutted out on the fly BR IIANAN Hutchhutchesson bbuilt and raced the original Outlaw, which Kkymym White now owns. “It looks pretty good to me,” Bria n ssaidaid of thethe new-look car. Bria n loved building race cars,cars, sellingselling the Outlaw to makemake room for a Ford-powered Babantanta m altltered,ered, followed by a Model T racer, CRUSADERS memberember m Walk er raced Geogeoffff his E/S class FJ sedan,sedan, ‘Ddragrag On’ at Bbrooky,rooky, andandnnowowdennis Boundy has created a stunning replica. Geoffgeoff hhasas reremainedmained iinnthe racing scescenene with tthehe swesweetet 70s-ststyleyle ‘Blown Away’away’ FEDFED that hihiss son Steven pilopilots.ts. 1 2 DANNDANNY Daross also worked at Sid Eckert Motors and was part of the dragway team from the outset. Danny not only volunteered as part of the Crusaders, he also campaigned a crossflow Repco- headed FC Holden. The fresh Holden sixes were a winning option over the outdated Ford V8 over the eighth- mile. at the time,