Alec Wise: the brake man
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 96 – first published in 2021. Interview with Tony Wise: Bernie Summers • Photographs: Wise family, OBA archives. Going fast is one thing, but for each action, there […]
Bob Brown
NSU Supermax 250: A Teutonic Terrier
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 89 – first published in 2020. Story: Nick Varta • Photos: OBA, Elwyn Roberts, Keith Ward What has one cylinder, three conrods, and can live with engines almost […]
Keith Campbell: A candle in the wind
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 69 – first published in 2017. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Byron Gunther, Keith Bryen collection, Leigh Ward. August 9th, 2022 marks sixty-five years since Keith Campbell won the 1957 350cc […]
G45 Matchless: The temperamental twin
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Keith Ward, Dennis Quinlan, Keith Bryen, Jim Scaysbrook “The G45 was very simply a touring motorcycle, anything but inspiring.” These are the words of Australian international racer, the late Keith Bryen, […]
Tracks in Time: Little River
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • With assistance from: Jenny Martinez • Photographs: Ray Kelly, Wes Brown, Noel Cheney, Ross Martin and other private collections. Like its more famous counterpart in the Irish Sea, the Australian TT was […]
Tony McAlpine: The wild colonial boy
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Byron Gunther, Trevor Evans, Keith Bryen Wallace Anthony, or just plain ‘Tony’ McAlpine, died on the Queensland Gold Coast on September 26th 2005, aged 84. With his passing went perhaps […]
Tracks in Time: Mount Druitt, NSW
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photographs Frank Shepherd, Bill Tricker, Charles Rice • Archival assistance: John Wicks Even though it closed almost fifty years ago, Mount Druitt is inevitably mentioned whenever a bunch of old timers get […]
Tom Phillis: A bridge too far
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Charles Rice, Keith Ward, Tom Perry The feeling of disbelief that followed the death of Tom Phillis on the Isle of Man in 1962 was palpable. How could Tom, fast […]
Kapooka – A one-off in Wagga
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Frank Shepherd When Mount Druitt disappeared in November 1958, it left NSW with just one operational road racing circuit – the once-a-year bash at Bathurst at Easter. This had the effect […]
Mildura – Racing in the red
“Like a leg of lamb” was one description of the shape of the 3.8 mile (6.1 km) public road circuit just outside the centre of Mildura. “Mighty fast” was another. In the local aboriginal Latje […]
