Berrima NSW Hillclimb

I read in the first RCN that there was to be a Hillclimb in 1961. Some of the locals immediately suggested Oxley's Hill Road but thats closer to Bowral. Greenhills Rd was suggested as highly likely, so I went exploring.

I believe I found the hill, 900-1000m of it (depending on whether the Finish was where I think it was)....if anyone finds out any more references to it or has photos...would love to see them.

Possible Start



steady climb



Nice uphill sweeper



Short squirt to another!



Steepening



Finish in sight?



Finish line? (900-1000m mark)....but the climb could have hooked left...or continued straight ahead and over the brow

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 14 October 2011 - 20:38.

[quote name='275 GTB-4' date='Oct 15 2011, 06:35' post='5339381']
I read in the first RCN that there was to be a Hillclimb in 1961. Some of the locals immediately suggested Oxley's Hill Road but thats closer to Bowral. Greenhills Rd was suggested as highly likely, so I went exploring.

I believe I found the hill, 900-1000m of it (depending on whether the Finish was where I think it was)....if anyone finds out any more references to it or has photos...would love to see them.


I ran my Turner in a State Championship round at what we then called Bowral hillclimb in 1968. I was only there on that one occasion and don't have many strong memories of the climb but I do recall that it was pretty quick which accords with the photos you show. However, your start line photo does not ring true as I have a strong recollection of an uphill start on an extremely slippery bitumen surface leading to a long climbing right hander which was pretty quick but your photo appears to show the road at that point as pretty level. As I recall the start was in pretty open country with the paddock area located in open fields at the immediate side of the road. My memory of the slippery uphill start is pretty strong although the rest of it has faded to the backblocks of the memory bank!!

I have just found the programme for the first round of the 1972 NSW Hill Climb Championship. This event was conducted by The Berrima District Car Club. The course was Fountaindale Road, Robertson. I am pretty sure that this event was listed by CAMS as Berrima. It was not a very long hill from memory. The programme shows Erol Richardson with a record at 30.14 driving a Cooper Climax 2.5 litre. I agree with Paul about the open country and the location of the paddock area.
Dale.

We are talking about thee different hills, here. I'm pretty sure that Berrima D.C.C. ran all of them at one time or another.

Greenhills Road - Berrima, Oxley's Hill - Bowral, and Fountaindale Road - Robertson.

Just shows that you can't go on guesswork with these things...

Perhaps, Dale, the CAMS listing was 'Robertson' but the fact that it was run by the Berrima Club led to the event being so named. Not the venue.

Edited by Ray Bell, 14 October 2011 - 22:37.

I read in the first RCN that there was to be a Hillclimb in 1961. Some of the locals immediately suggested Oxley's Hill Road but thats closer to Bowral. Greenhills Rd was suggested as highly likely, so I went exploring.

I believe I found the hill, 900-1000m of it (depending on whether the Finish was where I think it was)....if anyone finds out any more references to it or has photos...would love to see them.


I ran my Turner in a State Championship round at what we then called Bowral hillclimb in 1968. I was only there on that one occasion and don't have many strong memories of the climb but I do recall that it was pretty quick which accords with the photos you show. However, your start line photo does not ring true as I have a strong recollection of an uphill start on an extremely slippery bitumen surface leading to a long climbing right hander which was pretty quick but your photo appears to show the road at that point as pretty level. As I recall the start was in pretty open country with the paddock area located in open fields at the immediate side of the road. My memory of the slippery uphill start is pretty strong although the rest of it has faded to the backblocks of the memory bank!!

Paul definatelly sounds like Oxleys...you would have formed up on the flat near the Bowral Brickworks and went straight through a slight dip then hooked right up a very steep incline. Not really slippery these days...good all weather surface :-) This hill was run by the Berrima District Car Club as Greg says....made the papers when Jack Myers came to town.

Paul definatelly sounds like Oxleys...you would have formed up on the flat near the Bowral Brickworks and went straight through a slight dip then hooked right up a very steep incline. Not really slippery these days...good all weather surface :-) This hill was run by the Berrima District Car Club as Greg says....made the papers when Jack Myers came to town.

Mick, do you want me to report you to Mr Bell, re. your spelling of 'definitely'? Or was that just a 'wind-up'?

The pics have a marked similarity to Fountaindale Road. The first time I ran at Fountaindale/Berrima was 21 April 1968. I did not run at any other venue near Berrima.
To my memory Jack Myers never ran at Fountaindale so there must have been other venues at an earlier time.
Paul is right about the uphill, very slippery start. Tthe surface was VERY course stones and had a pronounced camber to the left. Was almost impossible to keep the car straight off the line.
The pits were the farmers paddock and the approach road was dirt, the bitumin surface was only just long enough for a short burn-out before the start line.

Erol

I have just found the programme for the first round of the 1972 NSW Hill Climb Championship. This event was conducted by The Berrima District Car Club. The course was Fountaindale Road, Robertson. I am pretty sure that this event was listed by CAMS as Berrima. It was not a very long hill from memory. The programme shows Erol Richardson with a record at 30.14 driving a Cooper Climax 2.5 litre. I agree with Paul about the open country and the location of the paddock area.
Dale.

Dale, can you post up a copy of the program please. I think dad ran there a few times. Did it run in conjunction with a tulip festival?

Brad

have

to the top
The pics have a marked similarity to Fountaindale Road. The first time I ran at Fountaindale/Berrima was 21 April 1968. I did not run at any other venue near Berrima.
To my memory Jack Myers never ran at Fountaindale so there must have been other venues at an earlier time.
Paul is right about the uphill, very slippery start. Tthe surface was VERY course stones and had a pronounced camber to the left. Was almost impossible to keep the car straight off the line.
The pits were the farmers paddock and the approach road was dirt, the bitumin surface was only just long enough for a short burn-out before the start line.

Erol

Erol, the two courses are like chaulk and cheese...Fountaindale is a narrow, steep, country lane kind of road....big drop-off on drivers right towards the top. I have pictures that I might put up soon...I recorded about 2.4 km of useable climb....Greenhills Road Berrima (by contrast, might only have been around a Km in the new money) could support a four lane highway with very little work!! Berrima has nowhere near the elevation change at Fountaindale Road Robertson.

Hope this helps...

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 15 October 2011 - 07:28.

Didn't mean to imply the pics were of Fountaindale, just that the layout of the turns was very similar.
Never saw the drop off - at 6600rpm in 4th gear I did not intend to go there !
Fountaindale was .823 km long (900 yds).

Erol

Didn't mean to imply the pics were of Fountaindale, just that the layout of the turns was very similar.
Never saw the drop off - at 6600rpm in 4th gear I did not intend to go there !
Fountaindale was .823 km long (900 yds).

Erol

Ohhhhhh??? well I bracketted about 2.4 Km in my Fountaindale post....maybe you could be so kind as to point out the Start and Finish???

On the following site which gives tribute to Jack Myers there is a Record Certificate for FTD at Oxley Hill Climb in 1959.

http://aussieroadrac...-Myers-P-3.html

Hope this helps.

Fountaindale was discussed here;

http://forums.autosp...w...power&st=80

2.4 km in 30 seconds?

On the following site which gives tribute to Jack Myers there is a Record Certificate for FTD at Oxley Hill Climb in 1959.

http://aussieroadrac...-Myers-P-3.html

Hope this helps.

Thanks Dan....suppose I should start an Oxleys Hill thread then.....good to see Jacks time of 62.75 seconds over 1426 yards in the WM Special, what a sight and sound that must have been!

4278 feet = 1 303.9344 metres

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 15 October 2011 - 21:49.