Another 'Boy-Hood' memory,was the Annual pilgrimage to 'CUST',yes!!,thats an actual place called, Cust ,that each year would have a two day motorcycle meeting that my Father would 'Drag' me to,5o'clock start,couple hour drive,Picnic Hamper,(Std Request on board-Egg and Bacon Pie) this was the days when they all suited up in basic 'Black',inc. black bikes with 'Alloy'farings,you had to buy a program to see 'Who was Who',its been a While since I've thought about this event, so looking for imput..............names that come to mind, 'Tommy' Mac Cleary,......................Need Help.................this was about a 3mile course around country roads, a few 'Hay Bales' Etc .............(picture the Isle of Man with out 'Steroids').........Trust there is still somebody that can remember this 'Great'Event..........regards427

Can recall finding mentions of it in old motorcycle racing mags, at least partly gravel surface, knobbly tyres sometimes used, huge camber on the roads, and in the old mags I found, Jim Swarbrick was one of the stars. I'm sure Len Perry and the Coleman brothers rode there as well. As I recall, they had a Cust reunion sometime towards the end fo the seventies, I think John Woodley turned out and went nuts on a CB750 Honda. You may well get some illuminating input on this topic from TNF regulars Stu Avant and peterd, they will know something of the history of this long-since -departed event.

This bloke was probably there, Leo Simpson, seen here on an early 7R, on a NZ road course, sometime in the early fifties.

Cust, near Christchurch, was the scene of the first new Zealand Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1936, and it was run there annually until the title moved to Ruapuna in 1964. In the early days, volunteers were required to sweep and oil the road surface before racing began.
From the Motorcycling New Zealand website.

I have "Motor Cycling" Sports Yearbooks dated 1960 and 1961 which include results for main NZ motorcycle races of the previous year in them. The circuit appears to have been shortened between these 2 years from 6.1 miles in 1959 to 4.5 in 1960, still a man-sized lap!

The practise of sweeping and then oiling with "old oil" was used at car and bike circuits in NZ until the circuits disappeared. It was for rider/driver safety I guess. The Mangere circuit used from 1952 to 1961 for the NZ Tourist Trophy was also 6.1 miles long, mostly sealed apart from the part through the Maori settlement in Oruarangi Road, probably the most populated part of the lap. Perhaps they were Govt. houses and didn't pay rates!

Meetings seem to have been at Easter and winners of these 2 were :
1959 - Senior GP - R.Newbrook(Norton); Junior - N.McCutcheon(A.J.S.); Lightweight - T.McCleary(NSU); Ultra-Lightweight (200cc) - D.Bishell(Francis-Barnett)
1960- Senior - R.Newbrook(Norton); Junior - R.Newbrook(Norton); Lightweight - D.Lowe(Triumph);

There were 2 or 3 McClearys : Tom and Ken(?Kevin) McCleary were racing around this time, and there was reference to Tom as T.McCleary Jnr somewhere.

I had the pleasure of growing up in Cust and lived across the valley from where the Grand Prix was held. I did St. Johns Ambulance duty as a cadet first aider so was lucky enough to be trackside on both days of racing over a five year period. Names of riders that spring readily to mind are, McLeary, Tom senior,Tom junior and Kevin; Burns, Bob and David; Jim Swarbrick; Len Perry; Mick Holland; Bruce Benke; Noel Mc Cutcheon; Rod Coleman; Terry Carlyon; Ross Elliot and Mick Page, both Cust locals. There were a vast range of bikes, Manx Nortons, AJS 7Rs, Mac Vellocettes, 1 solitary Scott 600cc watercooled machine, BSAs of all capacities, Triumphs, Ariels, Royal Enfields, even a Jawa made an appearance.
The track was gravel roads that were swept clean and then oiled with used engine oil provided by all the service stations in the area.
The original track featured an undulating front straight of about two miles, a hairpin and "S" bend, two side straights ( the west side straight featured a hump back bridge) each about a mile long and a 2 mile long back straight with a sunken bridge. In the last few years of racing the track was reduced to a little over four miles.

Hi Boys,
This guy Peter Pawson was in the NZ team at the 1960 TT, this shot is at Signpost Corner that year in the 350 where he DNF on his AJS.
I am not sure which part of NZ he came from but I also remember John Hempleman, Noel McCucheon, John Anderson and then Hugh Anderson riding in the IoM.
Roy

Peter Pawson lives in Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty, and was my local hero when growing up. He raced in Europe in the Continental Circus from 1959 to '61. Finished eighth in the '61 Senior after an on-track dice with Ron Langston, and would probably have bettered that result but rolled it off after chasing Langston through the smoke and debris of Ralph Rensen's crash. Has raced classics and post-classics off and on ever since, and lives a peaceful, happy life with his lovely wife Jeanette.

Thats good to hear that Peter is still enjoying life in NZ.
There is another hero who lost his life before getting his rewards, Ralph Rensen, a great racer.
Roy

My Dad took us to Cust and whilst I can't recall much we always had black and white pics of dirt roads and road race bikes around the house. Seeing Tommy McCleary next week so i may ask him more about it

Well, we went to Ch Ch for Tommy McClearys "tribute night"and returned home tonight. Unfortunately Tommy had a heart problem so could'nt turn up.Mike Sinclair , Warren Willing and self visited him in hospital yesterday and we talked about the old days. We always rembered a NSU Renmax laying about and a TSS Bultaco that just got in the way. Mike filled me in about them. Evidently we had a price tag of $4000.00 on the NSU which at the time was a laugh..whats it worth now? All sorts turned up and 100 or so of us had a beaut night ( at alocal pub) talking shit. Plenty of good and famous people worked on bikes at his place, Speedway world champs, Briggs, Moore, Fundin, all the Yanks, Cleek, Mac Donald, Hansford, willing, Ron Grant,Sayle, Hennan, Brelsford..they were all at his place. the old Kiwis have good memories. Warren, Mike Sinclair and myself spent today with my best buddie from school, John Boote, looking at A1R's TDIC's etc in containers in his back yard and talking about bloody good old times!!! Growing old is fine!

stuavant;
The Lockton boys,Wayne and Brent say "HELLO", from Narooma/NSW (Lockton Electrical/Automotive), reckon you owe them a Call !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....regards427/ ex CHCH