3 replies to this topic

[Terry Walker]

There has been a project going on here for three or four years, initiated by Western Australia's Vintage Sports Car Club, of recording video interviews with retired drivers. So far the interviews have concentrated on Caversham and earlier drivers - ie, those active in the pre-Wanneroo Park era, although quite a few of these went on to race at Wanneroo as well.

The interviews are conducted and recorded by John Napier-Winch of Archival Films, and he has available two "sample" discs, with excerpts from no less than 52 interviews. The drivers interviewed here are not big-name national or international blokes, but local names and their reminiscences of their racing days in the 50s and 60s. Some of them are quite moving. Bob Annear, a great enthusiast, was very keen to tell his story even though he was on oxygen, and died some months later. One or two were recorded quite a while ago and the interviewees - Wally Higgs and Arthur Collett - have since died.

Given that Wanneroo/Barbagallo has now being going for over 40 years, it's surely time to start catching the later lads before they, too, fade into the sunset.

Now, I wonder - are there any other TNFers elsewhere in the world doing something similar?

If we have any interest I'll append a list the drivers interviewed to date, with a note against each about where they fitted into our local story. I haven't yet seen any full-length interviews, which belong to the VSCC, but the bits I've seen a great - variable, naturally, according to the tempraments and articulacy of the interviewees.

Edited by Terry Walker, 04 March 2011 - 08:26.

[Gary C]

Funnily enough, both David Weguelin and I have talked about doing exactly this in conjunction with the BRDC. We haven't got round to it yet..................
I've also talked about this with Alan Morgan of the Lotus Owners Club and also author Michael Oliver. We really must make some sort of start.
In my archive anyway are interviews I have filmed for various projects with the following : Emerson Fittipaldi, the late Peter Warr, Team Lotus mechanic Jim Pickles, driver John Miles, Ron Tauranac.
I also have the 'talk show' sessions from our three film festivals too.

[john medley]

There was a film being made about Allan Tomlinson and the 1939 Australian Grand Prix. No idea what happened to all the film, but I had the pleasure of interviewing Allan on that film.

[Terry Walker]

Local drivers so far: (* since deceased)

Volume 1 of excerpts

Allen Shepherd, Basil Ricciardello, Bruce Mutton, Gordon Mitchell, David Sadique, Darrell Manning, Craig McAllister, Gordon Stephenson, Graham Bowra, Harley Pederick, Arthur Collett*, Bernie Zampatti, Hilton McGee, John Alford, John Motteram, Peter Nicol, Ray Davies, Rod Waller ("Repco22"), Kevin Lang, Bill Inwood, Toby Carboni (double V8), Wally Higgs*

Vol 2

Bill Downey (1950s; 1979 AGP, Birrana), Bob Annear*, Bob Biltoft, Bob Kingsbury, Bob Avery, Don Hall, John Glasson, Warren Matthews, Stuart Kostera, Peter Briggs, John Budgen*, James Harwood, Jeff Dunkerton (1962 AGP, Lotus super 7), Jaime Gard, George Cole, Vic Watson, Stan Starcevich, Noel Mitchell, Mike Tighe, Les Verco, John Walker (Byfield MG), Don O'Sullivan, Dick Ward, Ken ("Dick") Turpin, Dick Roberts, Derek Vince, Dave Sullivan Jr, Colin Uphill (1951 AGP), Brian Rhodes, John Metcalfe.

Among them - Don O'Sullivan raced Cooper Climaxes, Lola T70, Matich SR3, and two <ola F 5000s, and the Gardos. Basil Ricciardello is a former racer, and owner of the hugely successful Alfetta sports sedan driven by his son to several Australian Championships, Kostera raced for the Ansett Team Elfin in sports and F5000, Warren Matthews appears on this forum from time to time, as does Rod Waller, WASCC stalwart, cartoonist, and owner/driver of the famous Repco Holden Sports in the late 60s. Ray Davies and Bruce Mutton were MG punters in the early postwar years; John Glasson started racing in 1958 and is STILL racing aged 74, now in a turbocharged V8 engined Toyota Supra in the Sports Sedan class. Dick Ward started in 1962 and still turns out in either his amazing Fiat Abarth rotary or an RX7 sports sedan. Dave Sullivan Jr's photos of his year as race mechanic in European GT racing have appeared in this forum, but he raced saloons, his father's DSM Holden single seater, and his own U2 Mk8B in the early years of Wanneroo.

And so it goes.

A wonderful oral history project, still continuing. Still photos of many of these can be seen on my website www.terrywalkersplace.com in the Gallery section.

Edited by Terry Walker, 06 March 2011 - 03:26.