6 replies to this topic

[SGM]

I thought some of you might be interested in a book I have written detailing the history of the Penguin Hillclimb in north-west Tasmania. I have been a lurker and occasional poster here for many years and have enjoyed the stories and photos that have been shared here. TNF has probably been one of my inspirations to ensure a small piece of our motorsport history is shared with others and kept in perpetuity in book form.

 

 The event itself was conducted in the small seaside town of Penguin from 1955 through to 1971 and attracted all the top Tasmanian drivers of the era and also a few mainlanders including Tom Hawkes and Australian TV star Leonard Teale. It is surprising how many top cars found their way to Tasmania and competed at Penguin including the ex-Jim Clark Lotus 32b, ex-Brabham Coopers and a number of tin tops such as the Geoghegan brothers FX Holden. 

 

One of the most enjoyable parts of the research was finding the photos and I was lucky enough to find some really lovely shots that capture the atmosphere of the event beautifully. I have tried to broaden the appeal of the book by adding special features on some of the more interesting cars and drivers and I think the book is diverse enough to entertain anyone interested in the history of motorsport. The book is hardcover, 196 pages with over 150 photos and is professionally published by Forty South in Tasmania. The price is $55 and I can post Australia wide for $15 and am also happy to post overseas. To obtain a copy you can contact me at penguinhillclimb@gmail.com or just send me a PM.

 

Cheers,

Stephen Mott

[MarkBisset]

Stephen,

Great to hear from you.

I met Stephen and his wife selling the book at the Longford Motorama a couple of months ago.

Its an exceptional book in terms of design, production and content! 
The chronological format interspersed by the features on cars/drivers works well and makes it easy to read.

Magic photos 97.5% I’d not seen before.

I’d take a scan of my favourite photo and pop it up but my copy is with Stephen Dalton Esq @ present ! 
Best of luck with it

Mark

[Ray Bell]

It looks like a determined effort at FTD on the cover...

 

I'm sure it worked, too.

[cooper997]

Guilty as charged, I have Mark's copy at the moment and hope to chase up my own copy soon. If only he'd purchased 2 copies at the time...

 

Beautifully produced book on a subject where very little information had previously escaped Van Diemen's Land. Wonderful selection of colour and b&w period photos covering the variety of cars competing in Tasmania at the time. David Sternberg's Cooper on the cover (no dustjacket) is a bonus, and plenty more within.

 

A credit to Stephen Mott and all involved. I'd even go as far to say that if there's any author's working on a book project then it appears fortysouth.com.au can deliver a quality product for you.

 

SGM i'd suggest you might also consider putting your opening post within the TNF 'pinned' book thread for those who look there too.

 

 

Stephen

[SGM]

Thanks for the kind words gents, much appreciated. All the feedback I have gotten so far has been really positive which I am very pleased about, after all it is very difficult to judge your own work. I wrote the sort of book I would be interested in reading and I'm glad others are enjoying it to.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the pinned book thread Stephen, I will make a post there as well.

 

Yes, the cover shot really captures the commitment required to take FTD, particularly when you consider the post and rail and barbed wire fencing which lined the track! 

[SGM]

Here is one of the images from the book from August 1958. There is plenty going on in the shot, the more you look the more things you find. Car 44 is the Stan Allen K4 Special, built in Burnie Tasmania circa 1954. Btw I followed Ray's instructions (pinned thread) on how to post photos and found it extremely easy, thanks Ray.

[SGM]

I picked up the latest Auto Action yesterday, the mail is a bit slow to Tassie   . Thanks to Mark and Bruce for the nice review of the book. Cheers