History of the Round Australia Trials

When the first of the 192 cars in the 1953 Redex Trial left the start in Sydney a new era in Australian motor sport was born. The Redex Trial was the brainchild of Reg Shepheard, a salesman who believed that “Reliability Trials”, as he termed them, were the way to promote his product, Redex upper cylinder lubricant. Shepheard had already set up Redex in France, Holland, Denmark, Belgium Germany, the US and Canada, Scotland, Wales and Ireland before coming to Australia to start the ball rolling here.

The first Redex Trial covered 10,000 kms, but was not a true Round Australia event. It went up the east coast as far as Townsville, then west through Mount Isa and north to Darwin, then travelled through the Red Centre via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, then Port Augusta, Adelaide and Melbourne to the finish in Sydney.  

Mobilgas outback road

That would be a simple trip today, but in the 1950s there were no motels, few service stations and stores, and roads were mostly unmade, poorly maintained and not often signposted. The cars of the day were mainly of English or American origin, with a sprinkling of European makes and local Holdens. They were not designed or prepared for the rugged conditions they encountered in the outback, and mechanical problems were common. Roadside repairs were necessary, not only to keep in the event, but to reach somewhere that had food and a bed, often after many days in the bush.

Public interest in the Redex Trial was enormous. As the field progressed around Australia the Trial was front page news on every newspaper in the country. The adventure had captured the imagination of Joe Public, who longed to travel around Australia, but would never be able to afford the time or the expense. The Trial attracted all of Australia’s leading drivers, including racing greats Lex Davison, Stan Jones, Bill Patterson and a young Jack Brabham. The trials experts were Gelignite Jack Murray, Possum Kipling, Peter Antill, Duck Anderson and Bill McLachlan, all household names at the time. Even radio star Jack Davey (hi ho everybody) was in it.

Tens of thousands of people (including me) watched the cars leave Sydney on the adventure of a lifetime. Ken Tubman won in a Peugeot 203, and demand for the French cars increased dramatically. The Redex was the forerunner of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”.

An incredible 246 starters left Sydney on the 1954 Redex, this time doing a full circuit of Australia over 15,000 kms. Gelignite Jack won in his privately entered 1947 “Grey Ghost” Ford, beating many works supported teams and achieving lasting fame. He carried sticks of gelignite in his car, allegedly to clear obstructions from the trial roads, but in reality to have some fun at the various rest breaks, blowing up dunnies and the like. The Murrays lost no points during the event.

Redex sponsored the 1955 Round Australia, and then withdrew. Reg Shepheard considered the event had achieved the company’s objectives of Redex becoming a well known product, and he was right. The next long distance trials were sponsored by either Ampol or Mobilgas until the Repco sponsored event of 1979. The entry of the two oil companies into the field was a bitterly fought affair, with both wanting the sole rights to run a round Australia event. This caused a huge split in the structure of Australian motor sport, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport being aligned with Mobilgas, and a number of NSW car clubs who were disenchanted with CAMS anyway, forming a rival group, the Council of Combined Motor Clubs, to back the Ampol event.

Mobilgas rest break

This dispute fragmented the round Australia events. Entrants found it difficult to obtain sponsorship with two lots of competitors vying for funds, and the pool of potential entries was split between two events. The rival events were held in 1956, in 1957 Ampol went it alone and in 1958 there were two events again.

The net result was a drop in entries and public attention to the events, which caused the two oil companies to stop their sponsorship in 1958. It was Ampol which turned out to be the stayer, backing events again in 1964 and 1970. There was then a long gap until 1979 when parts company Repco backed the longest and easily the toughest round Australia event yet. Director Stewart McLeod warned competitors they faced a tough test, and he was right. Only 13 out of the 167 entries completed the entire 20,000 km course, over only two weeks. Service crew were left way behind, and frequently had to drive through one or two nights to catch their charges again. Garry Harrowfield and I driving a Peugeot 504 diesel spent 67 hours non stop in our car between Adelaide and Perth. It was dangerous and stupid, but it was also the experience of a lifetime.

Mobilgas roadside service

Time passed, and by 1995 there was a ground swell of demand for another round Australia event. I reluctantly took on the challenge, because no one else looked like doing it, with my co-Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial colleagues, Tom Snooks, Philip Bernadou, Michael Browning and Peter Lewis-Williams. Mobil backed the event to celebrate their centenary in Australia, and sports marketing company Advantage International took over the financial risk. The event equalled the Repco for length, at 20,000 kms, but took three weeks because CAMs rightly insisted on more rest breaks for crews.

Basically the same organizing crew ran the Playstation event in 1998, except that the road director was Australian Safari veteran Bob Carpenter.

And now here we are, the same team, ten years after the last round Australia, running the Red Centre to Gold Coast Trial. Like the first Redex in 1953 it is not a true round Australia, but to run such an event now with safety and other factors to take into account would be four weeks – too much time away from business and family for most.

With the increasing intervals between these types of event, it is quite possible that another may not happen for many years, if ever. If people want to experience the adventure, the camaraderie and the challenges that outback Australia presents, it may be now or never.

Bob Watson

Further Reading:
Great Australian Car Trials - Bill Tuckey
Redex to Repco - Bill Tuckey
Old Dog for a Hard Road - Bill Tuckey

 

Round Australia Trial winners
1953 Redex Trial	Ken Tubman/John Marshall	Peugeot 203
1954 Redex Trial	Jack Murray/Bill Murray	Ford V8
1955 Redex Trial	Laurie Whitehead/	Volkswagen
1956 Ampol Trial	Wilf Murrell/Alan Taylor	Peugeot 403
1956 Mobilgas Trial	Eddie Perkins/Lance Perkins	Volkswagen
1957 Ampol Trial	Jack Witter/	Volkswagen
1958 Ampol Trial	Don Garard/Jim Roberts	Holden FE
1958 Mobilgas Trial	Eddie Perkins/	Volkswagen
1964 Ampol Trial	Harry Firth/Graham Hoinville	Ford Cortina
1970 Ampol Trial	Eq. Jean Claude Ogier/Lucette Ogier Citroen Edgar Herrmann/Hans Schuller	Datsun 1600
1979 Repco Trial	Peter Brock/Matt Philip/Noel Richards	Commodore
1995 Mobil 1 Trial	Ed Ordynski/Ross Runnalls	Commodore
1998 Playstation Trial	Bruce Garland/Harry Suzuki	Holden Jackaroo

1956 Mobilgas Trial - A few people at the finish