Alan Jones looks out of the same window his late father Norman looked out of in 1951.
Contributed by Alan Jones
It’s been 75 years since Rob and Norman Jones came up with an idea to build a private motor racing race circuit on the family farm near Corowa.
How it all started
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On March 21,1951, brothers Rob and Norman Jones were crutching weathers at the family farm “Karama” near Corowa.
Every now and then they would stop for a breather and found themselves looking out the window at a 150acre paddock they called “The Western Front” (after WWII).
Norman thought it a good idea to mark out a circuit, then race around the circuit on his 500cc Ariel Red Hunter motorcycle - so he did, after shearing!
March 31, 1951 - Rob Jones remembers about 10 days later, their good friend John Graham from Rutherglen came over on his Matchless and was invited to race around the Karama Circuit with Norman.
The next day a revised big triangular Race Circuit was marked out in the same area. It was graded with Rob’s Ferguson tractor and blade. Racing was trialled with Norman’s Ariel, and Rob’s Bedford Ute.
The Karama circuit is marked out in 1951.
A few weeks later Rob remembers a second invite went out to Arthur Cornelius for a run in his Chevy.
On Sunday October 26, 1952, the Third Invitational meeting was held, and more and more people from Corowa turned up to test their cars and motorcycles at the Karama Race Circuit.
February 1, 1953 the Fourth Invitational meeting at the Karama Race Circuit saw even more cars and motorcycles turn up to race, some from Albury, and a couple of scratch races were held.
At this meeting about 17 cars and motorcycles turned up to race, and a crowd of spectators. Some of these noted include John Bedford, Ian Izon, Lance Close, Brown, Cuthbert, John Graham, Gordon Gyles and Blair Harley, Rob and Norman Jones.
Corowa Motor Sports Club forms
Then a decision was made to see about interest in forming a club.
The following month, at the Fifth Invitational, Blair Harley and David Harrison came out to race on Karama Circuit.
On March 27, 1953, Rob Jones attended a meeting of the “Corowa Motor Sports Club” as noted in Rob’s diary.
The Chairman was a Master of the high school called Lance Close, with the meeting being held in Arthur Cornelius’s school bus.
April 19-20, 1953 CMSC racing started at 11am with a great afternoon of racing. 24 cars and about 30 people attended. Norman raced the MGTD and Norton, Blair Harley was on the Tiger 100.
Blair Harley and Kevin Cuthbert came out for another go on Blair’s Tiger 100. They had a small, timed race between them.
The Corowa Coronation Celebrations Sanger Street Parade with the newly formed “Corowa Motor Sports Club” banner on Norman Jones’s MGTD
June 2, 1953 was the Corowa Coronation Celebrations Sanger Street Parade with the newly formed “Corowa Motor Sports Club” banner on Norman Jones’s MGTD, behind was Max Maclean’s Matador with another sign. In the centre was Arthur Aylward with Norman Jones’s Norton and behind was Lance Closes’s Lancia “Hot Rod”, which had no mudguards and was Rugby 4 powered, followed by his school kids.
Race circuits around the region
As the club got bigger, the Corowa Motor Sports Club developed race circuits all over the area. These not only included Karama, but Ray Jamieson’s Circuit- Redlands Hills, Graham’s Straight, Izon’s Oil Tree Lagoon, Wagon Reserve, Balldale Hill Climb at Darcy Knight’s farm, Corowa Rubbish tip reserve, and Daw’s bitumen strip, just to name a few.
Before the opening of the Wahgunyah Circuit, people would come from Wangaratta, Benalla and Albury to race. Records show around 15 times Karama was used as a race circuit.
1956 (circa) Malcolm and Jack Elliot were delivering fuel to Arthurs Garage and they were all excited about finding a new place to race in Victoria. They said Wahgunyah Recreation Reserve.
July 28, 1956, CMSC Working Bee on new Wahgunyah Race Circuit. The club continued racing at the NSW circuits up until and after Wahgunyah was ready.
Cars line up to race the Karama Race Circuit.
Wahgunyah Race Circuit opens
The club members would have never known this would become one of Australia’s longest running race circuits.
On Easter Sunday, April 6,1958 Wahgunyah Race Circuit was opened and listed as a charity meeting in aid of the Wahgunyah Baby Health Centre.
Bill Quihampton and Norman Jones, with Errol and Lexy Jones took the stripped-down Australia GP 1933 Wolseley Hornet Special into the new Wahgunyah Circuit. Norman ended up in hospital, as he had the first major crash at the track in the Butchers Picnic event at the end of the day.
Car and bike racing circuits started popping up around the region at Tarrawingee, Hume Weir, Bandiana, Keenan’s Yarrawonga, Myrtleford, Bright, Mt Beauty, Yackandandah, Chiltern just to name a few.
Display open in Max’s Museum
For those who want to know more about the history of the Corowa Motor Sports Club, a display to the early days is up in Max’s Museum.
97 year old Rob Jones (seated) the first President of the Corowa Motor Sports Club, with 92 year old Ian Izon the second President at a recent reunion. Little remains of the two race tracks.
Written by Alan Jones with information provided by Rob Jones, includes stories by late Norman Jones and many others.
References- Rob and Lexy Jones’s diaries, CMSC “Wheelspin” newsletters, CMSC minute books and Corowa Free Press newspaper articles. Photographs by Rob, Errol, Peter and Alan Jones
