old progams

[jellywrestler]

hi folks, i'm looking at doing a book on circuits through time in new zealand and keen to acknowledge bucket racings contribution to motorcycle racing.
I'm covering fixed circuits like manfeild and the cemetery circuit not open carparks or areas that were set out with cones so keen to see if any one has some old programs ideally with layouts of the circuit looking for that i can tap for info scans etc
ohakune
feilding had one during the world superbike weekends
whakatane mid eighties
taumaranui cart track
other bucket racing tracks they may have had over the years.....
doing big bikes too so interested particularly any pre 1970 ones as already have an extensive collection of later ones.

cheers
spyda

[Grumph]

Quite a few street/road circuits around Canterbury back in the day. Bikes ran at Marihau and Lake Bryndwr with the cars.
At Southbridge with the cars on the big circuit and with karts on the small town circuit
Halswell road circuit - the old Halswell Hundred.

Buckets of course ran on the apron in front of the hangars at Wigram. Then Carrs Rd kart track.

[husaberg]

hi folks, i'm looking at doing a book on circuits through time in new zealand and keen to acknowledge bucket racings contribution to motorcycle racing.
I'm covering fixed circuits like manfeild and the cemetery circuit not open carparks or areas that were set out with cones so keen to see if any one has some old programs ideally with layouts of the circuit looking for that i can tap for info scans etc
ohakune
feilding had one during the world superbike weekends
whakatane mid eighties
taumaranui cart track
other bucket racing tracks they may have had over the years.....
doing big bikes too so interested particularly any pre 1970 ones as already have an extensive collection of later ones.

cheers
spyda

Add in
Hokitika
Ruatapu
Cust
Southbridge
Syndnam

[jellywrestler]

Add in
Hokitika
Ruatapu
Cust
Southbridge
Syndnam

hokitika ruatapu are they not one and the same?

[husaberg]

hokitika ruatapu are they not one and the same?

No one was around the mill the other around the town.
The Ruatapu circuit was likely the most dangerous circuit racing in NZ in recent times.
I have photo somewhere of the wood piles. form the second year the first year they were even closer.

Here is a pic of the Hokitika circuit thats Revell st Parallel to the Ocean. looking south towards the river


Here is the Timber hay bales at Ruatapu maybe late late 80's early 90's.
Sorry re the quality it was a camera pic of a photo.


Pretty sure my fahther is on the right third from the right looks like Bruce wearing

[jellywrestler]

No one was around the mill the other around the town.
The Ruatapu circuit was likely the most dangerous circuit racing in NZ in recent times.
I have photo somewhere of the wood piles. form the second year the first year they were even closer.

Here is a pic of the Hokitika circuit thats Revell st Parallel to the Ocean. looking south towards the river

Here is the Timber hay bales at Ruatapu maybe late late 80's early 90's.

even worse than hamilton lake circuit, that would be very hard to do....

anyone likely to have any old programs.

[Grumph]

Hokitika ran twice I think. There should be programmes still around for that. Ruatap I'd doubt ever had anything like a programme.
List of races written on a scrap plank nailed up is probably it.

Hokitika was a good idea at the time, let down by the choice of Queens Birthday weekend. Snow on the passes going over didn't encourage travel.
And it was bloody cold.

[jellywrestler]

Hokitika ran twice I think. There should be programmes still around for that. Ruatap I'd doubt ever had anything like a programme.
List of races written on a scrap plank nailed up is probably it.

Hokitika was a good idea at the time, let down by the choice of Queens Birthday weekend. Snow on the passes going over didn't encourage travel.
And it was bloody cold.

and the brass monkey
i can recall the weekend before the midwinter cemetery circuit one year frost at 4 pm through the esses that had not thawed overnight.

[husaberg]

Hokitika ran twice I think. There should be programmes still around for that. Ruatap I'd doubt ever had anything like a programme.
List of races written on a scrap plank nailed up is probably it.

Hokitika was a good idea at the time, let down by the choice of Queens Birthday weekend. Snow on the passes going over didn't encourage travel.
And it was bloody cold.

Hokitika wanted to move it to the Saturday on labour weekend, Greymouth wasn't that enamored with the idea, As it was their scrutineering day.
I dont recall a program for Ruatapu even in the old days. It preceeded the main road going along there.
Eddie Shepard wa the organiser of Ruatapu i think he went to a mill in CHCH.
I think Barry Keennan was one of the Hokitika ones.
Barry last i heard ran the Hokitika I-Site.
Not sure if Greymouth had one the first year but if there is one my dad will have it, he i think still has some original posters with the modern bike and a sprung hub? triumph.


Here is some fat buggar on a tricycle at GM heading towards the police station


Here is an overhead of the Ruatpu circuit
Out of frame to the left is the Mahinapua pub from the mainland cheese adds

[Grumph]

Spyda - if you're serious about a book, you need to speak to Alan Batt in ChCh.
He's done a couple on speedway in ChCh and has become the recipient of at least one collection of programmes and memorabilia of all motor racing around Canty. While he's a speedway specialist, he'll have picked up a lot of the info you need.

I don't have his contact but I'd assume he's reachable via his publishers.
If you can crack the huge history around Canty, the rest of NZ would be easy, LOL.
The first motor race in NZ was, after all, held here.

[Kickaha]

Add in Southbridge Syndnam

I gave him programs for both of those

Here is some fat buggar on a tricycle at GM heading towards the police station

Russel Bleach riding and Neil Batchelor on the side

I did that one on the sidecar and the first Hokitika as well, bumpy as fuck off T1 at Hokitika and it was a major crashfest in most classes

[husaberg]

I gave him programs for both of those



Russel Bleach riding and Neil Batchelor on the side

I did that one on the sidecar and the first Hokitika as well, bumpy as fuck off T1 at Hokitika and it was a major crashfest in most classes

I thought it was you Buggar
The bumps at the end of the back straight by the Police station were bad enough in the early days, But was Hoki worse?
Hoki alwys clashed with footy hard to believe but i never seen it.
That and it was when i brought my first farm.

[Grumph]

I remember the talk in the pits at the first Hokitika as being dismay that no-one could get tyres warm.
It was put down to the track being pretty well at sea level in midwinter.
That I think was the main reason for so many crashes.

[husaberg]

I remember the talk in the pits at the first Hokitika as being dismay that no-one could get tyres warm.
It was put down to the track being pretty well at sea level in midwinter.
That I think was the main reason for so many crashes.

Sea level means its warmer than at it would be at altitude.
Hoki does have nice wide streets though.
There use to be 100+ pubs along that street in the 1860's
You can also grow bananas as far as 20km south of Hokitika at Ross.
All those palm tree and pohitikawas in Greymouth show it is clearly a bloody tropical paradise.
It does rain a bit though occasionally, i live 10KM inland and we have ony had 4 frosts in nearly 3 years.

[Kickaha]

The bumps at the end of the back straight by the Police station were bad enough in the early days, But was Hoki worse?

Hoki was way worse on the sidecar

That I think was the main reason for so many crashes.

We were staying with Stephen Groome, he crashed first lap of the bucket race and ended up in Greymouth hospital with a spiral fracture in his leg, saw one guy crash exiting the pits and Andy Bowell also ended up in there after him and Glenn Hayward had a coming together, plus many more

On the way home Neil Freeman and Cameron Horgan did a two up run on the Bucket from this side of Otira through to Arthur's Pass, while they were push starting the Bucket a Police car occupied by four cops drove past, glanced over and carried on