Honouring a childhood hero of mine

Friday 6th March - 2020

Today, I had the pleasure to attend the unveiling of a Memorial Plaque embedded in the footpath outside the residence of Jeff Freeman's inner-Sydney home by the Mayor of Woollahra, Susan Wynn in memory of the charismatic Australian Speedway legend and all round good guy Jeffrey Freeman.

As a young man growing up in the 'Shire' it was imperative that my Saturday nights were spent at Sydney's Empire Speedway Showground Royale hanging over the safety fence above the Bullpens dodging the clods of dolomite & dirt that these Daredevils would throw up at you.

Jeff Freeman’s ‘awesome’ Offenhauser No. 75 Midget Speedcar.

We watched in complete awe of their skills on the cinders as they raced around the 1/3 mile track entertaining 30,000 spectators every Saturday evening during the summer.

Every Saturday afternoon I would catch the 'red rattler' (train) from suburban Miranda to Central Railway station, then board the bus that then took thousands of fans to the nearby Sydney Showground to be entertained like you would not believe by these insane men getting their thrills racing around a small track risking their lives at breakneck speeds.

The great man himself, Jeff Freeman, in the mid-'60s

When I talk about these halcyon days to today's younger generation, they seem to think that the current Parramatta Speedway is the be all to end all, well unfortunately they have absolutely no idea of what Speedway racing was like in the '60s at the mighty Royale.

Every Saturday night, 30,000 plus spectators would cramp into the Sydney Showground to watch Solo Bikes, Sidecars, Midgets, Super modified, and if you were lucky the last event of the evening would be a Demolition Derby where the winner is the last man and car standing.

In a total of 107 career feature race starts at the Sydney Showground, Freeman won 19, placed second 15 times, with 14 thirds. That’s a 45% podium strike rate.

Snippets and highlights from a great racing career
cut short by a fatal accident at Westmead Speedway

My hero was none other than Jeff Freeman, a working class hero, motor mechanic, that also worked for Qantas Airways in their sheet metal shop. Jeff lived at Unit 4, 186 Glenmore Road, Paddington with his mother Mayfree. Jeff was born in Mudgee, NSW.

This man's name will always be embedded at the very top of the list whenever anyone talks about Speedway in Australia. From a very humble beginning this awesome Speedcar driver rose to be Australia's greatest Champion bar none in the few short years that he spent on this planet.

Now this is the sort of man I am talking about, now listen up you may learn something.

A close-up of the flying Freeman No.75 Offenhauser cockpit

In photo [below] you can see a middle aged gentleman with a huge bandage on his mellon, his name is Peter Carrall, I spoke to him today to find out his story about why he was attending the ceremony, and this is what he told me.

At the age of seven Peter was a street kid, his Mum and Dad were hopeless alcoholics, Jeff Freeman befriended him and took him under his wing. Peter told me today that if it was not for Jeff Freeman he probably would be either dead or in jail.

And I bet you didn't know this about Jeff Freeman. He took the time to learn sign language for the deaf children who often attended the Speedway from various Deaf and Dumb schools. Jeff would meet his fans on the grass where the trackside Sinclair Stand is and talk to them in sign language.

Long time Freeman fan, Peter Carrall, made sure he was
in attendance at today's dedication to pay tribute to an old friend
In the photo behind, that's a much younger Peter Carrall standing
in-between Jeff Freeman and NSW Champion, John Harvey

While I am on a roll I must tell you about a couple of Jeff's American competitors that I was fortunate enough to see race against him here in Australia in the '60s.

Sherman 'Shove em' Cleveland. (1937-1966) This guy was truly a Bad Ass in a Midget or a Sprint Car. I watched this guy on a number of occasions when he toured Down-Under in the middle '60s. Unfortunately Sherman was killed at Calistoga Fairgrounds in Napa County in California shortly after he returned home from one of his trips to Australia. He was only 29-years-old.

Bob 'Two Gun' Tattersal. He was the greatest American driver to ever set foot in Australia. 'Two Gun' dominated the Sydney Showground for a decade. The sixties were Tattersal's years not only at the Sydney Showground Royale but other capital city venues. Tattersal died on October 27th 1971 of illness way too young at 47-years-old.

Jeff Freeman’s Golden Fleece Trophy
for winning the 1965 Australian Grand Prix.

Now, why am I telling you all this information?

These Americans were at the top of their game when our man from down under 'kicked their arse'. As a matter of fact when Jeff Freeman won the Golden Fleece Australian Grand Prix in 1965 Bob Tattersal had organised for our local hero to go to America to compete in 18 fixtures throughout the US.

The former Freeman home as it stands today with the red 
arrow indicating the placement of today's new plaque
on the footpath [see the photo below for full details]

Unfortunately we will really never know how good Jeff Freeman would have been, because less that 2-months later after winning the Australian Grand Prix Jeff Freeman was killed instantly during a 15-lap Main Event race on a rain soaked track at Westmead, NSW on Mother's Day, May 9th 1965 - at just 27-years-old.

That day was one of the saddest days of my young life, because I was track-side on that fateful day to witness my hero killed.

I was only 18 years of age at that time, I can remember it just like it was yesterday. At the time, Jeff Freeman's funeral was the biggest sporting funeral in Sydney.

The newly installed plaque embedded in concrete in the footpath
outside Jeff Freeman's former home located at 
Unit 4, 186 Glenmore Road, Paddington, NSW

Jeff was laid to rest in his town of birth, Mudgee, NSW, at the Mudgee Lawn Cemetery. When his mother, Mayfree, passed in 1995, she requested to be buried with her very special boy.

And that my friends is another tale from my Highway of life.

I hope that you enjoyed the memories of a very special human being that went way to soon. RIP Jeff, because you gave us so many wonderful memories and you were always a true gentleman.

Stay safe my friends.

Ken

Greetings from Hedley & Sandy in Seaford, England

Wednesday 4th March - 2020

One of the redeeming features about writing this Blog is all the nice comments I get from everyone. This week I received this unsolicited email from a couple I don't even know in the UK. How lovely, here it is...

Hi Ken,

We live in England, at Seaford on the South Coast. We get the NSW Model A Club news letters along with many others, via email, and much enjoyed reading your blog!

Our son lives in Dee Why on Sydney's northern beaches and we have been for extended holidays to Australia a number of times. 

This blue Model A Ford, a 1930 two-door coupe
was the one that was subsequently written off

We have had two Model A Fords, a coupe and cabriolet. While at a rally over here we met a couple from Victoria who had a Phaeton, a long story short, we did a couple of National rallies with them, Adelaide and Bathurst also the Bay to Birdwood run.

When we get tired of Dee Why, we would head off into proper Oz! Where we enjoyed rural NSW Queensland and Victoria, and travelled the Bells Line of Road lots of times so it is sad to see the fruit farms and bush burnt, also the Zig Zag railway and we feel so sorry for the people and wildlife lost. 

This red one was the replacement, a 1930 Cabriolet, with
a model B engine, when we had finished getting it right!
Turned out being lovely, and much admired and missed!

We found Junee and the roundhouse on our trips to Echuca to see our pals with the Phaeton! and really enjoyed the outback, loved Australia, sadly ill health precludes any more visits, so we enjoy catching up with all the newsletters, and Outback Truckers!, but it's the first time I have found your blog, which took us back!

We had to part with the Model A Fords, first one, the Coupe written off by a drunk driver when coming home from a rally, fortunately I was on my own, but still suffered broken bones etc, we then got a Cabriolet from USA which turned out to need a lot of work, which kept me out of trouble for a few months and I could have done with out all the exxtra work!

Our current 1966 Mustang, 289 Coupe, imported from California in 1968,
 we have had it since 2010 and got it re-registered a couple of 
years later in order to have the correct year number plate

I wonder why do these people so misrepresent their cars when selling them? We had that for about four years and it was lovely when finished, but access for Sandy was eventually impossible.

So we now have '66 Mustang which I can get her in and out of and we enjoy that. Well I won't bore you anymore. I do look forward to the next one.

All the best, 
Hedley & Sandy Revett

Seaford, England

44th Berrima Rally in Mittagong

Thursday 19th February - 2020

Model A Ford Club cleans up at the 44th Berrima Rally in Mittagong, NSW.

For all our Model A Ford Club Members the 'Squire from the Shire' is reporting live once again with the news that our club had a 100% success rate at the awards ceremony in Mittagong this weekend while participating in the 44th Annual Berrima Rally.

My 1930 Model A Ford Special Delivery Panel Van picked up 
Best in the Commercial Category at Mittagong

I am pleased to report that fellow club members Ralph & Valerie Stedman won the Vintage 1930-1939 Category with their beautiful 1930 Model A Ford 2-door Tudor Sedan.

I am also pleased to report that the 'Squire' also won the Vintage Commercial Category with my (ex-Neville Jones) 1930 Model A Ford Special Delivery Delux Van. *This one is for you Neville*

Unfortunately I do not have a photograph of Ralph & Valerie's winning vehicle to post in this report, however I am sure you all know the car.

We spent plenty of time looking around Koorong, the magnificent 
Southern Highlands property that the Meuleman's have created

The other four photographs in this report were taken at Max & Sue Meuleman's spectacular country residence in Bargo on the Saturday afternoon Run.

Koorong: the magnificent gardens and museum created by owners Sue and Max Meuleman. They opened their personal paradise to the Rally so that we could enjoy and marvel at the beauty they have created.

Koorong has a awesome collection of novel,
antique and vintage items from Australia's past

This was another spectacular success for the Berrima District Historic Vehicle Club, as a matter of fact they had a 20% increase in entries this year. It is a huge pity that more of our Model A Ford Club members don't make the effort to attend this event so that they can witness a well run Rally. 

I have been trying now for 4-years to promote this wonderful event to our members, however you can lead a horse to the water trough... but it is another story to make him drink. I will leave it at that, and we are talking about putting on a National Meet in a couple of years... really.

An amazing collection of Australian memorabilia
and treasured household items from forgotten times

The Berrima District Historic Vehicle Club overwhelmed us with their wonderful entertainment, and true Southern Highlands country hospitality while motoring through some exciting countryside. The catering was 1st Class once again, they are to be congratulated. Job well done my friends.

I'm sure that as certain as daylight follows the night I will be returning next year for more.

Many thanks once again.

Warbo 


READ MORE: About my 1930 Model A Ford Special Delivery Delux Van CLICK HERE

'64 Plymouth/Valiant run to Oberon & Lithgow

Thursday 13th February - 2020

Two days ago, the Chryslers Restorer's Club 'Gourmet Run' to Oberon and Lithgow was cancelled due to "inclement" weather. 

Now, where do I begin to begin this story about our adventure to the Blue Mountains - Mayfield Garden - Oberon - Lithgow & their bush fire ravaged surrounding countryside on Tuesday 11th & Wednesday 12th February, 2020.

If you are unaware of the crazy weather conditions that we have experienced here on the East Coast of Australia for the past 4-5 months you must have been living under a rock. 

We have been absolutely hammered with horrendous Bush Fires up and down our Eastern States until Saturday the 8th of February. Then, for a big switch up, our State of NSW was hit by a huge storm system with extensive rainfalls that helped extinguish most of the bush fires, thank heavens. 

My '64 Plymouth/Valiant outside the entrance
to Mayfield Garden, near Oberon, NSW

For me, this chain of events all started 3-days before the Gourmet Run was scheduled, when I just happened to have a wedding to attend in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. I was booked in to supply my 1931 Model A Ford Town Sedan on that day. I will not go into too many details of that momentous day, however I must tell you the weather conditions that I experienced during that wedding day in the beautiful Blue Mountains. 

On the Saturday morning I departed Cronulla in teeming rain and the downpour only got worse, from my place to where I had to collect the Bride is about a 2 1/2 hours drive. As I neared the summit of the Blue Mountains at Blackheath I have never experienced rain like it in my life. For those of you old enough and may still remember, it was the worst storm to hit the area in for 47-years. 

The '64 Plymouth/Valiant outside the Royal Hotel in
Oberon's Main Street. We had a scrumptious counter lunch there.
Photo: Steve Core

Get your laughing gear around this. A total of 492mm of rain, or in the old language 19.4 inches fell within a couple of days. Can you believe those statistics, no fake news here.

And to top it all off my Model A windscreen wipers do not work, thank god for Rain-X. If you don't know what Rain-X is then here is the story. lt is a synthetic hydrophobic surface-applied product that causes water to bead up and outsmart the elements, most commonly used on glass automotive surfaces, first introduced in 1972 by Howard Ohlhausen of the Unelko Corporation. 

Steve and I indulge in a zestful counter lunch at the Royal Hotel in Oberon

Now, to cut a long story short, I was about to tell you about our planned trip to the Blue Mountains with the Chrysler Restorers Club on Tuesday and Wednesday which was only three days after my epic rain-soaked trip for the Wedding at Blackheath. However you will understand why I am giving you all this useless information which will lead us up to the cancellation of the Chrysler Restorers Gourmet Run to Oberon & Lithgow which was due to take place only three days later. 

As it turned out at the wedding, the Bride, Groom, Photographer and myself should have worn wetsuits on the day, that's how wet it was and it did not let up for one second.

We had to dodge around the occasional fallen tree. This one here 
on Magpie Hollow Road between Tarana and Lake Lyell.
Photo: Steve Core

Henry Ford would have been proud of his 90-year-old vehicle, the old girl never missed a beat all day (thank God). However I must admit that the vehicle is definitely not water proof by any stretch of the imagination. By the time I returned home to Sydney that evening safe and sound, water was pouring out of it like a sieve, I am still trying to dry out the Model A Ford, one week after the event. 

Now let's get back to the cancellation of the Chrysler Restorers Club Gourmet Run...

My '64 Plymouth/Valiant parked at Mayfield Garden.
Photo: Steve Core

The Club's Gourmet Run Coordinator, Paul Lenehan, called me on Monday morning to acquaint me of the fact that our Gourmet Run to Oberon & Lithgow had been cancelled due to the current and expected bad weather, road closures, trees fallen over the highways, road and land slips and whatever else the authorities have warned us about not to make the journey.

By now you all know what I am like, I do not like the words "you can't do that."

So I called my planned travel mate for this trip, Steve Core, and explained the situation to him. I conveyed to Steve that I was still keen to go and he said he was too.

The wild weather from the previous week presented us with plenty
of driving challenges. This is Mutton Falls Road, Tarana, NSW.
Photo: Steve Core

We both had been looking forward to this adventure for the past three months and nothing was going to stop us. Last year I drove through Tornadoes in my Camper Van in Oklahoma, USA and nothing, and I mean nothing could be worse than that. So we both decided to give it our best shot and hit the road west as previously planned.

I picked up Steve at his residence on Tuesday morning in Gymea at 0730 and we hit the road running. 

After 1.5 hours driving our first stop was to check out Wentworth Falls in the upper Blue Mountains. I had heard reports the water cascading over the falls was the most spectacular sight for well over 30 years, so that was a great start to our journey.

After days of heavy rain, Wentworth Falls was flowing beautifully.
In the previous days, it was running at a 20+-year best flow.

So far so good, no rain on the way up to the Blue Mountains or on our drive to Mayfield Gardens just outside of town of Oberon.  As you can witness by one of the photos the only debris that we experienced was on the back road to Lithgow from the Mayfield Garden.

We made a fantastic stop at the Oberon Pies & Pastries
Bakery in Oberon's main street. I highly recommend this stop as 
their freshly baked Custard Slices are to die for.
Photo: Steve Core

We pushed onto Lithgow that afternoon and checked into our booked accommodation at the Lithgow Workies Club for a well earned rest for the evening.

Then on Wednesday morning l suggested to Steve that while we were up in this area we should take the Bells Line of Road back home towards Sydney to check out the area where the horrific bush fires had been burning for the last couple of months.

The fresh Custard Slices from the Oberon Pies & Pastries were
absolutely heavenly. I highly recommend a visit there
if you're passing through Oberon.
Photo: Steve Core

This is no fake news report.

We departed Lithgow around 0900 (still no rain) and immediately began our climb back up into mountainous territory. Our first stop was to inspect the Zig-Zag Railway, which is based at a little town called Clarence, we stopped to take in how ferocious the fires had been around this area. 

The bush fires ravaged the Zig Zag Railway headquarters at
Clarence. Where the flames licked along the platform's picket fence.

We came across a bunch of Australian Military personnel working with chainsaws cutting down all the hazardous trees that had been damaged by the fires. Steve got a chat on with Lieutenant Aaron who was in charge of proceedings in this area. He was running the show, co-ordinating the troops with all their duties. Aaron told us that he had a small squad of Indonesian Army Troops under his command, that were also assigned to the NSW bush fire clean-up operation on loan from Indonesia.

Steve Core [left] and the Royal Australian Army's Lieutenant Aaron
who was in command of the clean up detail assisting at the Zig Zag Railway

In the photographs of the Zig-Zag Railway's Clarence Railway station you can see where the fires actually burnt the wooden picket fences. It was now time to hit the road once more for our homeward road trip along The Bells Line of Road towards North Richmond.  

I kid you not, what we both were about to witness after we departed the Zig-Zag railway was absolutely astonishing.

On the Bells Line of Road, mile after mile of bushfire devastation
with most road safety signs being completely obliterated

From Lithgow to Bilpin is probably 70-80 kms. We drove the Plymouth along the Bells Line of Road towards Bilpin. I thought I was a lost astronaut driving on the dark side of the moon. The whole journey on both sides of the road was devastated mile after mile and as far as the eye could see. As you can see in the photograph I parked the Plymouth on the side of the road, in the background you can see the aluminium road sign was twisted and melted beyond recognition. 

The extreme heat from the fires melted all the road signs from Lithgow to Bilpin. When we finally arrived in Bilpin along the highway we could see where the bushfires destroyed many of Pilpin's famous apple orchards. Now some growers face an eight-year wait for another apple crop. 

The bushfire warning indicator sign at Bilpin

Steve and myself were completely devastated by the carnage that we had witnessed during our few hours drive along the Bells Line of Road. It must have been terrifying to be in this vicinity when the fires were out of control week after week. All I can say is: Thank you all the Firies and volunteers, we all owe you one hell of a debt.

We stayed here at the Lithgow Workies Club. You can see how close
the fires came to town with the scorched hills at the end of Tank Street
Photo: Steve Core

We descended down out of the Blue Mountains and arrived back in the vast Sydney metropolitan area by crossing over the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond. (Still no rain). We drove a distance of 482 kms (300 miles) over the 2-day adventure. By the time I tucked myself into bed that Wednesday evening I was counting my lucky stars, trust me.

Now if that's not a good story, I don't know what is.

Cheers for now until my next excursion on the highway of life.

Warbo.

MORE: Never seen Rain-X working before? - to watch a demo video CLICK HERE

End of a nice Southern Swell

Sunday - 2nd February - 2020

A solid Southern Swell is something that surfers prey for...

If ever a car has penetrated the psyche of the young Australian male, then the
Holden Sandman panel van and utility ranks right at the top

The final afternoon of the Southern Swell exhibition this afternoon at the Hazelhurst Arts Centre & Gallery in Sydney's south at Gymea, brought back many memories for me from my surfboard riding days in Cronulla way back in the '60s.

My own personal surfboard from 1965 was featured in the display.
That's the green tint surfboard, second from the left

This mixed media exhibition featured a wide array of contemporary and historic photographs, surfboards, films, memorabilia and artworks over the past decades.

An awesome display of surfboards and surfing 
memorabilia connects the past with the present

Apparently this exhibition has broken all records for attendance at this fabulous Gallery, knocking off a previous Quilt exhibition, that held the attendance record, if you can believe it.  Very impressive numbers l am sure.

Various surfboard spanning the entire surfing history of the different
eras from the beaches of the Sutherland Shire

While taking in the exhibition, I ran into a couple of old surfers that l used to surf with almost 60-years ago, some of them a little worse for wear, however we are still on the right side of the turf.

Definitely worth the effort. Cheers...

Warbo

VIEW: Channel 9 report on Southern Swell

Reporting live from Panorama House

Tuesday 21st January - 2020

You know it's funny how things turn out sometimes, and today was one of those occasions. Last week an old Qantas flying friend of mine called me and asked if I could help him with a gearbox problem he was having with his 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang's 4-speed manual gearbox.

As you all know that before I became a 'Trolly-Dolly' with Qantas, I was a fully qualified motor mechanic and still love to tinker with motor vehicles, especially if there is something out of the ordinary that creates a problem that no one else can fix. I love a challenge.

My 1977 Porsche 911 2.7 Coupe
parking next to the Gazebo at Panorama House

John lives at Berry on the Shoalhaven Coast, about 145Ks south of Sydney and I live in the 'Sutherland Shire' at Cronulla, so we decided to meet half-way at the famous old Panorama House that is situated in Bulli Tops, at the top of infamous Bulli Pass and Mount Ousley where those roads meet at the edge of the Illawarra Escarpment at 11am this morning.

Panorama House is approximately a 1-hour drive from my residence here in Cronulla. I departed from home at 10am this morning in what turned out to be a perfect day weather wise, and if you were in the southern suburbs of Sydney last night and witnessed the devastation of the electrical storm that passed through our suburb here in Cronulla at 7pm you would find it hard to believe that we were still in the same country.

View from the Gazebo at Panorama House
is directly over the northern suburbs of Wollongong

I arrived early at Panorama House for our hook up at 11am which gave me time to take a few photographs overlooking the South Coast and the Pacific Ocean, it was so clear today as you can see by the photos I am sure that I could almost see New Zealand.

The Bush fires here in Australia have been raging in our SUN BURNT COUNTRY from the middle of September and are still burning, however we have enjoyed a reprieve from these devastating bushfires in the last couple of days due to much welcomed changed weather conditions and rainfall that has helped dampen the fires that are still burning.

The 1964.5 Ford Mustang - this same model as John's was
used as the Pace Car for the 1964 Indianapolis 500

To cut a long story short, what I am trying to say is that today's weather was the clearest conditions we have experienced for almost 5-months, the photographs are proof of what l am telling you... NO SMOKE !!! can you believe it, and I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy these conditions today on my run down the coast.

Now getting back to the Panorama House, these days many young couples decide to get married there and take their marriage vows overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the spectacular southern coast line.

As you can see my 1977 2.7 Porsche Coupe parked in front of the dedicated ceremonial area with the Gazebo in the background using this spectacular backdrop overlooking Wollongong and the surrounding suburbs below.

The newly refurbished ceremonial Gazebo
with stunning backdrop views over the Illawarra coast.

Once I had correctly diagnosed the gear box problem with John's Ford Mustang it was now time to drive back to Sydney. All in all, today turned out to be just one of those perfect days that you could not organise in a pink fit.

I was starting to forget how beautiful our country is with all the horrendous smoke haze that we have been experiencing all over our State of NSW for near on 5-months, today's adventure bought back all those wonderful memories.

I will sign off wishing and hoping that we have a lot more of this beautiful weather that l was fortunate enough to enjoy today. That's all for now, so until my next adventure.

Cheers for now.

Ken

READ MORE: about my 41-year history with my Porsche 911
LEARN MORE: about Panorama House, Bulli Tops, NSW

The 6th Annual Sylvanvale Pre-WWII Vintage Car Show

21st January - 2020

6TH ANNUAL SYLVANVALE PRE-WWII VINTAGE CAR SHOW

Hello fellow Car Club members and all car enthusiasts. Yes, it's that time of year again.

Please make certain that you keep Sunday 5th April 2020 clear for another exciting event to be held in Cronulla Mall.

Model A Fords lined up in front of the Cronulla Post Office
in the Cronulla Mall from our 2019 Show.

Our event is supported by the Sutherland Shire Council along with the involvement of our very own Chrysler Car Club, also including many other car clubs along with all the privateers that enter their vehicles is one of the Shire's largest and most popular community events on the annual calendar.

Featuring a spectacular array of more than 80 Vintage and Classic cars exhibited on the tiles of Cronulla Mall, including food stalls and kids Adventure area.

Classic cars lined up in front of the old Art Deco
Commonwealth Bank building - now the Banc Restaurant.

The huge crowds, in excess of 20,000 people - as well as the extensive media coverage that our event attracts - makes this the perfect way to showcase your pride and joy within the community. 

Once again this year we are fundraising for the Sylvanvale Foundation for a brand new project for children and young people with disabilities to reach their potential.

The tiles of the Cronulla Mall make for a unique setting for a
Car Show with plenty of retail & food services available.

So please support us once again this year to make our event a BIGGER and BRIGHTER success than in previous years.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Looking forward to catching up with you all on Sunday 5th April, 2020, 9:00am until 3:00pm, that's the weekend before Easter.

Cheers for now.

Ken Warburton. 

Event Founder & Organiser.

To check the Car Show's Facebook page CLICK HERE