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Hillclimb
AND GOLDEN
WATTLE
PHOTOGRAPHS
MGTC
Austin
DougWhiteford driving
a Kaye Special
Joe Dixie’ driving a
Fraser Nash Special
at the 10th Rob Roy
Hill Climb, 1946
State LibraryVictoria
Photographer George
Thomas 1928–2013
INFORMATION
Rob Roy Hillclimb
History
accessed at http://
robroyhillclimb.com.au/history.htm
At the time of its construction, Rob Roy was one of only
three bitumen surfaced purpose built hillclimbs in the
world, the other two being Shelsley Walsh and Prescott
(UK). Its origins go back to 1935, when representatives
from the then Light Car Club of Australia inspected the
property known as Clinton’s Pleasure Grounds with a
view to establishing a suitable venue for the hillclimb
meetings.
The first meeting was run on 1st February 1937 and the
track fully bituminised in 1939. Many meetings were
conducted over succeeding years by the Light Car Club,
including nine Australian Hillclimb Championships, the
very first of which in 1938 was won by Peter Whitehead
in his ERA. In 1962 the area was ravaged by bushfires and
the track unfortunately fell into disuse. In 1992 the MG
Car Club of Victoria was successful in obtaining a ten year
lease on the property and reconstruction began, which
involved re-laying the entire surface, improving access
roads, and the installation of guard rails on the causeway.
The result was a faithful re-creation of the original track.
In February 1993 the first “Return to Rob Roy” historic
meeting was run with outstanding success and a huge
spectator attendance. In November 1999 the MGCC ran
its eighth Historic and Classic Hillclimb at Rob Roy and
the popularity of the event from both competitors and
spectators alike has never waned.
The featured plant on this panel is
Acacia pycnantha,
commonly known as the golden wattle, a tree of the family
Fabaceae
native to south-eastern Australia.
Acacia pycnantha
was made the official floral emblem of Australia in 1988.