Abandoned racetracks: regional speedways

AMC has previously looked at some of the more notable metropolitan speedways enjoyed by spectators and racers alike. This time we go bush. Well, beyond the major capital cities, at least, to examine a selection of regional and country speedways that have long since gone to God.

In some cases these venues were located in areas once considered to be ‘out in the sticks’ but sites now developed courtesy of the ever-encroaching urban sprawl. Therein lies the reason many rural speedway venues (as well as some road racing venues, such as Oran Park) disappeared, while others were lost for myriad reasons including dwindling crowds and increased land values.

Speedway was one of the most popular sports of the early seventies, when it appeared that just about every town in Australia wanted a piece of the action. During this period there were over 100 tracks around the country, not including some that weren’t officially sanctioned. All you needed to build a speedway then was a flat paddock, the loan of a grader and a heap of old tyres to keep fast-moving cars away from slow-moving spectators.