Small wonder

What you’re seeing here measures just 1.9 by 1.0 metres. And while it might only be a miniature model of the real thing, take a look at these photos and you’re instantly transported back in time, back to Oran Park Raceway in the 1970s/early ‘80s. For the man who created this magnificent small-scale masterpiece, it’s a personal tribute, a three-dimensional reminder of the much-missed Sydney circuit.

Story: Steve Normoyle

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Geoff Wood: “I’ve built it for myself, obviously, but I know that plenty of people with their own experiences and memories of Oran Park, when they see it, they will know why I’ve built it. Especially given that it’s not with us any more... So, yes, it’ll always be a tragedy that it’s gone, and that it’s now nothing but a bunch of nondescript housing, but I guess for me that was a final motivator: to have a three-dimensional memory of the place – and fortunately, my eyes, hands and brain were still capable!”

If you’re a Sydney-based motorsport fan born before 2000, chances are that Oran Park is a place that’s close to your heart. With a lifespan for the old circuit of nearly half a century, there are many of us, like Geoff Wood, who have literally grown up with the place. For so many of those who experienced it first-hand, before it was bulldozed and redeveloped into the new housing estate known as (in a sad reminder of what once was) ‘Oran Park Town’, Oran Park Raceway was much more than just a race track.

Allan Moffat and Geoff Wood

Everyone remembers their first time at Oran Park. For Geoff Wood, it was the Australian Touring Car Championship round in 1976. He was only five years old, but it was a life-changing experience.