The Great Ruse

Did Bathurst’s mayor really fool the government into funding a ‘scenic drive’ when motor racing was always in his sights? Or is the tale of how the famous circuit’s construction was funded just that – a fairytale perpetuated over time? AMC searches for evidence to determine if The Great Ruse is fact or fiction.

Story: Luke West

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St Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1938, saw a plaque unveiled at Skyline by dignitaries declaring the Mount Panorama Scenic Drive officially open. Four weeks later came the first race weekend, bikes on Saturday April 16 and cars on Monday April 18.

It’s likely that the track’s 75th will be marked in the general and motoring media by scribes retelling the story of Bathurst mayor Martin Griffin’s masterful con job. And why not, as it’s a fabulous story.

Courtesy Bathurst Regional Council

For the benefit of AMC readers who haven’t heard it, the story goes that Mr Mayor convinced the pollies to fund the construction of a scenic drive around Bald Hills. Griffin, according to legend, convinced them that such a project would provide work for hundreds of Bathurst’s unemployed at the tail of the Great Depression and give the NSW Central Western town a tourist drawcard that would stimulate the local economy for decades to come.