Throughout the world, clubs and enthusiasts celebrated the event with rallies and get togethers...
In Australia work started on the organisation of the Australian Centenary Velocette Rally during 2003 and the idea was largely as a result of Warwick Nicholson's persistance in promoting the need for it. Warwick and some 10 other people, myself included, became involved in an ad-hoc committee that met monthly for the 18 months prior to the event, which replaced the normal Australian National Velocette Rally, itself held yearly for over 25 years and was scheduled for October 2005.
The aim was to try to get 100 Velocette motorcycles on display and to the delight of all the rally entrants and the many visitors to the opening day of the rally, the number exceeded 135 Velocettes.
It has been suggested that there have never been this many Velocettes together, ever in Australia, past or present.
The rally had entrants from all Australian States, New Zealand and the USA. Most of the overseas visitors were provided bikes from members of the Australian VOC.
Running for a week the rally was based in the historic grounds of the University of Western Sydney's Richmond campus, on the western outskirts of Sydney at the historic town of Richmond. The site has been there itself for over 100 years and was formerly the old Hawkesbury Agricultural College.
As you will see by the line up for the historic photo shoot, the back ground of the old buildings fitted in perfectly.
I don't intend to give a running commentary of the event, letting the photos tell the story and intend to follow up with another, perhaps several more photo montages...
Left click on the images to enlarge.....
Most of the bikes are visible in the photoshoot line-up.
The racing side of Velocette was represented as a result of "The racing Roberts Family", Graeme with a 500cc KTT racer, Chris with an unusual exhibit..."The Rotacette", a locally made rotary valve conversion to a KSS engine. Their 1939 Mk.8 KTT ( my old "war-horse" ) was there also.
L -R...Author of "Norm's Technicalities", the Australian VOC Technical officer, Norm Trigg, my 1954 MSS on loan to Californian Mike Jongblood with fellow Californian Larry Luce behind and myself to the right.
The Australian Velocette Owners Club Patron, Anne Frampton ( nee Goodman), daughter of the late Bertie Goodman, last managing director of Veloce Ltd., presents the "Roley Walker Trophy" for the best spring frame Velocette at the rally to a surprised and delighted Tim Thearle during the final evening presentation dinner.
Also at the presentation dinner admiring a display setup by Warwick Nicholson is L-R, Warwick Nicholson ( Burradoo, NSW), Paul Barfoot ( Perth,Western Australia) and Mick Felder ( California, USA). The display was a sectioned club engine fitted with a BMG desmodromic valve mechanism, gear clusters...4 and 5 speed and the never completed 700cc MAC twin engine ( courtesy of its builder, Allen Russell of Sydney).
A "gaggle" of LEs...
The rally featured rides daily and we visited Bathurst, some 100km further west of Richmond and stopped at the National Motor Racing Museum. Around 80+ Velocettes were riding regularly on the day runs during the rally.
One stop on a day ride was near Lithgow at the Zig Zag Railway, where the rally boarded a special steam train during which lunch was served and as a nice touch the rail staff had arranged black and gold ( Velocette colours...) serviettes and table display and we spent 2 hours traversing the historic zig zag rail method originally used to cross the Blue Mountain range.
The late Keith Hamilton shows off his 1923 EL2/EL3 Ladies model Velocette and what better person to try it than Ella Luce, out from California USA with husband Larry. They had shipped out their 1963 MSS to ride in the rally.
A final view at the photo shoot.... 135 plus Velocettes.....
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