I’m sure that you have all seen cartoons like this on the internet. My favourite one says, “I’m not a hoarder, I just have cool things.” That is the one that I feel applies most to me. Because, if you’ve been hanging around motorcycles for any time at all, you collect stuff that is cool about your motorcycles and your involvement with them.
So, I thought that today I would share with you some of the trinkets that I have collected over 40+ years of motorcycling. All of them have a story and that is why I keep them. In the process of cleaning up the place in preparation for the invasion, some of these precious things have emerged out of their hiding places having not been seen for a long time.
So, if you will indulge me a bit, here are some of my trinkets.
This is an old denim jacket that has been way too small for me to wear for more years than I want to admit, but it is kept because it is the repository of some of the badges I have collected over the years. There are Castrol Six Hour ones, Bathurst ones and badges related to special events. The Isle of Man one was brought back to me by a mate who raced there as was the Donington Park one and a badge from the Mallory Park Race of the Year 1980 which isn’t on the jacket but on a hat band was also brought back by Len Smith when he went back to the UK to visit his relatives. My favourite isn’t actually a motorcycling badge at all. The “Keep whales in the ground” badge would, I imagine, be pretty collectible these days.
This is the souvenir jacket that was made by EMS for the officials at the very last Bathurst bike races on the Easter weekend 2000. There are a number of other bits of memorabilia from this event as I was the head of the commentary team that weekend and I collected some stuff. Little was I or anyone else to know at the time but that meeting would be the last-ever Bathurst for bikes.
These are the advertising poster for the meeting and the official programme which contains all the time sheets from all the events.
Leaving the undercover car park in Canberra one winter afternoon, I braked a little suddenly and the bike fell over. This is the cover plate from the alternator cover, Suzuki GS850G.
When we founded Canberra RoadRacing Club in 1977 we had a special set of membership tags made for the 57 Foundation Members. As the Founding President, I was given the privilege of having tag #1. This is actually tag #5 which was never claimed but was given to me in 1982 when my keys were stolen and the original tag was lost.
The Tenth Anniversary medallion of CRRC.
Every competitor who rode at the inaugural road closure meeting at Macarthur Park in October 1978 received one of these medallions. They were not given to officials or any other club members, but, as a mark of respect and as a thank you for the work that I did at that meeting, the club presented one to me. This is a very precious possession of mine.
To promote the Bathurst Easter Carnival in 2000, EMS organised a Media Day at the track in November 1999. The major competitors who were expected to star were there; Marty Atlee, Derek Hambridge and others and it received excellent media coverage. The public was invited to attend and hundreds of motorcycles were allowed to do a cruise of the track at the conclusion of the festivities. Those who did received a patch like this to sew on their jacket. Sadly, this was the last time that I saw Six Hour dual champion, Jim Budd who, by this stage, was showing the debilitating effects of the illness that was to later take his life. It was a very sobering day.
These are just some of the medallions and tickets that I have collected from race meetings over the years.
A used piston and bent valve from the engine of the Shadowfax Kawasaki.
Not all my trinkets are motorcycling-related either.
For many years I have done race commentary at various speedways. This memento is from Tralee Speedway in Canberra.
My National Service medallion (1972-74)
My Australian Defence medal.
As I continue to tidy I know that more trinkets will emerge but that will do for now. They say that you shouldn’t begrudge growing old – it is a privilege that is denied to many. I am enjoying my retirement and little bits and pieces like these are tangible reminders of some of the great times of my life.
dunc says
definitely a varied trinket collection there but overall a lot of memories as well by the look of it
Phil Hall says
And, as luck would have it, a couple of more things surfaced after I published the blog article!!