How fkn cool are these shots? I fished them out of some old issues of ‘Tasmanian Mail’. The above shots were taken at the 1907 Latrobe Wheel.. Hard packed clay track.. supposedly the best in the state at that time? And the shot below is of the 1908 Scottsdale Wheel!! This is the track my Grandmama’s cousin’s were racing on back in the 1940s.. (See my earlier Old Bike’spost) My Grandma can’t remember if this was a dirt or grass track and I can’t tell from the pic which it is either.. yeah, sorry about the picture quality eh.. Photocopying micro-film! Not ever going to be good!!
Ah, these shots are getting me pumped for some B’n’C grass track racing!! hmmn.. another possible future event?
Great pics. They might convey some of the character of the era, but reveal no details! If only there were some originals with some detail left in them from that long ago.
There does seem to be light trails behind the rear wheels of some riders in some pics – dust? perhaps an indication of a dirt track? But it also could be an indication of the effect of a long, hot summer on what once was grass… The edges of the track seem to be ‘overgrown’ or rougher than the centre of the track – perhaps that is an indication of a grass track?
Which leaves the interpretation back at square one really…
But a noble effort none the less!
I’d guess dirt, given the fairly solid boundary on the inside of the corner. Looks to me like dirt changing to grass.
BnC: Live Historical Research!