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Sidney the robin

Frank Arthur a real Pioneer.!!!

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I don't know. His autobiography, Speedway Walkabout, was published in the 1970s. He, of course, repeats the claim in that. I don't know if he had any earlier books published, though he did have a regular column in the Speedway News before the War, so he probably first mentioned it there. I'll do some research.....

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In 1933 it seems Hoskins was selling two books on his tour of Australia with the England/ London/ Wembley team

'Roaring round the Speedways' and ' Crashin' through'

Which  were described thus 'John deals with the history of the sport in an entertaining manner'

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roarin-Speedways-Hoskins-speedway-racing/dp/B000XIYVH2

Edited by iris123

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I would think  that Speedway or a form of it started around 1890.

Researching the word "Speedway" in first came into use in the USA  around 1890 where a stadium promoted 2 and 4 wheel racing.

Slightly early and seems to knock out Johnny Hoskins claim

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5 hours ago, mickthemuppet said:

seems to knock out Johnny Hoskins claim

That must be the first time we have ever agreed on anything, mick! ;)

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20 hours ago, mickthemuppet said:

I would think  that Speedway or a form of it started around 1890.

Researching the word "Speedway" in first came into use in the USA  around 1890 where a stadium promoted 2 and 4 wheel racing.

Slightly early and seems to knock out Johnny Hoskins claim

That is interesting. I did find some things before around that time using the word, but it looked to be another name of a highway

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On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 10:47 AM, norbold said:

Incidentally, the thought that the Americans Maldwyn Jones, Eddie Brinck and Sprouts Elder, following in the tradition of Don Johns and Shrimp Burns before them, were broadsiding and may have been responsible for introducing the technique to Australia would seem to put another nail in the coffin of the hoary old myth that Johnnie Hoskins "invented" speedway in Australia in 1923.

As always, more research is needed...

A bit of research and of course a number of US riders were in Australia late 1924. Jim Davis, Paul Anderson, Johnny Seymour and Ralph Hepburn. Now it isn't mentioned often as far as I have seen on the AMA roll of honour site etc, but in an interview given whilst in Australia Hepburn mentioned that when starting out(1910s) he was taken under the wing of a certain Don Johns.....

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A somewhat reluctant Frank Arthur gave an interview in the Sporting Globe back at the end of 1929 recalling his life and career up till then

'I was born in Lismore (NSW) 22 years ago on December 12th 1907. After having left school at 14, I took a job at a windmill foundry. A year later I purchased a motor cycle and in the following year (1923) I won a race at a mile track at Warwick (Queensland). This fired my ambition to be a 'speed demon' and it was not long before championship honours came my way......In 1926 Mr A Hunting opened the Brisbane Exhibition Speedway - the first quarter of a mile track in the world- and I rode with varied success for a season. Then I transferred to Davies Park where Dame Fortune still smiled on me, so much that I was chosen to go with a team of 11 other riders to go to England in 1927.'

I can tell you I landed in the Old Country with plenty of enthusiasm but very little cash. Just the bare £13......

Having had to beg for an advance so he could pay a deposit on two bikes he made his debut at White City

'Shall I ever forget the wet, dreary day? For a while I felt dispirited. It was make or break with me. I had incurred extra liabilities and was "stumped" as far as cash was concerned. I was wearing an Australian flag on my jersey, and I felt overjoyed when a voice called out: "Cheer up Frank ; show them how the Aussies can ride !" The onlookers words acted like magic and I cleaned up108 pounds for the day's riding.

Within 4 days in the following week I gathered in a shade over £600.....'

In 1928 he won around 4,000 pounds and then the next season upped that to 5,000. The £9,000 then worth around £575,500 today. But to put it into perspective Tai earned £400,000+ in 2018 just from his polish club

Arthur's dream was to win the TT Trophy on the Isle of Man and hoped to persuade one of the leading teams to enter him in the race

After his speedway career he wanted to buy a sheep station in Queensland and live in the city and fly out by plane every day to his farm.

Edited by iris123
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Another interesting article on Arthur published in Motor Cycle after his first season in England gives some nice insights into his mentality

'Frank Arthur is one of the quietest and most thoughtful of all the Australian boys........he looks quite studious and one would never associate him with a speedway. He takes dirt track racing very seriously, and frankly admits that it is his business.

I remember once when we were discussing the small size of some of the tracks over here. I asked him if it was true that it was impossible for the experts to show real stuff on some of the very small tracks. He confirmed the point and said, "Here for example (We were at the White City, London, at the time) every time you open out flat on a bend the odds are that you will fall off. And if on the last lap there is someone 20 yards ahead of me, do you think I am going to risk my neck by trying to catch him ? No, I am sure of my second place money and 10 to 1 he'll fall off and i'll win in any case. I've no firm behind me to pay me a salary; manufacturers do not give me the machines I ride: there is no job being kept open for me at the end of my riding career - and one cannot keep on at this game indefinitely:"

Although not as spectacular as some of the boys, he is as fast as the best of them, and his style is distinctive. When I had seen him ride on about a dozen occasions, it struck me that he must have made a thorough study of the game and evolved a definite plan of action. This consists of keeping to the white line, and he is the cleverest exponent of inside-edge riding I have seen. Once Arthur has the inside position he rides so close that it is impossible for anyone to shift him. And he travels so fast round the white line that the other fellow has to go completely mad to pass him on the outside. Even if this should occur Arthur never loses his head, but hangs on to the other fellows tail, knowing full well that there is every chance of his rival either falling or going into a bend just a shade too fast to keep in close, in which case Arthur again takes the lead on the inside.

From an early age he told me,  his greatest ambition was to excel at some sport, and then come eventually to England. His first idea was to become a jockey, and he progressed favourably in this direction until suddenly he began to grow at an alarming rate and it was soon obvious that he would be to heavy. He then tried football and cricket in turn, and met with no particular success at either.

Next he bought a machine, and having met with a fair amount of success on grass and at hill climbs he finally took to the dirt. For some considerable time it looked like he would again be unsuccessful, until one day be bought a Peashooter and went out and won the golden helmet at Brisbane: his rivals in the final of this race were Lamont, Huxley and Smythe ! That was the turning point.

And Arthur is nothing if not a sportsman. If ever one of the boys has trouble with his machine, Frank is the first to offer the loan of one of his 'Shooters.

By the time he retired in 1934 it was estimated he had made the equivalent of over £ 2,000,000

Edited by iris123
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