Australian Six Day Racers

Disclaimer - first I have to say that most of what is here does not come from my own memories or experience. My direct knowledge is limited to seeing a few races and meeting very few of the racers. So everything else is from other people’s reports, surviving memorabilia and random facts. Also I am trying not to simply copy what is already available on the web - instead looking for something new or at least a new collation or analysis of earlier material.

Even though Australia has had, by my reckoning, around 88 six day races since 1881 that is not enough to establish a firm basis for a sporting career. True - there is a lot more to cycle racing than just Sixes - or even just the velodrome. But the Australian calendar has rarely - if ever - provided enough races to support a pool of six day specialists. Any rider with an ambition to do well in Six Day racing has had to look overseas. And this is my attempt at recording some of these Australians overseas ...

Some Six Day Riders who competed overseas

Work in progress .... just updated thanks to information from Bernd Buslapp

    Don ALLEN - 107 Sixes from Oct-1974 to Mar-1976; 17 victories, 17 2nds, 15 3rds

    Reg ARNOLD - 103 Sixes from Mar-1947 to Feb 1963; 16 victories, 16 2nds, 19 3rds

    Ron BAENSCH - 41 Sixes from Jan-1964 to Sep-1970 (+1976); 3 3rds

    Joe BUCKLEY - 5 Sixes from Nov-1937 to Apr 1941; 1 victory

    Benny Allan CLARE

    Danny CLARK - 235 Sixes from Nov-1974 to Nov-2000; 74 victories, 45 2nds, 39 3rds

    Jackie CLARK - 12 (possibly 15) Sixes from Dec-1906 to Dec-1921; 5 victories, 1 2nd, 2 3rds

    Simon CLARKE

    Robin CROKER - 3 Sixes from Sep-1977 to Mar-1979

    Graeme GILMORE - 101 Sixes from Jan-1965 to Feb-1977; 12 victories, 9 2nds, 14 3rds

    Matthew GILMORE - 107 Sixes from Nov-1994 to Feb-2006; 17 victories, 10 2nds, 17 3rds

    Alfred GOULLET - 30 Sixes from Nov-1910 to Dec-1926; 15 victories, 2 2nds

    Alfred GRENDA - 34 (possibly 40) Sixes from Dec-1911 to Jan-1933; 8 victories, 6 2nds, 2 3rds

    James George Charles HANNAM (aka Jim NAGEL)

    Paddy HEHIR - 19 Sixes from 1909 to Feb-1915; 7 victories, 5 2nds

    Horace HORDER

    Gordon JOHNSON - 7 Sixes

    Bill LAWRIE - 34 Sixes from Mar-1961 to Sep-1970; 2 victories, 1 2nd, 2 3rds

    Albert (Alex) McBEATH - 21 Sixes from Dec-1919 to Mar-1927; 1 victory, 1 2nd, 2 3rds

    Reginald McNAMARA - 117 Sixes from Dec-1911 to Dec 1935; 19 victories, 14 2nds, 17 3rds

    Russell MOCKRIDGE - 2 Sixes from Feb-1954 to Mar-1955; 1 victory

    Patrick O´SULLIVAN (aka Paddy HEHIR see above)

    Hubert OPPERMAN - 4 Sixes from Dec-1925 to Aug-1932; 3 3rds

    Sid PATTERSON - 57 Sixes from May-1952 to Mar-1968; 16 victories, 7 2nds, 9 3rds

    Darryl PERKINS - 2 Sixes from Jan-1974 to Dec-1974

    Ernest PYE - 10 (possibly 12) Sixes from Dec 1906 to Dec 1913; 2 victories, 1 3rd

    Tom SAWYER - 39 Sixes from Oct-1983 to Jan-1990; 1 victory, 1 3rd

    Alf STROM - 49 Sixes from Mar-1947 to Mar-1957; 9 victories, 6 2nds, 6 3rds

    John TRESSIDER - 25 Sixes from Jan-1957 to Mar-1964; 6 victories, 2 2nds, 3 3rds

    Gary WIGGINS - 73 Sixes from 1976 to Feb-1987; 1 victory, 4 2nds, 3 3rds
 

There is still a lot of info to check through so this page will need updating - probably quite a lot!