STARTERS
AND FINISHERS |
CAR |
STARTED |
FINISHED |
| Alvis |
1 |
0 |
| Austin A30 |
2 |
0 |
| Austin A40 |
2 |
0 |
| Austin A90 |
2 |
1 |
| Buick |
1 |
0 |
| Chrysler |
1 |
0 |
| Citroen |
1 |
0 |
| DeSoto |
1 |
0 |
| Dodge |
1 |
0 |
| Fiat 600 |
1 |
0 |
| Fiat 1100 |
1 |
0 |
| Fiat 1400 |
1 |
0 |
| Ford Anglia |
1 |
1 |
| Ford V8 |
15 |
3 |
| Ford Zephyr |
2 |
0 |
| Goliath |
1 |
0 |
| Holden |
17 |
7 |
| Hudson |
1 |
0 |
| Lloyd |
1 |
0 |
| MG TF |
1 |
0 |
| Morris Isis |
2 |
1 |
| Morris Minor |
6 |
2 |
| Morris Oxford |
2 |
1 |
| Peugeot |
10 |
3 |
| Plymouth |
1 |
1 |
| Pontiac |
1 |
0 |
| Renault |
1 |
0 |
| Rolls Royce |
1 |
1 |
| Simca |
4 |
0 |
| Singer |
1 |
0 |
| Standard |
2 |
1 |
| Sunbeam-Talbot |
1 |
0 |
| Terraplane |
1 |
1 |
| Vanguard |
13 |
3 |
| Vauxhall |
2 |
0 |
| Volkswagen |
9 |
6 |
| Willys |
1 |
0 |
|
A Tough And
Tragic Event:
Unlike the rival Mobilgas trial held the same year, the 1956 Ampol
Around Australia Trial was ruthlessly hard on both car and driver.
Of 113 starters, only 34 would be able to make it to the finish
line, most bearing battle scars from the tortuous event.
The going
really got tough after Port Augusta,
the dirt roads having received torrential rain just prior to the
competitors arrival.
Peter Antill, who would finish in eighth place
in his Austin A90, described it best when he declared it "...a
mud bath all the way".
The field would "traverse" the notorious 84 mile (135
km) horror stretch of the Redex trials, from Mount Isa to Cloncurry.
From there the route travelled along the infamous Queensland blacksoil
plains down to Winton, then to Longreach and Hughenden.
Next came
the ranges through Ravenshoe to Cairns, and finally the somewhat
easier stretch to Sydney.
Tradgedy
would occur for Sydney entrants Les Slaughter and Bill Mayes who,
while running in 3rd place in their MG TF, would leave the Gwyder
Highway between Grafton and Glen Innes.
Both drowned face-down
in a creek, their car nearby. Motoring identity Evan Green was
the first on the scene, however nobody actually witnessed the accident,
such was the sparce population of Australia at the time.
There was some good news however, with Sydney grandmother Mrs.
Blanche Brown putting in a sterling performance in her 3 tonne
1927 Rolls Royce.
Finishing in 13th position overall, she would
take out second place in the "big car" class, and she quickly became
the darling of the Australian press.
|
