Historic Re-enactment (April 1929 - April 2009)
In April 1929 Peter Antill accompanied by B. M’Gee as mechanic established an Australian transcontinental record for light cars in a 9 h.p. four-cylinder Riley car, which they drove from Fremantle to Sydney in 5 days 20 hours. In
1979 two members of the Riley Club re-enacted the journey for the fifty year recognition.
The Riley “9” was manufactured in England between 1926 and 1938, with 1098cc twin cam overhead valve engine, four speed gearbox (Manual or Pre Selector) and was available in a wide range of body styles. On the 14th April 2009 seventeen Riley “9”s left Fremantle to cross Australiaa traveling as close as possible to the original route to all arrive in Sydney on 28th April 2009, 80 years to the day after the finish of the original record breaking run.
Overnight stops were made at Southern Cross, Norseman, Cocklebiddy, Nullarbor, Ceduna, Port Augusta, Adelaide, Kingston, Hamilton, Melbourne, Wodonga, Goulburn, Sydney. Across the Nullarbor the group averaged around 280 miles per day, and from Adelaide around 200 miles per day. Travel was very independent although the entire group seemed to meet at the same spots for morning, afternoon tea and lunch.
Although accommodation was a choice between Camping and Motels the participants generally gathered together for dinner. Their support vehicle naturally provided great security and comfort, but was only used on a few occasions to transfer vehicles to a safer area for repairs.
Some of the mechanical repairs included a blown head gasket, failed
oil pump and timing gear and bent valve, although the persistent and re-occuring problem was the repair of flat tyres. Naturally the event was a stellar success, and participants only have to wait another ten years until they get another chance to celebrate the 90th Anniversary, the cars are certainly up to the task.
Further information on this and other Riley events is available from Brian Graham, who can be contacted on 03 5981 4145 or 0412 674 055 or by
email. Few British cars did more than Riley to reinforce the credo of Scots economist John Stuart Mill that "
all good things that exist are the fruits of originality". During a total lifespan of seventy-one years, the genius of the enterprising Riley marque was, for about its first four decades, richly innovative.
