maroubra speedway
"the killer track"
The Olympia Motor Speedway (‘The Maroubra Speedway’) opened in 1925, located at the site that is now Coral Sea Park. It was 1.3km/0.8 miles long. The fastest cars did a lap time of 33 seconds with an average speed of 100 mph. At the height of its popularity it drew crowds of 20 000 people every second Saturdays night!
The speedway became known as the “killer track”, after claiming the lives of seven competitors who overshot the top of the track The first victims were driver Leo Salmon and his mechanic Harry Vaughan who were killed in 1926 at practice.
On December 22 1926 Norman "Wizard" Smith set the 24-hour record of 1468 miles. He averaged 61.1 mph. Local residents complained all through the night about the noise.
The speedway closed in 1928 as a result of the number of deaths, but subsequently reopended briefly for motorcycle racing. The speedway finally closed for good in 1934, largely due to the financial effects of the Depression.
For more information see:
Randwick City Council > A to Z of People and Places > Maroubra Speedway.