TOODYAY WHEELBARROW RACE

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1981

Subcollections

Overview

A black and white photo of two young men dressed in long pants and singlets.
One of the young men is pushing a younger lad who is similarly dressed in a wheelbarrow.
Printed on his vest is "Woser Tea.".
To the left of them are a number of large potted plants and smaller ones upon a trestle table.
Behind again is a motor vehicle and a young lad on a bicycle.
Behind all is a building (the Victoria Hotel Billiard Hall) in which two windows and a door are seen. - a corrugated iron roof is above the plants.

Historical information

Probably the Wowser James Wheelbarrow Race recreation in 1981.
From left to right: Alan Chitty, Eric Leaver & Mitchell Young (Eric & Mitchell are the grandsons of Wowser James)

In 1935 Toodyay blacksmith Ernest Wesley 'Wowser' James rose to the challenge that he couldn't push local barber Frank Costello in a wheelbarrow around an unsealed 6.4km course. The course started and ended at the Victoria Hotel in Stirling Terrace, Toodyay. The contest drew in other competitors. The craze took off and was a feature event at the Toodyay Agricultural Show later that year.
In the early 1980s teams of three raced around a shorter (4.4km) route to raise funds for local organisations and the events proved popular with locals.
(ref: Toodyay Herald article by Ieva Tomsons, September 2017, p.15)

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-37-2001.1080

Item type

Photographs

Themes

Sport

Year

1981

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Shire of Toodyay