{"id":6967,"date":"2025-07-12T14:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T04:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/?page_id=6967"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:48:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:48:20","slug":"freak-hill-climbing-popular-bardon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/freak-hill-climbing-popular-bardon\/","title":{"rendered":"Freak Hill Climbing: The Golden Age of Motorsport Spectacle in Bardon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>In the heart of the quiet suburb of Bardon, Saturdays once echoed with the roar of motorcycles and the cheers of thousands. From the 1930s to the late 1950s, a death-defying spectacle known as &#8216;freak hill climbing&#8217; turned the steep slopes of Purtell Park into a battleground of grit, power, and local legend.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"related\"><strong><em>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/discover-the-rich-history-of-rainworth-house-in-bardon\/\">Discover the Rich History of Rainworth House in Bardon<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear how freak hill climbing started in Bardon but the motorsport was already popular in Melbourne in the early 1900s for both motorcycles and cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/Sa0KB8QU1ldRK7wmkhrkMWUBcGRvINjJ0gm1h0oHspwKAxBZwxDOZADzQedZLjt7m3_roQbuobMjwEnvHZSLAzRgLVtKz0lVOHpGdudwfBnbaVj72oivWe-Z3SeXXjg_oheKcg0J\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo Credit: Google Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1930s, various clubs like the Bardon Hill Climb, the Kedron Motor Club or the Indian Motorcycle Club would host the healthy but challenging competitions among bikers in Brisbane as a fundraiser for causes they supported. But beyond the cause, young daredevils were motivated to join the competition to tackle the steepest and roughest spots on the hills like a badge of honour.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/Gml-h-cV1FvpeYHu_CydMrcp_LKucenLw0HezYspTFpj8iwBGjhSx2jxvuVuKF0ReIS3dnLpgTKmdeR6Rd8C6NkKN_cdmigVvdbY21wbsMDgROPTC0xy7xue8RcXwqAjYwUK93Qh\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo Credit: https:\/\/trove.nla.gov.au\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/vora2afuQIXiGXnSpKOCPDMWmWBAWFlokGlWKlCYyNCkG3r2IQO8H5-9_tblfsvLi7UEta91dg3yThDZbbflPB2q-WDbEjfsZtYO1oqmJXmDvdUDz90O-FyRFpLc7MUQg3DadNFB\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo Credit: https:\/\/trove.nla.gov.au\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/XIYanmfpa_LCUYmGJaFzx97lVUiqWHAIOOj5uz2WVEjMvEdRjh5-f8Q9YNe7kk6jFbaAifqxygamh5J-8blZu8nhf3CNUqNnDV-3ygOjbENZlU8Ok7YZBnqbHK5ovjMUqy5CiOQm\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo Credit: https:\/\/trove.nla.gov.au\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com\/brisbane-the-bardon-hill-climb.html\">Speedway and Road Race History<\/a>, the races attracted thousands of spectators as riders try to climb or crash onto the 45-degree hill. So steep were the slopes that the motorcycles would sometimes have to be lowered down with ropes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"related\"><strong><em>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/bardon-parks-social-distancing\/\">5 Beautiful Parks In Bardon To Enjoy Social Distancing <\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>World War II temporarily halted the competitions but the&nbsp; \u201cthrills on freak hills\u201d were still well-document in the mid-50s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"860\" height=\"415\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TOgUzl0chPQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2968.5724517309573!2d152.97059051456682!3d-27.46424538289311!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x6b9150d7580da693%3A0xf02a35bd721b4d0!2sPurtell%20Park!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1614394945153!5m2!1sen!2sph\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" style=\"border:0;\" allowfullscreen=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Updated 25-May-2025<\/em>\/<em>2-July-2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the heart of the quiet suburb of Bardon, Saturdays once echoed with the roar of motorcycles and the cheers of thousands. From the 1930s to the late 1950s, a death-defying spectacle known as &#8216;freak hill climbing&#8217; turned the steep slopes of Purtell Park into a battleground of grit, power, and local legend. Read: Discover &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/freak-hill-climbing-popular-bardon\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Freak Hill Climbing: The Golden Age of Motorsport Spectacle in Bardon&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6973,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[14,282],"class_list":["post-6967","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-latest-news","tag-bardon","tag-freak-hill-climbing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Freak Hill Climbing: The Golden Age of Motorsport Spectacle in Bardon - Bardon News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From the 1930s to the late 1950s, a death-defying spectacle known as &#039;freak hill climbing&#039; turned the steep slopes of Purtell Park into a battleground of grit, power, and local legend.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/freak-hill-climbing-popular-bardon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freak Hill Climbing: The Golden Age of Motorsport Spectacle in Bardon - 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