Maroubra Speedway
Encyclopedia
Maroubra Speedway, officially known as Olympia Motor Speedway was a motor racing venue in the Sydney
suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales
, Australia
and was reported to have had a capacity of 70,000. Opening in December 1925 the 1 mile banked concrete bowl was the scene of some large and successful race meetings before a decline in attendances saw the track close in 1927, but reopened many times in the 1930s. Despite the banking being too steep to walk up it was still not enough for the speeds achieved, and four competitors lost their lives going over the top of banking. Three others also died at the circuit, two of which were motorcyclists.
The sensationalist media
of the day dubbed it a "killer track" which did little to improve the fortunes of the venue.
The speedway continued to operate sporadically in the 1930s but the meetings were not the large affairs held previously. The track was also used for club days, practice and record attempts.
By the 1940s the track was crumbling due to flooding and poor quality concrete and in 1947 it was demolished and a housing commission suburb was built on the site, with a park in what was the infield area named Coral Sea Park. Streets in the new area were named after Allied
ships used in the Battle of the Coral Sea
.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and was reported to have had a capacity of 70,000. Opening in December 1925 the 1 mile banked concrete bowl was the scene of some large and successful race meetings before a decline in attendances saw the track close in 1927, but reopened many times in the 1930s. Despite the banking being too steep to walk up it was still not enough for the speeds achieved, and four competitors lost their lives going over the top of banking. Three others also died at the circuit, two of which were motorcyclists.
The sensationalist media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
of the day dubbed it a "killer track" which did little to improve the fortunes of the venue.
The speedway continued to operate sporadically in the 1930s but the meetings were not the large affairs held previously. The track was also used for club days, practice and record attempts.
By the 1940s the track was crumbling due to flooding and poor quality concrete and in 1947 it was demolished and a housing commission suburb was built on the site, with a park in what was the infield area named Coral Sea Park. Streets in the new area were named after Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
ships used in the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
.