Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc

Hornet Special Newsletter

Issue 41June 2010

WHS Club ContactsSecretary

Bill Russell, ph (03) 9349 2262

PresidentHoward Kenward, ph (07) 3267 6046

EditorHenry Hancock,

ph (07) 3878 28503 Gilia Court Indooroopilly Qld 4068

hlaevt@aanet.com.au

Highlights this issue Success in New South WalesThe Muston Trophy, awarded annually by the New South Wales Light Car Club to the competitor who finishes the year’s series of contests with the highest number of points for reliability, has been won for1932 by Mr. J. O. Sherwood on a Wolseley Hornet. The club closed its programme for the year with a night trial over a mountainous course of 126 miles, which onlythree competitors finished without loss of points. The contests during the year covered more than 1,000 miles and included 25 speed events. Among the best perform-ances of Mr. Sherwood’s Hornet are the following: Standing start ¼ mile, 21sec.; ½ mile, 33 4/5 sec.; one mile, 58 4/5sec. (61.2 m.p.h.); flying ½ mile (four up), 73.7 m.p.h.; record for acceleration, 10 to 30 m.p.h., 4 ?/5sec. He also broke the record for the Bulli Pass, covering the 2 ¼ miles in 3min. 18sec.

The Argus, Melbourne, Vic (1848 – 1954) Tuesday 25 April 1933 Page 3

1932 WHS designed and driven by John Sherwood

STOP PRESS - Amended date for AGM in Canberra - NOW 15, 16 & 17 OCTOBER 2010

Earliest WHSC (UK) members

Mr John O Sherwood in 1932 and his car now owned by Malcolm Smith to be seen at the AGM

“When the 1934 Hornets first came to Sydney” - in Part 2 Bill Russell lists WHS racing success.J O SherwoodN SparkS HigginsonDr KauzalE J HallJ GullanS KingG Stewartand others

Page 2 Hornet Special Newsletter

201080th Anniversary of the Wolseley Hornet

60th Anniversary of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club

In the last newsletter we were searching for Glen Edmond Logan who owned the Coachcraft bodied 1934 Airline WHS Coupe and was a member of the WHSC (UK) in 1962. We now confirm that Peter Wells joined the UK Club in 1952 Howard Kenward in 1961/62.

Peter is a regular contributor to this newsletter, having owned a 1934 WHS, a 1933 WHS, a 1939 fourteen coupe and now running a 1935 fourteen on which he has installed a sports body. His adventures with these cars have been reported in newsletters 28, 29 and 30. As he says “Back in 1951 I was the proud owner of a 1934 Hornet Special, with a Western Australian built body which had only done just over 3000 miles. I joined the recently formed WHS Club that I learned of in Motor Sport”.

Howard, WHSC of Australia president, was young and getting married, so he let his membership lapse for a few years, rejoining in 1967.

Peter’s 1934 WHS in 1951

Our President at Lakeside Raceway in the early ‘80s.

Howard’s 1934 WHS has a distinguished racing history in the hands of “Cammy” Anderson. We will review the racing success of this car in a future issue of the newsletter.

Peter competing in the 1952 Turner Road Hillclimb, Kelmscott run by the WA Car Club. The course was a fairly rough access road for the water pipeline from the Canning Dam.

We wish Howard well as he continues to receive medical treatment.

Issue 41 Page 3

During March and April 1934, Noel Spark was competing in New South Wales very successfully with the demonstrator Hornet Special later owned by Jim Gullan. By 8 May, Dalgety’s advertised that in the Light Car Club’s March and April events, Mr N Spark’s Hornet Special competed in five events for cars up to 2000 cc and recorded five fastest times; 10 days later they reported that, at Robertson, he competed in three more events and again recorded the fastest times, making in all 8 fastest times…”

Spark continued to compete actively and with great success in Sydney events in his Hornet throughout 1934 and 1935, achieving many successes, sometimes accompanied by other Horneteers. For example, in The Telegraph Handicap in December 1934, S Higginson (Hornet Special) came 1st followed by R McKinley (MG Magnette) with Noel Spark (Hornet Special) third. Stewart Higginson also won the Royal Handicap that day – he was of course the original recipient of our Wings and Wheels trophy awarded this year (2009-10) to John Ireland.

Early in 1935, Spark came first at the Waterfall Hill Climb, followed by G Reed (Singer Le Mans) and then Dr Kauzal (Hornet Special) and E J Hall (Hornet Special). Spark returned again to the Waterfall Hill Climb on August 15, 1935, where he “showed a clean pair of heels” and set another Class record.

In between these events were the Canberra speed trials on May 12, 1935, where outright fastest speed in the under 1500cc class of 112mph went to Bill Thompson in his supercharged MG K3 Magnette; however Spark in the Hornet Special finished next with an excellent

Bill Russell continues our ongoing tribute to the fine 1934 models, with Part 2 of:

When the 1934 Hornets first came to Sydneyperformance for an unsupercharged car, setting class records of 18.5 seconds and 102 mph for the Standing and Flying quarter mile. These trials were held in Northborne Avenue, now Canberra’s main north south thoroughfare; it is hard to imagine them there today.

The car came to Melbourne in 1935. Jim Gullan wrote that when he got it to Melbourne he drove it for six hours straight, and was still enthusing over it 60 years later. Its first event was a hill climb at Mitcham where it came second. This was followed by its appearance in the 1936 Australian Grand Prix at Victor Harbour, followed by its return to Victoria and further campaigning at Rob Roy and Phillip Island.

It was on 29 March 1937, at the Second Meeting of the new hill climb, that this car was first seen at Rob Roy, which had been developed on the site of the former Clinton’s Pleasure Grounds. In the under 1500cc class, Jim Gullan came second to Jack Lanham’s type 37 Bugatti (which was

1934 WHS driven by Noel Spark.Photo believed to be taken near Holsworthy, NSW, probably on Heathcote Road, referred to as the magic mile

Gordon Stewart competes in Sydney c 1938. Gordon was guest speaker at a previous WHSC AGM

continued page 5

Page 4 Hornet Special Newsletter

The five mile race at Maroubra Speedway in 1933. John Sherwood won the race, beating the Alvis 12/50 of Bill Oxby

Noel Spark attacks Wiseman’s Ferry Hillclimb in NSW in 1934

Issue 41 Page 5

0.4 of a second better). At Rob Roy 3, later in 1937, Jim Gullan again came second, this time to J Day’s Bugatti, but now beating Jack Lanham’s Bugatti, in third place by 44 seconds. It was no mean victory, as the reference book “Bugattis in Australia” says that the type 37 was in perfect condition in 1937.

Jim Gullan made good time at Rob Roy (44.67 seconds in 1937), but it is worth noting that when Rob Roy re-commenced after World war II, Sport King competed in what is now the Santin’s Hornet in the first meeting held, on June 17th 1946, in a time of 44.5 seconds. This is a creditable time, only .3 of a second more than Gullan’s time in 1937 – indicating what a great competitor Sport King was. At the 1946 meeting, however, Sport King came second, beaten by R Mathews’ Riley.

But as well as the Spark-Gullan car, there was much other activity in Sydney. Coachcraft and others were building a variety of excellent body styles, including the state of the art aero Hornets such as that now owned by Gerry Dunford, as well as very fine open sports cars like those of John Prentice and Bill Trollope. And Hornets were continuing their successes in trials and events. But that is another story.

Some Sydney Hornet Specials came as Coupes. This one at Mt Druitt in 1949 - is not Brett Whitley’s. Photo Alan Harrison, Auburn NSW.

continued from page 3

Noel Spark in the car in which in 1935 he broke the Australian record for unsupercharged cars up to 1500cc in Northborne Avenue Canberra, with a standing 1/4 mile time of 18.5 sec and a flying 1/4 mile speed of 102 miles per hour.Jim Gullan, a later owner, said that it had 3 carbu-rettors, lightened valve gear, higher compression and a recommended limit of 6500 rpm through the gears.

Record breaking in 1935

John Summerfield’s green WHS camping in the bush c1963

Fabulous print of a near-new Hornet on the steps of the Public Library of NSW c 1936 - is it Bill Trollope’s?

Page 6 Hornet Special Newsletter

Queensland NewsFirst of all, let me congratulate our new editor, Henry

Hancock, on the standard of his production. He has had a hard act to follow, and has done it well. Henry has also purchased a new lathe and is learning to handle it by manufacturing bits for his Hornet.

Peter Baker has completed the re-restoration of his Austin Nippy (after an unfortunate road accident) and is concentrating his time on the 1933 Hornet Special, which is well advanced. Peter was never happy with the driving position and has revamped this with a slightly smaller steering wheel and remanufactured seat bases to get a lower and more comfortable seating position.

Lyle and Margaret Cooper are off to central Europe for a few weeks. I doubt that they will find Hornet Specials very plentiful there. Lyle has been making steady progress on his ’33 Special and is nearing the stage where assembly of reworked components will shoot the restoration forward.

Monty Schofield had an annoying noise in the motor/gearbox of his ’34 Special, evident when the clutch was

unloaded and disappearing when you put your foot on the pedal. So out came the motor/gearbox again and the fault was finally found. One of the three capture springs on the clutch thrust had broken, allowing the thrust to travel out of true until loaded. All is well and back together again, with Monty returning his efforts to the 1910-12 Alldays and Onions restoration.

My black car is out and about as usual, making several local trips weekly. It may get used more often as the weather cools. It is just too hot to sit in an open car in the middle of summer. Alison and I have just come back from a 4000km jaunt to central west Queensland. The occasion that prompted this was the centenary celebrations of the first use of a motorised vehicle on a mail run in Australia – Ilfracombe to Isisford (out Longreach way), a distance of 90km. The vehicle that did this run in 1910 was an 1899 Winton which is in the Veteran Car Club and was there to re-enact the journey. Alison and I were part of the cheer squad, although I did get a ride in a few of the veteran vehicles supporting the occasion.

I’m looking forward to seeing as many as possible of our members at the AGM in Canberra later this year.

Howard Kenward

Off the lathe

Peter’s new seat bases

Lyle’s motor well advanced, including a modern screw-on oil filter inside the original housing.

Issue 41 Page 7

Oh oh, subs are overdueSubscriptions to both the Australian and UK clubs were due on April 1. Your options once again are to:1. Pay $25, which helps to cover the costs of this Australian newsletter;2. Pay $70, which gets you the newsletter and Membership of the Wolseley Hornet Special Club (UK), copies of their excellent magazine and access to their parts service;3. Pay nothing. We’ll still send you this newsletter, but please let us know if you no longer wish to receive it.Cheques should be made payable to WHSC, not to any individual person, and should be sent to the club treasurer, John Ireland, 83 Riverside Resort, Riverbrooke Drive, Coomera, Qld 4209.

Colour - Architectus Limited, the company for which your editor works pays a low cost for colour pho-tocopies due to the number printed, so this magazine is a trial - but it may not last.

Here in colour is Bob Nicol’s T J Richards bodied 1934 Hornet Special as shown in the last newsletter.

And Richard Sneddon’s Sanction 51 boat-tail sports And Bob Anderson’s 1933 Coupe

And the line up at the RACV Showcase Flemington John and Sharon Balthazar’s ex Ian Broughton (WA) car

For Sale - IN CANBERRA

1934-35 Wolseley Hornet Special Coupe, 6 cylinders and 12Horse, dual carburettor; going cheapGraham, Barallier Street, Griffith.

W O L S E L E Y H o r n e t S p e c i a lSports, just reconditioned, smartappearance, private sale, reason-able price to genuine cash buyer.11 Boulderwood St., Turner. J1245.

The Canberra Times Saturday 21 October 1939 page 5 The Canberra Times Saturday 3 April 1954 Page 6

John Sherwood’s WHS now owned by Malcolm Smith, Canberra

Compare the performance figures of John O Sherwood’s 1932 WHS on page 1 of the

newsletter as reported in the ARGUS, with those of Noel Spark’s 1934 car in Canberra on page 5.

WHSCA AGM

CanberraFriday Oct 15 to Sunday Oct 17

(NEW DATES)

This year the annual Hornet Extravaganza& WHSCA Annual General Meeting is at the siteof Noel Spark’s 1935 Australian speed record for

unsupercharged cars up to 1500cc.

Hornet Specials, Veterans and Modern Classics - our Canberra members have very interesting collections

Program: Friday night - Welcome dinner Saturday - Inspect the cars Saturday night - Dinner and AGM Sunday - Easy

DETAILS WILL BE ADVISEDbut for any questions Contact John Prentice 02 6281 2618