Amaroo Park... now!!!

[f1freak]

They sold Amaroo Park... for this???...



That really shocked me...

Just thought I'd share ...

[275 GTB-4]

Thanks for sharing...what a waste of space...I'd like to know what the blocks went for (sorry Kiwis block = suck shuns)....

[racer69]

Funnily enough i was watching an old AMSCAR round from 1987 the other day...

About a year ago i decided to go for abit of a look at what was left. I went in the old entrance (the road is now a driveway for the shops located there, the driveway is lined with pallets and crates) which led down towards the pits only to see the road blocked off halfway down the hill by a dirt mound and a house being built the other side of it. There was a track leading into the bush but who knows where that would have led.....

From that shot it is still amazingly easy to see the line of the circuit, and it seems the run up *****upave (spelling?) Hill into the Dunlop Loop remains, as does the Lake.

Although the dirt circuit was discarded long before the race circuit, would be interesting to see whether the trails remain.

There was a very old thread about Amaroo from a few years ago where member Buckshot went in and took a bunch of photo's, and all he found that remained of the circuit was a toilet block. A search should bring it up.

[kramer]

The dirt circuit had a house in the middle of it by the time the main circuit closed. The dirt circuit was off to the upper right of that photo.

The hill climb was directly above the lake as it's shown in the pic.

I loved the place - competed there a few times and spent my HSC year at the place.



Kramer

[KE30MAN]

Nine houses? You have got to be kidding. What a waste of a race circuit, that is an absolute disgrace.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by racer69

There was a very old thread about Amaroo from a few years ago where member Buckshot went in and took a bunch of photo's, and all he found that remained of the circuit was a toilet block. A search should bring it up.

Your wish is my command

The thread is Here

[racer69]

Thanks GTR

Originally Posted by kramer

The dirt circuit had a house in the middle of it by the time the main circuit closed. The dirt circuit was off to the upper right of that photo.

The hill climb was directly above the lake as it's shown in the pic.

I loved the place - competed there a few times and spent my HSC year at the place.



Kramer

Some of the best footage i have on tape is of Wayne Bell taking Ken Sutcliffe for a ride around the Amaroo dirt circuit/hill climb/racetrack (basically together made a special stage) in a yellow Mitsubishi Starion for a story on the old Sports Sunday program.

Ken had great difficulty with the pacenotes........

[mmciau]

So is everyone on this board now ready to appreciate/accept their station in life!!!!!

So the developer gets in the shire/council's ear, promises more rates and taxes from 9 properties than can ever be received from facilities of the great unwashed and those uncouth petrol heads and the rest is history!!!!

And the "toorak tractors" generate less green house gases than those smelly, noisy race cars and the hoons on the hill ...!

So the EPA is happy too ...

And so it goes ...

Mike

[275 GTB-4]

[QUOTE=racer69]From that shot it is still amazingly easy to see the line of the circuit, and it seems the run up *****upave (spelling?) Hill into the Dunlop Loop remains, as does the Lake.
QUOTE]

In case anyone is wondering...it was called Bitupave Hill....(autocensors!!)

[Chubby1]

I always wondered what the place looked like, thanks for the links.

[Head Rev]

Although I now live in Adelaide, when I get back to Sydney to visit family, I always go back to Amaroo. Drive up the hill and the memories come flooding back, I used to flag there from '77 - '80. Spent a lot of time in the "Loop" and at Honda. Boy, have some fantastic stories about that place and the fun we used to get up to also. Pulled many drivers out of crashed cars, cleaned up dozen's of oil spills, froze in winter and burnt to a crisp in summer.

If on a quiet day you park at the top of the hill before the loop, you can hear the sounds of screaching tyres, the back fire of the Mazda's and the roar of the crowd, yes, the memories will NEVER be forgotten.

[v8babe]

Amazing pics guys, thanks for that! It certainly does bring back many a memory. Having lived over the valley from Annangrove Rd all my life, you certainly knew when a meet was on ... miss hearing the v8 sounds roar up the gulley!!

In summer we'd be swimming in the pool or riding around the property and hear them constantly in the background, I'd stay up when the day/nighters were on and listen to them through my bedroom window, never got a wink's sleep but boy it was worth every second!

Just a bummer I was too young to have a licence and get myself there, my folks weren't the kind to take us to the track in those days. Never got to see it in it's glory but them's the breaks

Long live Amaroo

[OZ_HCR32]

Hmmm. Thats disgraceful, i thought there would be dozens of houses.

I lived 20min away from Amaroo. When i go back home to visit family i may just rock up on bin collection night, set up my own slalom and start some motorkhana racing

[Growling Ferret]

Amaroo, what an awesome place to go to a race meeting. My parents used to take us kids to Oran Park and Amaroo every year from about 1980 until it closed... Ahh, the memories. Amaroo was sitting on the rocks on the hill, choking on dust, avoiding the big ants that bit you, that giant hill to walk up at the end of the day to get in the car before the last race ended to escape the traffic nightmare.

And more importantly, Moffat and Hansford in Styvie Mazda RX7's, Fury and co in Bluebirds, Johnson and Masterton in the big hulking XD's, B&H Black BMW 635csi's and Marlboro Commodores. Sitting on the hill, the cars screamed below, and then disappeared over the hill, to come back at Mazda House 20 seconds later...

I took a mate to his first ever meeting - SuperTourers at Amaroo when it was at its strongest - 2 Audis, 2 Diet Coke BMW's, Volvos, Vauxhalls, Peugeots - it was a magic place to watch! I was lucky enough to run a hillclimb which used about 80% of Amaroo as the circuit in 1996 or 97 - and Mazda House was the best corner ever!

When OP is closed down in the next 18 months, going to the racing won't ever be the same...

[f1freak]

Well, I did lie a bit to be honest (after looking back at some old Street Directories)...

This is the entire 'Amaroo Park Motor Racing Circuit'...

So yea...


Click on the image to make it larger

[OZ_HCR32]

I understand that Oran Park is now staying open????

[Aarrgh8]

Originally Posted by f1freak

Well, I did lie a bit to be honest (after looking back at some old Street Directories)...

This is the entire 'Amaroo Park Motor Racing Circuit'...

So yea...


Click on the image to make it larger

Does that red line represent the outline of the boundary of the whole Amaroo Park property? If so, it's pretty close, but not exact.

BTW, I can see Max Dumesny's house and workshop and warehouse just above Honda Corner.

[f1freak]

Originally Posted by Aarrgh8

Does that red line represent the outline of the boundary of the whole Amaroo Park property? If so, it's pretty close, but not exact.

It's as close as I could get it...

There are a few little errors I think though, like the bottom right part, don't know exactly how that goes, and also the (sort of) horizontal line on the top right, I think they owned more...

But yea, just wanted to show this, because when they sold Amaroo Park, they sold ALL of the that, not just the circuit itself...

[kramer]

Looks like the dirt circuit is completely gone - no surprise - it and the hillclimb closed first. The motocross track looks like it's completely overgrown too - but it too was out of action early on.

The hillclimb (the original one) is just inside the boundary on the northern side (that's up, on the aerial pic) - that's the squiggly bit of road you can just make out.

I feel like crying, to be honest. I console myself with lots of great memories.


Kramer

[jd yort]

I am going to have to go and have a look in the next weekend or so for myself and see what is left.

I will always remember the 3 wheel morgans at the January Historic Meetings and Alan Nolan racing that blue and green chev engined sports car there (is this car still around?)

[Head Rev]

If you want to get to the top of the hill I think you need to enter of Joylene rd?? Have a look at the pic and you will see the road coming down the hill, just follow that on the pic back to the main rd. Thats; the way I have entered previously. When you go, take your tissues.......

[mtpanorama]

The new road that runs of Joylyn Rd seems to go through the old carpark. That was the way i entered the circuit everytime is was spectating there. i think the only time i paid to get into Amaroo was when i raced there

[Group'C']

Which was the place that Gricey used to own there?

I was lucky enough to attend one meeting at Amaroo (V8 Supercar Amscar) and it was a totally awsome place. I must make sure I go to Oran Park again before it closes

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

I understand that Oran Park is now staying open????

That was brought up at the Darwin V8 Superstars, i think alot of people believed that this year was the last, but now the owner of the circuit is saying it could stay for anything up to 3 years longer, and he's even considering making a new circuit.

[Group'C']

Isn't he talking about building another circuit some where near were the new airport was going