The Southern Cross Rally was Australia's premiere international rally running fifteen times between 1966 and 1980. I competed in only two of them. My run with Frank Kilfoyle in the works Datsun 710 in 1974 is described here. I subsequently competed in the 1976 edition with David Bond in the same Lancer that we had successfully campaigned to the Victorian Championship the previous year.
The 1976 Cross is generally considered to have been the pinnacle of the fifteen editions by virtue of the significant international involvement. A total of 34 of the 89 drivers were from overseas, and included a five car Datsun team (Kallstrom, Aaltonen, Mehta, Walfridsson and Fury), three works Lancers (Cowan, Ferguson and Stewart), two works Escorts for Makinen and Clark, and a works BMW for Warmbold. The field also included Colin Bond in the MHDT Torana, the current Australian champion Ross Dunkerton, future champions Greg Carr and Murray Coote, and future NZ champion Bair Robson. The full entry list is provided here. The 1976 edition also had the longest total competitive distance (2132 km) and highest competitive proportion (64%) of any Southern Cross since the first three that ran between Sydney and Melbourne. Like all Southern Cross Rallies after 1970, the event largely centred on the resort town of Port Macquarie with the Sydney start and subsequent loops from Port. It was long and tough with all days starting with daylight sections and long night sections such that we rarely got back to Port Macquarie before dawn. Full details of the route are provided here.
David had decided early in 1976 that his year of rallying would focus on competing in the Southern Cross and all efforts and funds were directed towards that end. The car was completely rebuilt and upgraded to ensure compliance with the regulations. While I was competing in the Victorian Rally Championship with John Dixon, David was not competing and this lack of competitive driving was perhaps a disadvantage. Nonetheless, we all gathered in Sydney in early October after the car had been trailered from Melbourne behind the service vehicle. I travelled up with my parents. The service crew included Dick Gill and Jim Nelms while Garry Spence had travelled up to act as scout. I stayed with David at the Rushcutters Bay Travelodge on the Friday night, and recall a wild thunderstorm. The event was certainly not wet like 1973 but neither was it totally dry, although I do not recall it actually raining during the event. We headed out to Amaroo late on Saturday morning for the start.
Day One
The first stage was a dinky run around the speedway circuit, through some interconnecting tracks and down the hillclimb. Our time was respectable and with scoring to the minute, everyone dropped the same anyway.
First stage at Amaroo Raceway, Sydney
After the long transport up to Morisset followed three short stages. The first couple were quite rough. The run along the ridge to the TV towers at Mount Sugarloaf was a good stage but the results show that we had some problem dropping 2 minutes when most people had cleaned. After the Newcastle refuel there was a short but very tight run through the Wallaroo Forest north of Raymond Terrace where everyone dropped the same except Clark and Cowan. It was then to the mealbreak at Stroud as the sun went down. Our only problem appeared to be a lack of fuel feed from the auxiliary tank. Unlike in Victorian events, the Southern Cross demanded a pretty long fuel range of at least 250 km so David had fitted an extra tank. At the mealbreak they checked and perhaps even changed the fuel pump but to no avail. It seemed that the fuel line from the auxiliary tank had been pinched somewhere when the tank was fitted and this would take longer to fix - a job for the next day when we would get a full hour for servicing. For now, we had to make it through the first night and so I had given Garry several meeting points where he could top up our fuel from a jerry can.
Once dark, the event began in earnest. The first rugged 110 km stage through the Craven-Myall Forest gave us some idea of what this event was really like. It was a case of just setting your own pace and being as consistent as possible without putting too much strain on the car. This was reflected in our time - 10 minutes late while the leaders were dropping between 2 and 5. We were certainly not disgraced. Ian Hill, who would turn out to be our main rival among the privateers, had a problem and dropped 20 minutes. After a service in Bulahdelah came the 68 km Wang Wauk stage, much faster and somewhat smoother. Like several stages, this one had a "loop the loop" where cars merged at a passage control and then diverged some kilometres later. I recall arriving at the passage control at exactly the same time as Yoshio Iwashita in his Datsun 120Y and then dragging up the exit road side by side. It was clear he was not going to yield so we let him go. Sometimes discretion is the best approach but we had to eat his dust for a while and we were eventually 15 seconds late, dropping 1 minutes when most of the leaders were early. I think we met Garry for a fuel top up on the next transport, and certainly the results show that we dropped 3 minutes on transports throughout the first night. The remaining three stages to the refuel in Taree were uneventful, although the 49 km Kiwarric stage was rough and tough in places and we dropped 10 minutes to the leaders who were dropping between 1 and 3 minutes.
Two stages remained for the night, the first 38 km through the Lansdowne Forest then the intricate 102 km stage winding its way through the Kerewong, Lorne and Bulls Ground Forests to the west of Kew. We had no problems but on the long one we dropped 18 minutes when the leaders were dropping between 5 and 10. Still, it was a reasonable run and we headed into Port Macquarie around 5 am ready for a reasonable sleep at our Motel which was not far from the impound on the beachfront. With a 2 pm departure we would have to be up by midday so around 5-6 hours of sleep was all we could expect. Only when we awoke around lunch time did we get the scores, placing us in 16th place down 58 minutes. Fury was in the lead on 17. We were only 5 minutes behind the Datsun of Walfridsson, but he had had a roll during the night. Our main rival, Ian Hill was back in 22nd place on 67, while the other key privateers were Murray Coote 23rd on 70 and Peter Janson 26th on 73 after a difficult first night.
Day Two
Day two started with a quick run through Cairncross Forest. David seemed a bit exuberant. I think it was at the turn left into Scrubby Creek Road where we ran wide and the photos below were taken. I'm not sure if it was here, but we bent a strut or a front stub axle resulting in a misaligned wheel which we would have to just deal with until the mealbreak. Our time was OK, just quicker than Hill and Coote but slower than Janson. The next daylight stage was a lovely stage of 38 km using Molly Milligan Road and many quick roads in the Ballengarra Forest, finishing soon after a quick spectator point adjacent to the Pacific Highway. Despite the wheel alignment issues we did the same time as Hill but we were almost 6 minutes off benchmark times set by Ferguson and Cowan. Janson was quick, picking up 3 minutes on us, while Coote picked up one. Next up was a 15 km run up around Kalateenee Forest just south of Kempsey. Part way through the engine lost all power and coughed to a halt. Was it a fuel problem, ignition or something more sinister? We checked and everything "looked" OK but it didn't want to go. We managed to fire it up and we coasted along at a snail's pace. Cars zoomed past us. Finally we reached the control losing 22 minutes when the leaders had lost 2 and Hill and Janson had lost 3. It was a severe blow and we felt shattered but we had to press on somehow. I seem to recall that either our service crew was waiting on the highway just a few hundred metres from the end control, or perhaps it was Garry, but we stopped there and the problem was soon diagnosed. The distributor had come loose and rotated, putting the ignition timing way out. We had plenty of time so it was easily fixed and the timing redone and we headed through the Kempsey refuel and up the Pacific Highway to the next stage through the Way Way Forest. On that intricate 23 km stage we held our own, dropping 3 to the leaders 1 minute, Janson's 2, we matched Coote and took a minute back off Hill. The last daylight stage through the Ingalba Forest to the mealbreak at Utungun was straightforward and we dropped 3 matching Hill and Coote, but Janson picked up a minute.
Suspect this was in Cairncross at the start of Day 2. Photo from Trevor Garbett
Probably also Cairncross, at least we do not look concerned
The mealbreak was a Godsend as it included a 30 minute hold and no impound conditions so they changed the strut. I can't recall the details, but this certainly isn't quite as straightforward as it is today on many rally cars and even production cars, and I suspect the brake line had to be broken and the brakes bled, but in any case, it took longer than we had. We had to check out anyway and then take the time loss on the next short transport which was 19 km in 20 minutes up to Taylors Arm, so we would have picked up some time there, but in the end I think we lost about 15 minutes. It was going to be a long night and with our problems in Kalateenee and then the time lost at Utungun, I would have to watch our late time carefully (the limit was 2.5 hours and we had already used close to an hour. On the other hand the car was now 100% and we were fired up to attack the night stages.
From Taylors Arm we tackled the rugged 150 km stage through the Horseshoe Forest Road region. The first part used Goondari, Kosekai and Mackays Road through to Argents Hill before following most of Horsehoe Forest Road but for two diversions, the first down Gaddes Ridge and back up Bellbucca Road and the second down Blackwood Road and back up Orana to the famous flyover (yes, there is an overpass in the middle of the forest!). It was tough going but fun. The leaders were dropping between 10 and 15 minutes, while we dropped 25, a minute slower than Hill but 4 minutes quicker than Coote. It was a reasonable time but it ate into our late time even further. Janson struck problems and lost 42 minutes.
From the bottom of Horseshoe Road there was a transport section through the famous Gordonville ford across the Bellingen River. The place was lit up like a circus with crowds of locals. The water was surprisingly deep and we soon got stuck on some rocks. A tractor with old tyres attached to its bucket soon came along and literally pushed us across, breaking the reversing light in the process. In any case, we were through as water sloshed around on the floor and eventually found its way out and we made the section on time. The subsequent 24 km run through the Tuckers Knob and Pine Creek Forests to the Pacific Highway was straightforward, although damp and slippery in places. We dropped 5, the same as Hill and Coote, while most of the leaders dropped 3 or 4 (Janson also).
Gordonville Ford [photo: Ken Cusack]
It was a fairly quick passage through Coffs Harbour with just 10 minutes allowed to refuel and then we were soon out on Coramba Road to start the next 31 km stage through the Bucca Forest. It was a clear dry night and I recall seeing the lights along the coast as we climbed up a ridge. We dropped 6 minutes which was a minute slower than Janson but a minute better than Coote and 2 minutes better than Hill. The next stage, 52 km through Wedding Bells Forest, followed after a very short transport and was generally fast and fun. We had another good run, dropping only 3, same as Janson, whereas Coote had dropped 6 and Hill dropped 8. Amazingly, Cowan had cleaned the stage. A short service at Nana Glen preceded the short 9 km run down Coldwater Creek Road where we dropped 2, one minute more than the leaders but the same as Hill, Coote and Janson. A 34 km loop to the north followed, using some of the WRC Shipmans Stage in reverse and then back down Caledonian Road. We dropped 5, one more than Hill, the same as Janson and one less than Coote. Fury and Cowan were vying for the lead and both dropped one minute. A tough 62 km stage followed, using parts of the main Dorrigo Road but many side roads as well, eventually finishing just near Dorrigo. We had a great run and dropped 10, matching Janson and beating both Hill and Coote by 4 minutes, while the leaders dropped 4 or 5.
After Dorrigo we transported down to Bellingen for a refuel then to the start of the next stage just out of town on Kalang Road. The 17 km stage presented no problem and we were quite quick, dropping 4 to the leaders who mostly dropped 3. We picked up a minute on Hill, Coote and Janson. Our problem was potentially late time as we had used 1 hour and 55 minutes of our 2 hours 30 minute allowance. The final stage of the night was a cracker, 78 km back through the Horseshoe Forest Road area then through the Nulla Five Day and Thumbs Creek Forests, finishing at Upper Taylors Arm. It was mountainous, sometimes rough, and often tight. What's more, it was starting to get light by the end and we were both feeling exhausted. I think I fell asleep at one stage and David was certainly not at full speed. But we dropped 20 and were still 15 minutes inside our late time limit. Our time was pretty good too, with the leaders dropping between 14 and 20, while Janson dropped 25, Coote 26 and Hill 28.
It was a long 120 km transport back to Port Macquarie where we arrived not much before eight o'clock. With a 3 pm start for the third division, we would have less than 5 hours of sleep, but at least the car was strong and would only need routine service. Once the results became available we were surprised to be in 11th place, just a minute behind Ian Hill and 2 minutes in front of Murray Coote. Janson was another 4 minutes behind. It just emphasised to us how important it is to keep trying, despite setbacks like the time lost the previous afternoon and evening with the loose distributor and changing the strut.
Day Three
The third division began with two short and one monster daylight stages. We were on the pace for the extended stage through Cairncross, dropping 2 minutes (only Cowan and Kallstrom cleaned). Our time was matched by Janson, Hill was 2 minutes adrift and Coote clearly had a problem, dropping 7. The next short 9 km stage ran parallel to Hastings Forest Road and we and almost everyone dropped 2 except Cowan and Kallstrom again on 1. Hill and Coote both dropped 3. Then came the 77 km stage through beautiful mountainous terrain in the Kippara Forest, finishing about 15 km out of Kempsey. We enjoyed it and dropped 8, the same as Hill. Janson was on a flyer, dropping 5 while Coote dropped 9. So by the Kempsey mealbreak we had just moved ahead of Ian Hill by a couple of minutes.
Photo by Trevor Garbett
The night competition was more compact than the previous night with only 5 stages and very little transport. The first 85 km stage meandered through Tan Ban and Ingalba Forests to finish just south of Bowraville. We dropped 11, well adrift of the leaders who were dropping between 1 and 5. Janson picked up 2 on us and Hill 1, but Coote was 2 minutes behind. After Bowraville came the 53 km stage through Newry Forest, which I recall as being quite intricate and rather rough. We clearly had a problem, dropping 20 minutes, 7 slower than Janson and 6 minutes slower than both Hill and Coote. Whatever our problem, it continued after the Bellingen refuel as we headed into the arduous 125 km stage through the Horseshoe Forest Road area to Taylors Arm. We dropped a massive 34 minutes (Cowan dropped 5), which was 14 minutes slower than Janson, 12 slower than Hill and 5 slower than Coote. We had certainly lost 10th place to Hill and both Coote and Janson were closing in us. With no service before the next stage, 50 km through Nulla Five Day Forest, our problems persisted and we dropped 15 minutes, 4 more than Janson, 2 more than Hill and 1 minute slower than Coote. The service point was on the Kempsey-Armidale Road just north of Willawarrin and whatever our problem, it must have been fixed. We may have lost a few minutes on the transport also. The night's final stage was 114 km mostly back through the Kippara Forest used the previous afternoon, with a finish through the Bellangry Forest. We dropped 22 (Cowan dropped 6), matching Janson and taking back 1 minute from Coote and 2 minutes from Hill.
The 50 km transport back to Port Macquarie would have seen us there soon after five o'clock, still dark and a chance for a decent sleep before the 3 pm start of the final division. The results showed us up to 10th after Iwashita retired, but Hill was now a clear 20 minutes in front, with Coote only 6 minutes behind us. Janson was safely back almost 20 minutes. So our goal on the final night was to hold off Murray Coote and to hope that Ian Hill had a problem.
Day Four
I recall us feeling a lot more relaxed on the final day. The car was good and we were out to hold position and have fun. There was a chance we could catch Hill. Four short daylight stages took us down to Taree for a mealbreak. In the 19 km Burrawan stage Ian Hill beat us by 21 seconds and took a minute off us. We beat Coote but took the same score while Janson was 2 minutes adrift. On the 27 km stage through Middle Brother Forest all four leading privateers finished on the same minute, dropping 3 (Cowan dropped 1). The 20 km stage through Lansdowne Forest also saw Hill, Coote and us within 8 seconds of each other, all dropping 5, but Janson was 3 minutes adrift, clearly with a problem. The final short 12 km stage through Yarrat Forest saw Janson recover to drop 2, the same as Hill, while us and Coote dropped 3. So not a lot had changed by Tarree.
The night began with the traditional run along Black Flat Lane, only 11 km and we picked up a minute on Hill. Then came the 49 km run up Knodingbul Road to a loop control on the Dingo Tops. We must have had a problem, perhaps a puncture, as we dropped 12, 3 minutes slower than Coote and Janson and 4 slower than Hill. The 28 km loop stage essentially ran down Rowley Road and back up Tallowood Road. Hill, Coote and ourselves all dropped 7 (Cowan had dropped 2) while Janson dropped 8. Next was a meandering 92 km stage generally northwards to the Oxley Highway, but also looping to the east almost to Elands. I recall this high country was somewhat damp with little or no dust, and some slippery clay based roads. We dropped 20, which was 2 slower than Hill and 1 slower than both Coote and Janson. Hill picked up another minute on us on the next short 15 km stage across to Mount Seaview, which I also recall as being very slippery. Our time was matched by Coote and Janson. I'm not sure where Kallstrom's engine failed, but I think it was early in the night and we had therefore moved up to 9th.
After a service on the highway we started the event's longest stage, 215 km generally to the north of the highway and finishing about 15 km west of Kempsey. An optional "no time allowed" service point was available after 114 km at Forbes River. I recall some of the earlier sections of the stage being quite remote with some boggy sections. We made good progress, setting our own pace. Some distance after the mid-stage service point we came across Fury's car, stopped on the side of the road. We did not know the problem (it was the diff) but we knew his rally was over and that we would be up to 8th. By the end of this monster stage we had dropped 30 minutes (Cowan and Mehta dropped 9), 2 more than Hill, but a minute quicker than Janson and 3 quicker than Coote.
The last long stage of the event was the 47 km run southwards from Kempsey through the Bellangarra Forest to Upper Rowlands Plains. We were getting tired and dropped 5, 2 slower than Hill and Janson, but 4 quicker than Coote. The positions were now pretty settled and the gaps too big to do anything about short of a mechanical failure. What remained were three short stages through Cairncross, Broken Bago and Cowarra Forests. In past years there had been a hold of all cars so these short finishing stages were run in daylight but I'm not sure this happened in 76. In any case, I think it was just daylight as we tackled the awesome Rollover Road and well daylight by the time we were in Cowarra. We actually picked up 3 minutes on Hill on these stages and we were matched by Murray Coote and Janson. We must have arrived back in Port Macquarie soon after 6 am.
The final results showed us in 8th with a loss of 418 minutes, 27 behind Hill and 19 in front of Coote. Not a bad result considering our various problems, but that's the nature of the Southern Cross. It's long and it's tough and you only win by having a largely trouble free run. Not that we were every considering winning. The speed of the top guys, especially Cowan, was just staggering. Cowan finished over 4 hours ahead of us, basically an hour each night! But at post event scrutineering I could get some idea of why. I looked under the winning car and it was basically stuffed from the constant pounding of rocks. They were tough cars and the event was a true test of car reliability as well as driver skill.
After some well earned sleep on the Wednesday, there was a social function and some presentations at the leagues club. Next day, if my memory serves me correctly, we drove to Sydney for a ceremonial finish in Hyde Park. After that I returned to Melbourne with my parents. Then it was back to work as I was about to complete my Honours Degree in computer science!
