When you think about Australia in the 1950s and 60s, what comes to mind? Evolving attitudes towards indigenous Australians? The rise of suburbia and creeping urban sprawl that would cement our car-dependency, resulting in Sydney ripping out the last of its tram network in 1961? Farrago magazine sponsoring car trials at the University of Melbourne? I’m sure one of those came to mind. About that last one, that’s weird.
In 1955, the University of Melbourne Car Club rose from the ashes of its demise in 1941, after they were forced to disband due to fuel shortages amidst World War 2. Eager to get the show back on the road, they immediately began organising competitive car trials for their members. Checkpoints were scattered around Melbourne’s East and South, and driver-navigator duos sped between, with a trophy awaiting the winners. The club gave out so many trophies that throughout 1965, they spent $298.04 on trophies alone, equivalent to $4,791.96 today. It’s no wonder, then, that when Farrago offered to buy the club a trophy for a namesake trial, the car club accepted.
From its inception in 1958, the Farrago Car Trial became a favourite in the car club’s calendar. In 1967, as part of the commencement rally, the participants in the running for the Farrago trophy started from the recently opened Chadstone shopping centre, racing up towards the mountains (no easy feat in a manual car) and then back down to the bay in the South-East. Roads were often busy, so teams had to choose between driving on emptier but slower roads, or risk traffic on their way to the Farrago trophy at Mt Eliza. The directions, were often vague, with control checkpoints described as “On the red road, approximately 50 yards generally west of Tar Barrels Corner”. In a time before Google Maps, drivers had to rely on their passenger-princess navigator to get them around in a timely fashion. Designed for newcomers, teams were given 90 minutes to complete the trial.
It’s not entirely clear when the Farrago trial stopped. Records of the car club at the uni stop after 1968, and there are no trophies to be found on campus or in the archives. The car club still runs today, though it became disaffiliated from Unimelb in the mid-1990s for not meeting undergraduate member requirements. When the Farrago editors were asked if they still buy trophies for them, they stated most of them don’t have a driver’s licence, much less extra funds to invest in motor events. Despite a very extensive search into the archives, pestering at least four university archive employees, and even contacting the now unaffiliated car club and the sports union, no one was able to shed light on this mythical event. Unfortunately, it’s likely the Farrago trial will never return. Apparently, letting university students race private vehicles on public roads is an insurance nightmare.
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