Emergency Management Team have enjoyed their time and involvment during the 4 celebration events held at Lakeside Park this year. It brought back many memories, especially for our very own Medical Chase Car driver Bruce Muhling. During the 1980's Bruce became one of the very first people to drive a 'chase car' at Lakeside when it was introduced to motorsport.
Mayor, MoretonBay Regional Council, Councillor Allan Sutherland and other Councillors,
Chairman, Queensland Raceways, Mr John Tetley,
General Manger, Mr Keith Lewis,
Motor sports enthusiasts, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,
Good Morning - and greetings to everyone who has made the effort to be here for this very special weekend of ‘Tribute to the Originals'. I know that many have travelled significant distances to be a part of this day, from many parts of Australia and overseas and, as Queensland's Governor, it is a pleasure to welcome you all to our State. As Governor, I am also very pleased to be a part of this re-creation of history - this re-enactment of the original opening ceremony - and to participate in this, the first of several celebrations during 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Lakeside International Raceway - this track which for so many enthusiasts and devotees is considered "the spiritual home of Queensland motor sport" and revered as a "real drivers' circuit".
Since my predecessor, Governor Sir Henry Abel Smith cut the ribbon 50 years ago, to open the track in 1961, it has played host to many world famous drivers - one report I read described it as becoming "motor sport nirvana for the State's racing public". This, of course, was a time when motor racing was booming around the world. In the 1950's and 1960's motor sports fans avidly followed the career of talents like Jack Brabham, as they did those other flamboyant international celebrities such as Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Chris Amon. As competitors here in the Tasman Series, these great sportsmen sealed this track's rightful place in the history of motor racing.
In more contemporary times, other ‘greats' such as Mick Doohan and Peter Brock have hurled themselves around this circuit. Doohan, of course, is the author of the ultimate accolade for this track: "If you can learn to race a motorbike at Lakeside you can compete at any track in the world".
It is wonderful to recall its history today and to pay tribute, so delightfully, to ‘The Originals': the cars, drivers, officials and volunteers here at the beginning and in those early years.
But this ceremony and celebration is not just about looking back to the past - recalling Lakeside's stellar four-decade role as Queensland's number one racing circuit - but to the future: happily marking the track's ongoing revival as a focal point not only for motor sports, but a host of other community activities. I applaud the determined efforts of the former Pine River Shire Council and now Moreton Bay Regional Council - and particularly Mayor Allan Sutherland - to preserve it and create a wonderful place for community recreation. I applaud equally the vision and commitment of John Tetley, Chairman of Queensland Raceways and co-owner of LakesidePark, to restore Lakeside to its former glory and to develop it into a major community facility offering, as the Queensland Raceway's slogan proudly proclaims, much "More than Racing".
The sun is shining and this promises to be a great day. It is very pleasing that so many of ‘The Originals' - the drivers and officials who participated at the first meeting of the Raceway in 1961 are able to be with us. I believe that there are 12 of the original drivers here - and a similar number of the original officials. As we pay homage to them, we pay homage also to the cars and welcome especially those which ran at the first race meeting in 1961. Seeing them lined up, looking so splendid, ready to tackle this track again, it is clear that great love has been lavished on them by their owners over the years. They would no doubt subscribe to the view of the great Formula One champion - Juan Manuel Fangio - "El Maestro" that you should "Never think of your car as a cold machine, but as a hot-blooded horse."
It is evident to me - looking at this crowd - and reading, as I have done, about the work involved in putting this ‘tribute' weekend and these celebrations together, that that sort of passion is certainly very much a part of this day; that you, ‘The Originals', as passionate motor sports enthusiasts and lovers of this Lakeside circuit, joining with other enthusiasts and volunteers, have been an essential ingredient in helping John realise his ambition to bring the raceway back to life after its untimely demise in 2001.
I congratulate everyone involved with the organisation of this event and with the magnificent - ongoing - transformation of the Lakeside International Raceway into LakesidePark. As Queensland's Governor, keen to see our State grow and thrive and our communities prosper, I welcome the ambitions you have for the Park's future. With its rich history and the abundance of enthusiasm which is evident today, as we celebrate this Golden Anniversary and pay tribute to ‘The Originals', I have little doubt that Lakeside Park will not only reclaim its place as one of the great centres for motor sports activities in Queensland, but will emerge as a unique community asset, providing leisure and pleasure to countless generations of Queenslanders in the years to come.
